Snowy Owls....on their way south

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chrish
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Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by chrish »

Ebird has an article about the high incidence of Snowy Owl sightings in the NW this winter so far.

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/gotsnowies2013/

Might be time to check that white plastic bag in the middle of the field a bit more carefully!
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Andy Avram
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by Andy Avram »

Yeah, there are 11 of them within a 40 minute drive of me right now. I have seen one and keep missing the one from my county (in one of the parks in the park district I work at, no less). That would be a home county bird for me if I can get it before it leaves.
J-Miz
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by J-Miz »

I got to see two this weekend at Burke Lakefront Airport in downtown Cleveland, right before heading to work. I heard some talk about Northern Hawk-owls potentially moving south...but forgot the exact context of which that was mentioned.
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sjfriend
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by sjfriend »

Not fair!!! I live in AK for 8 years and can't get one.
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Mike VanValen
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by Mike VanValen »

I've seen at least one reported daily in Connecticut for the past week or so.
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pete
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by pete »

I've seen two so far, there are multiple birds in the Boston area and double digits around plum island. I heard rumor of one showing up in Bermuda!
There have been a couple of hawk owls seen in northern Maine , I hope one makes it within driving range for me. I've chased them three times and have been a day late each time.
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tomharten
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by tomharten »

I saw this one today in Calvert County, Maryland (not originally found by me). I think this may be the first county record, at least in recent memory. There were a few others sighted today in MD and VA.

Image

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Tom Harten
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chrish
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by chrish »

Andy Avram wrote:Yeah, there are 11 of them within a 40 minute drive of me right now. I have seen one and keep missing the one from my county (in one of the parks in the park district I work at, no less). That would be a home county bird for me if I can get it before it leaves.
11 within 40 minutes? I had to drive 6 hours north to see my first Snowy Owl (in Oklahoma).

You guys are certainly lucky when it comes to northern visitors. Oh wait,....that's because it is freezing up where you are....never mind. :lol:
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tomharten
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by tomharten »

I wouldn't be surprised if one slips into Texas this year given the magnitude of this year's irruption.

I heard that an Amazon Kingfisher was sighted near Weslaco a couple of days ago...so the birds are coming to you from the other direction!
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pete
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by pete »

Nice place to see one Tom! I saw my lifer snowy in Cambridge md. In 1978. Cool shots on the tractor!
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chrish
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by chrish »

tomharten wrote:I heard that an Amazon Kingfisher was sighted near Weslaco a couple of days ago...so the birds are coming to you from the other direction!
Yeah, the Amazon Kingfisher showed up a couple of weeks back during a birding conference in the valley and has been hanging around ever since. If it is still around after next week when I have some time I might make a trip. I've seen a lot of Amazons, just not in the US, so I am a bit ambivalent.

Someone did find two species of scoter (WWSC and SUSC) here in San Antonio yesterday, so I might have to chase those in the morning.
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Antonsrkn
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by Antonsrkn »

Whoa I'm really glad I took a look a the subforum, I have always wanted to see a snowy owl so I looked at the situation in WI this year. Turns out there have been 7 sightings at 4 different sites all within a 15 min drive of my house and all in the past week! I'm ridiculously busy this week and most of next but I can definitely spare an hour or 2 this weekend to check the sites out and see if I get lucky. I'm pretty excited about it! Wish me luck!
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brick911
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Re: Snowy Owls....on their way south

Post by brick911 »

NJ has had them all over, as well as PA. I've seen two so far. My Spring migration apparently sucked (I didn't know any better), but this is certainly making up for it.
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