Fort Edward Grasslands IBA, New York

northern harrier

   My friend Laura suggested we explore Ft. Edward Grasslands in New York where there were recent reports of numerous short-eared owls, harriers, rough-legged hawks and a snowy owl! From my house it's about a two hour drive, perfect for a day trip.

here's a link to the spot: Ft. Edward Grasslands IBA

northern harrier

One of the first birds we saw was a "grey ghost", aka a male northern harrier, probably eating a mole or mouse in a field.

snowy owl

We looked for the snowy owl that was being seen off Swamp Road. This snowy really blended in with the scenery!

Merlin

Driving along the roads we saw numerous harriers, rough-legged hawks, a kestrel and this merlin.

short-eared owl vocalizing

We met some other birders who were familiar with the area, they told us to go to Fitzpatrick Drive for the best viewing. Earlier in the day, they had seen 7 short-eared owls in a tree, along with 2 more on the ground. This is a banner year for these owls with reports of up to 15 owls seen this winter. The last such incursion was 2007. The owls were eating well, with many seen with rodents, along the road and eating on the fly!

  

Snowy Owl in April!

 There was a report of a snowy owl in North Springfield, Vermont yesterday, not too far from home. We found it quite easily at the corner of route 106 and route 10, perched on a white fence, exactly where it had been reported!.

Sitting not more than 40 feet from the busy intersection, the owl seemed pretty relaxed and not affected by the noise of the traffic.

We didn't even get out of the car, certainly didn't want to spook it. The owl sat on the post for a while, then flew even closer to us!

Gerry just held his finger on the shutter. The camera has a "burst" mode and takes 8 frames per second! A snowy's wingspan is between 4.2 and 4.8 feet.

It's usually a rare site to see a snowy owl, but this winter and spring, these beautiful birds of the Arctic tundra are still around!

Some Year-End Birding

red-tailed hawk

An impromptu trip to the Dead Creek area around Addison, Vermont yesterday resulted in some good sightings of hawks.

From the time we left our house, we saw red-tailed hawks along the roadside, sitting in trees or on power lines as this one was.

We didn't see our first rough-legged hawk until we headed north out of Orwell, into the lower Champlain Valley. This one is a light morph, the more common plumage.

He was "kiting" (holding stationary in flight) while searching the field below for prey. Red-tailed hawks also "kite".

We found one snowy owl along the way in West Addison.

 The trees were still covered in ice from the recent ice storm. It didn't seem to bother this red-tailed hawk though.

red-tailed hawk

 

 A snow bunting posed for some pictures by the side of the road.

 Another rough-legged hawk (this one a dark morph) relieved himself before flying off. We didn't take it personally.......

 The name "Rough-legged" Hawk refers to the feathered legs. This hawk, the Ferruginous Hawk, and the Golden Eagle are the only American hawks to have legs feathered all the way to the toes.

Snowy Owls Along the Coast

We decided to celebrate (more on this at the end) by going to the New Hampshire/Massachusetts coast in search of Snowy Owls! There's been a huge irruption of snowy owls all the way to North Carolina!! Check out this eBird map to see all the sightings. map of snowy owl sightings

first year snowy owl, probably female

Although we only saw 2 snowy owls, we were treated to lots of terrific waterfowl. Enjoy the photos.

male Common Eider

first winter male Common Eider with mature male

 male Surf Scoter

male White-winged Scoter

White-winged Scoters

Horned Grebe

Great Blue Heron

American Black Duck

We are finally back to regular blog postings!! Gerry was diagnosed with lymphoma in May. He spent a grueling summer and fall going through chemotherapy treatments and radiation. We a sooooo happy to say that he is now cancer free and we are looking forward to getting back to our normal life!!