Saturday, January 24, 2015

Still Looking for Those Elusive Snowy Owls

Ted and I went for a ride this past week in hopes of spotting a snowy owl.






If you are looking for a snowy owl (and by the way there doesn't have to be snow on the ground), look for them on or near the ground in wide open areas, on telephone poles, fence posts, hay bales or other tall structures. It's not too often they are spotted in trees. And they usually fly close to the ground, too.





They also can be seen at airports, on slight rises in barren fields, and sandy shorelines and sand dunes. We have a lot of open farmland in this area so thought we might have a chance of spotting one. These types of land features are similar to their summer breeding grounds of tundra-like exposures.



They spend their summers in the arctic circle way up north, and in late fall, if their food source is diminishing, the immature owls (one and two year olds) head south to southern Canada and the northern United States.



There was another irruption of snowy owls this year. An irruption is a "dramatic, irregular migration of large number of birds to areas where they are not typically found". Bird Irruptions



Even though we were unsuccessful at spotting a snowy owl, we did see some other wildlife.




Wild Turkeys


With all the farmland around here I know there has to be some snowy owls somewhere.

Here is a short video I took of the deer we saw at Selkirk Shores State Park, Port Ontario, NY.




Hope you are having an enjoyable winter!

Feel free to add your comments~



10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you, Ann. Sometimes you get lucky and the deer don't run off when they see you. These photos were taken from inside our car.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Thank you, Lee. They must know that it's not hunting season because they seem to be more curious this time of year.

      Delete
  3. Wonderful photos Sue. Always enjoy reading your posts!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful deer and your photos are stunning. You really show the perks of winter in your post. Keep looking Sue, more and more of them have been showing up. When I landed in Detroit, one was flying to a post not far from the gate where our plane was headed. It was a young female.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Donna. It still looks like winter around here even though we haven't had any snow in about two weeks. And I think this snowstorm (Juno) that's supposed to hit New York City and Boston will miss us too.
      That is so ironic that you saw a snowy owl flying to a post the the Detroit airport. I might have to make a trip to the Syracuse Airport and maybe I'll see one around there.

      Delete
  5. Sue they had a story in the news that one was spotted near the shore of Oneida Lake...not sure where of course but I think the south shore...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Donna. I didn't see that, but I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the information.

      Delete