There is a SNOWY OWL perched out on the nearest island in Oneida Lake, as seen from Mill Street in Constantia. The owl appears to be mostly white, with barely any streaking on it. I found it sitting on a log near the water’s edge, doing what many Snowy Owls do when I watch them – mostly nothing. At one point, he hopped down to the waterline and took a few sips of water, but then went back to his spot on the log. Other than that, his only other activity was intermittently dodging the diving COMMON TERNS, who did not seem very happy to see him there. He was still there when I left at 11:10 AM.
It appears that the MERLIN pair are nesting in a tall White Pine that stands on the north side of Rt 49, across the street from the veterinary clinic just before the intersection with Kibbie Lake Rd. Yesterday morning, I watched them copulate a few times about 5 feet or so from a nest built in a crotch of the tree that is visible from my backyard. Mickey Scilingo Constantia Oswego County, NY mickey.scili...@gte.net 315-679-6299 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --