Tag Archives: Bubo scandiacus

THE AMAZING SNOWY OWL SEABROOK, FULLY RECOVERED FROM DEATH’S DOOR!

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Friday evening I had the joy of attending “The Story of Seabrook the Snowy Owl” held at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests Education Center at Creek Farm in Portsmouth. The event was cohosted by Jane Kelly, On the Wing wildlife rehabilitator, and photographer Johnathan Herrick. Johnathan presented a slideshow of beautiful images of Seabrook. He has been chronicling the Snowy’s adventures since first arriving in December. Topics covered at the meeting also included rodenticide poisoning, how to ethically view Snowy Owls when they are on our shores, and Floki, On the Wing’s resident owl ambassador.

 

 

Johnathan and son Maverick

You may recall from several previous posts that Johnathan rescued Seabrook as he lay slowly dying on the beach, unable to fly. Seabrook had consumed a rat or mouse that was dying from rat poison (the horrible black boxes filled with rodenticide that some folks are unfortunately so fond of using). He was suffering from secondary rat poison and hemorrhaging massively. When Johnathan arrived, Seabrook was trapped between a seawall and the incoming tide and was on his way to being washed out to sea.

Seabrook was so far gone when he was rescued, no one, including Jane and her staff, thought he would survive. After a six-week stint at On the Wing raptor rehab center, Seabrook made a full recovery. A wonderful release event attended by several hundred onlookers and fans was held in March. Seabrook flew magnificently over the crowd, toward the tree line, and then to the shore.

On my way to and from the program, I drove along the scenic route to New Hampshire, not expecting to see Seabrook, but there he was, spending the afternoon sleeping peacefully in the sun before heading out to hunt.

Seabrook is basically a very chill bird however, that doesn’t mean we should get close when photographing or observing. Please stay at a minimum of two hundred feet, please don’t try to get close with cell phone cameras, and folks with super zoom telephoto lens, have no reason to come close. When people bring their lawn chairs and park themselves all day next to a Snowy it is so stressful to the bird and totally uncool.

Some tips for Snowy watching:

Stand at a minimum of 200 feet away.

Stay low and hide behind a shrub or tree, if possible.

Move slowly, and if with a friend or a group, speak softly.

Don’t park yourself for hours near a Snowy. Take a few photos and please MOVE ON.

 *      *      *

Jane brought along On the Wing’s ambassador Snowy Owl , Floki. Born in captivity, Floki’s behavior is nothing like a wild Snowy Owl nonetheless, it was wonderfully interesting to learn more about Snowies in general and about the captive owl and his quirky personality.

On the Wing is a citizen funded operation that saves over 400 raptors per year.

Donations can be submitted via:
Venmo @OnTheWingNH

Snail mail:
On The Wing
47 Prescott Rd.
Epping, NH 03042 .
Thank you!

To learn how you can help owls, eagles, and other raptors from succumbing to rodenticide poisoning, follow this link:  PROTECT MASS. BIRDS OF PREY -Decrease Rat Poison

 

On my way to Portsmouth, I stopped at HamptonBeach to check on the Plovers there. It was great to see that New Hampshire Fish and Game Department has cordoned off the Plover breeding habitat and has posted a number of signs.

Surfs up at Hampton Beach!

RESCUED SNOWY OWL FLIGHT FOR FREEDOM

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On the Wing wildlife rehabilitator Jane Kelly and USFWS biologist Bri Benvenuti set the Snowy Owl affectionately nicknamed “Seabrook” off on his flight for freedom.

On February 3rd, Seabrook was discovered by a woman at Seabrook Beach. He was suffering terribly from secondary rat poison (rodenticide) and other related conditions. She contacted On the Wing, a New Hampshire based wildlife rehabilitation center that focuses primarily on saving raptors. Jonathan Herrick, friend of On the Wing, volunteered to bring Seabrook to OtW headquarters.

Seabrook is a fighter and for the past six weeks, this magnificent male Snowy has been steadily recovering. Initially, Jane and staff administered round the clock doses of vitamin K and subcutaneous fluids to help stop the bleeding from the anticoagulant agent in the rodenticide, which were then followed by antibiotics and other meds to treat his injuries. Many owls, and other raptors that prey upon small mammals, are not as fortunate as Seabrook. Serious illness, and death, resulting from secondary rat poison is a deadly and ever increasing problem.

When Seabrook was first admitted, he was covered in lice as he was too weak to even groom his feathers.

Image courtesy On the Wing
Receiving no government financial aid, On the Wing is a citizen funded operation that saves over 400 raptors per year. If you are able, monetary donations can be submitted via:
Venmo @OnTheWingNH
Snail mail:
On The Wing
47 Prescott Rd.
Epping, NH 03042 .
Thank you!
Hundreds of Snowy Owl fans attended the release
When an owl, hawk, falcon, or eagle eats prey that has been poisoned by rodenticide, the rat poison also gets into the system of the raptor. A recent study by Tufts University reveals that 88 percent of raptors have varying degrees of rat poison.

SNOWY OWL BOY IN THE DUNES!

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Laying low in the dunes, I unexpectedly came upon this beautiful Snowy Owl. He appeared to be superficially injured (see arrow in photo below).The Snowy is perhaps a male, and on the younger side. You can often tell the difference between male and female because the male has lighter barring in the wing patterning, although the darkest male can also look like a female with lighter wing barring.

Note the sharp difference in wing pattering: The Snowy Owl on the left (Cape Ann’s Hedwig) is most likely a female, while the Snowy from the dunes, on the right, is more likely than not, a male.

It”s not easy being a bright white Snowy against the golden yellow of dunes. The white wedge shapes are easily detected by all manner of harassing critters, most notably Crows and gulls. Flying overhead, too, was a territorial battle royale between a Peregrine Falcon and a Red-tailed Hawk.

In the video posted here, which is part one of a five part series from the Snowy Owl Film Project, you can see the beautiful Snowy that called Cape Ann’s back shore home for a winter is being harassed and dive-bombed by Crows, at 1:00 to 1:25.

More photos of the Snowy recently spotted in the dunes just after daybreak

CAPE ANN’S GHOSTLY SNOWY OWL!

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A beautiful mysterious Snowy Owl has spent the winter here on Cape Ann. She is very elusive, never dallying too long in one location. She has been spotted in the Good Harbor Beach dunes, Long Beach, Salt Island, Middle Street rooftops, woods, Back Shore, Bass Rocks, Rocky Neck, Smith’s Cove, and even at the bottom of our hill on Pirate’s Lane.

Thank you to many friends who have alerted me to her presence – Hilary, Catherine, Grace, Nicole, Gordon, Arley, Frankie, Susan, Roger – if I forgot to include you, I mean to thank you, too!

If you spotted a Snowy on Cape this winter, please write. I do not believe Cape Ann’s Snowy is still about however, if you do see a Snowy, please leave a comment or feel free to email at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. Thank you!

I am almost certain she is not the same Snowy that stayed with us several winter’s ago. Unlike Piping Plovers, from tracking data, we know that Snowies don’t generally return to the same location every winter, and many only migrate during their youth. In case you missed it, here is a link to a series of fun educational short films that I made about Cape Ann’s 2018 resident Snowy Owl, including bathing, capturing a seabird, and passing a pellet. Snowy Owl Film Project

It’s been a banner year for Snowy Owls at Salisbury Beach, Sandy Point, and Parker River, so much so I have gone out of my way to avoid stopping to photograph owls at these locations for fear of disturbing the Snowies. There are a great deal more people out and about photographing than in previous years, due largely to the pandemic, and the owl disturbances are many.

 

 

SNOWY OWLS ALERT!

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Snowy Owls have returned to coastal Eastern Massachusetts. It’s exciting and wonderful and beautiful to see, but also I find it concerning with so many home, with time on their hands because of the pandemic, that we’ll see even greater crowds flushing the birds. That happened this weekend.Snowy Owl tracks in the sand

SNOWY OWL WATCHING ETIQUETTE: The following are some helpful tips for watching Snowy Owls. You will get better photographs and you won’t stress out the Snowies.

1. Watch from a safe and comfortable distance–comfortable for the bird that is. This is the number one rule. Young birds coming down from the Arctic are especially tolerant of people however crowds attract crows and raptors to their whereabouts and flushing a bird can cause them to fly into traffic.

2. Please keep children from throwing rocks towards the Snowy or anywhere within the vicinity of the Owl.

3. Please do not allow dogs to play near Snowies.

4. Slamming doors, radios blasting, barking dogs, and loud mufflers all stress Snowies.

5. Please do not try to take a selfie with the Snowy.

When Snowies are perching quietly, it’s not for our enjoyment (although beautiful) but because they are either resting or on the look out for their next meal.  After all, if they have a good hunting season and survive the winter, perhaps they will return the following year.

Below is an excerpt from a five part series about a beautiful Snowy Owl nicknamed Hedwig. The series was designed for kids especially and is free to educators to share with students. To see all five parts visit the Snowy Owl Film Project here

A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann

 

 

 

VOTE FOR SNOWY OWLS!

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Global climate change is not a HOAX as has been declared by the current administration. Recognizing that climate change exists and addressing the devastating effects on wildlife is imperative to insuring a richly diverse Planet Earth for our children and children’s children. Fifty-two percent of the world’s raptors are in decline and with the Arctic warming at twice the rate of the rest of the globe, the Snowy Owl faces a frosty future. The Snowy Owl population is especially at risk having declined by 64% since 1970.

The challenges we face because of climate change have been with us for decades. Administrations prior to the current administration have been working in the right direction and the Biden-Harris team plans to lead the world to address the climate emergency. Read more here:

THE BIDEN PLAN TO BUILD A MODERN, SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND AN EQUITABLE CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE  [https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/]

Vote the Blue Wave!

Snowy Owl Film Project

https://www.ecowatch.com/snowy-owls-climate-change-2623954976.html

https://www.owlresearchinstitute.org/climate-change-and-snowy-owls

https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/snowy-owl-faces-frosty-future-classed-vulnerable-first-time

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS FUNNY VIDEO OF A MAN SHARING HIS APARTMENT WITH THREE BABY OWLETS, AND THEY WATCH TV WITH HIM?

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We could hardly believe it when we got a message from Jos Baart telling us that Europe’s biggest owl, the Eurasian eagle-owl, had made a nest in a planter in front of his window. Not only that, she had also hatched three giant chicks! Now, when he watches television, three huge chicks watch television with him.

Vroege Vogels is a Dutch radio and television show about nature, environment, climate and animal welfare.

The scientific name for the Eurasian Eagle-owl is Bubo bubo, making it a cousin of both North America’s Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginanus) and the Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus). Eurasian Eagle-owls are likely the largest owl in the world. They are an apex predator with no natural predators.

Read more about Eurasian Eagle-owls here –
Range of Eurasian Eagle-owl

NEW YOUTUBE SHOW “GOOD NEWS CAPE ANN!” EPISODE #4

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Good News Cape Ann! 

Topics Episode #4

Thank you Friends for watching! Links to topics provided below

 Timelapse sunrise over Salt Island (see end of video)

Ospreys catch a Skate!

Coronavirus – Sending much love and prayers to my family of friends who are suffering so greatly.

Nicole Duckworth’s birthday parade

Time to put your hummingbird feeders out -how to attract hummingbirds and keep them coming to your garden

Cape Ann List of ToGo Curbside Pickup TakeOut Restaurants

Fisherman’s Wharf Gloucester and Sole Amandine Recipe

Gloucester Bites

Allie’s Beach Street Café

Turner’s Seafood

Castaways Vintage Café

Melissa Tarr’s Naan bread

Monarch Butterflies Mating

Piping Plovers nestling

Project SNOWStorm shares

Turkeys in the morning sun and Turkey bromance (correction – there was one hen with the group of toms).

Chocolate-dipped almond biscotti recipe

Please write if there is a Good News topic you would like to share. I am thinking about changing the name of the show to Finding Hope, what do you think about that?

PROJECT SNOWSTORM HAS SOME NICE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT “A SNOWY OWL COMES TO CAPE ANN” FILM SERIES!

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Thank you so very much to Scott Weidensaul from Project SNOWStorm for his thoughtful suggestions and kind assistance while writing the script for the film A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann. Not only that, but he has shared the project with the Project SNOWStorm  community and people are making very kind comments. Means much coming from knowledgeable owl-lovers <3

Scott writes,

Wherever you are during this pandemic lockdown, here’s a special treat to ease the passing of time.

Kim Smith, a naturalist and filmmaker on the North Shore of Massachusetts, spent the winter of 2018 shadowing a young female snowy owl on windy, stormy Cape Ann. The result was five short films about the owl, which Kim was kind enough to share with our team during production, and is generous enough to share with the whole Project SNOWstorm community now that they’re finished. They’re simply beautiful.

You can find all five of Kim’s films here — enjoy!

I started following Project SNOWStorm several years ago and love their posts.. You can sign up here: Subscribe by email, on the right side of the page, or on any of the blog post pages. I promise, you will enjoy reading the fascinating information provided and will look forward to their arrival in your inbox. You can also make a donation here, too, if so inclined 🙂

CHAMPION OF OWLS AWARD TO NORMAN SMITH OF MASSACHUSETTS

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At the March International Festival of Owls, which is held annually in Minnesota, Massachusetts own Norman Smith, along with two other awardees, was presented with the Champion of Owls for his work protecting Snowy Owls. The International Owl Festival is a fundraiser for the International Owl Center.

Champion of Owls Award
Norman Smith, Massachusetts, USA
Snowy Owls have been a part of Norman Smith’s life for over 40 years. They are something he has shared with his own children from a very young age and now his grandchildren.
 
Smith is best known for his work trapping and relocating Snowy Owls from Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts (since birds and airplanes don’t go well together). To date he has relocated more than 850 owls, analyzed more than 5,000 pellets, and was the first researcher to attach a satellite transmitter to a Snowy Owl captured on the wintering grounds and then track it back to the breeding grounds in the arctic. At some airports snowy owls were being shot for the safety of the planes so in 2013 Smith and Jeff Turner, a wildlife biologist for the USDA, wrote and implemented protocols for trapping instead of shooting them that were adopted by the U.S Department of Agriculture at airports across the USA and Canada.
 
His work with owls started more than 50 years ago with banding and rehabilitation. Thirty-five years ago, he discovered that he could foster young owls into wild nests instead of hand rearing them with a higher rate of survival and since then has put over 1,000 orphaned young owls into foster nests. Through banding rehabilitated owls, he found that some one-eyed owls could survive in the wild, with one living 10 years after it was released. To date he has rehabilitated more than 2,000 owls.
 
As natural educator and passionate speaker, Smith has served as a keynote speaker at prominent birding events around the USA. He recently retired as the Director of Mass Audubon’s Blue Hills Trailside Museum and the Norman Smith Environmental Education Center where millions of people were educated during his tenure.
 
Smith is also a collaborator. He was a founding member of the International Snowy Owl Working Group and hosted their first meeting in the USA in 2017. As a result of this group’s work at that meeting, the Snowy Owl was reclassified from Least Concern to Vulnerable. In the winter of 2013-14 he was also one of the co-founders of Project SNOWstorm, a network of researchers tracking Snowy Owls with satellite transmitters. He is a co-author of the authoritative Birds of North America account on Snowy Owls and also helped raise funds to purchase a snowmobile for a Snowy Owl researcher in Russia.
 
The media helped Smith educate even more people by promoting his work. He has been featured on the front page of the New York Times, NOVA, CBS News and World Report, Ranger Rick, National Geographic for Kids, Cornell’s Living Bird, and hundreds of other news articles.
 
His mission is to use the information gathered from his research to stimulate a passion in everyone he meets to help us better understand, appreciate and care for this world in which we live.

FINAL EPISODE- SNOWY OWL RETURNS TO THE ARCTIC

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Hello Friends,

Thank you to everyone for your very kind comments for this series. It has been a joy creating for such an enthusiastic audience <3

Thank you to Jennifer Davis and her adorable daughters Ellie and Isla. They stopped by one morning to see if they could find Snowy Owl. The girls and Mom were being so good at watching her from a safe distance. I asked Jenny if she minded if I took a photo and some footage, too. Jenny very graciously said yes!

Some good news-

In the two years that have passed since our Snowy visited Cape Ann’s Back Shore, all of Boston’s North Shore has not seen the same tremendous numbers of that winter of 2018. I read though on ProjectSNOWstorm’s website of the possibility of an exciting upcoming winter of 2020-2021 because there has been a good population of lemmings in the eastern portions of the Snowies breeding grounds. Let’s hope for more visits by beautiful Snowies <3

A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann was created for the kids in the Cape Ann community during this at-home school time. Please share with young people you know who may be interested.

Thank you again for watching!

To see all five episodes together, please go to the Snowy Owl Film Project page on my website.

Again, thank you to Scott Weidensaul from ProjectSNOWstorm for script advice.

A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann
Part Five: Snowy Owl Returns to the Arctic

Friends of Snowy Owl wondered how long she would stay before heading north on her return migration to the Arctic. Typically, Snowies leave New England by March or April, but some have stayed as late as July.

Why do people find Snowy Owls so captivating?

Owls symbolize wisdom and intelligence, and the characters they are given in popular culture and literature strengthen our associations.

We are provided a wonderful window into the world of owls through Snowies because they are crepuscular creatures, which means they are most active at dawn and at dusk.

There are only about 30,000 Snowy Owls in the wild. No one knows if their numbers are stable or decreasing.

Snowies face many threats, especially when they come south to us, including vehicles, planes, and toxic chemicals.

Research analysis shows that most carry some degree of rat poison, pesticides, and/or mercury in their bodies.

We can all be conscientious stewards of Snowies by not using poisonous chemicals and by keeping a safe distance when observing.

In early March, Snowy Owl began to appear restless. Migration is the most dangerous period in an owl’s life, but hormonal changes triggered by longer days were urging her northward.

Snowy Owl survived the fierce winds and waves of powerful nor’easters along with constant heckling by gulls and crows.

She ate well during her winter stay on Cape Ann.

Snowy Owl was strong and healthy when she departed, increasing the likelihood of a safe journey and return to her breeding habitat of Arctic tundra and grasslands.

Safe travels beautiful Snowy!

GOOD NEWS CAPE ANN EPISODE #2

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Good News Topics include Castaways Big Red Heart, Massachusetts DCR Protecting Piping Plovers, and Snowy Owl final episode.

 

WONDERFULLY RARE FOOTAGE – SNOWY OWL TAKES A BATH

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Hello Friends on this rainy, windy day. People’s holiday weekend ran the gamut from joyful to tragic and I so hope yours was not too difficult and you were able to find some light. It was such a beautiful day weather-wise yesterday and if there is one thing about the coronavirus is how wonderful it is to see so many families enjoying each other’s company while out in the fresh air.

Part four, Snowy Owl Takes a Bath, was filmed early one morning. I stopped by to check on Snowy Owl (her nickname at the time was Hedwig) and noticed her face was stained red from breakfast. I only planned to take a few snapshots when she hopped over to a rocky tide pool and began to wash her face. I ran back to the car to get my movie camera and am so glad I did! For the next 40 – 45 minutes she bathed, preened, and fluffed.

I am calling this rare footage because I can’t find anything else like it. Unlike most owls, which are nocturnal (active at night) Snowy Owls are active during the day (diurnal), providing a rare glimpse into the world of owls in the wild.

To see all four episodes together, please go to the Snowy Owl Film Project page on my website. These shorts were created for the kids in the Cape Ann community during this at-home schooling time. The last segment, part five, Snowy Owl Returns to the Arctic, is almost completed and will be posted later this week.

Thank you for watching!

Again, thank you to Scott Weidensaul from ProjectSNOWstorm for script advice.

A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann
Part Four: Snowy Owl Takes a Bath

After a snow squall and as the sun was beginning to appear, a Snowy Owl came out to take a bath. She found a watery icy pool tucked out of sight from dive bombing crows and gulls.

Snowy Owls, like most non-aquatic birds, take baths to clean their feathers.

First washing her face, she tip-dipped and then dunked. After bathing, Snowy fluff dried her feathers, pooped, and preened. During preening, oil from the preen gland, which is located at the base of the tail, is distributed through the feathers to help maintain waterproofing.

Washing, fluffing, and preening took about forty-five minutes from head to talon.

 

BE PREPARED TO BE GROSSED OUT- SNOWY OWL REGURGITATING A GINORMOUS PELLET – PART THREE: A SNOWY OWL COMES TO CAPE ANN

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Casting a pellet is a totally normal thing that Snowy Owls, and all owls do. You may even have dissected a pellet in biology class. I  just had no idea until seeing Snowy do this that they could be so large!

You can view the first three episodes here: Snowy Owl Film Project. All five will eventually be found on this page. Almost finished with Part Four: Snowy Owl Takes a Bath 🙂

A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann

Part Three: Snowy Owl Casts a Pellet

Once or twice a day an owl casts, or regurgitates, a pellet, which is a mass of undigested parts of the bird’s food. Pellets form after an owl has fed. The owl often casts a pellet, and goes poop, shortly before heading out to hunt.

Pellets contain sharp-edged bones and teeth that could damage the bird’s lower digestive tract. Its presence prevents the owl from swallowing fresh prey.

 

A SNOWY OWL COMES TO CAPE ANN PART TWO: SNOWY OWL MIGHTY HUNTER with graphic warning for very young children

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Snowy Owl MightY Hunter is part two of the series A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann. The segment where Snowy is eating her prey may be too graphic for very young children, so parents please preview.

Please share with friends and your young naturalists. Thank you for watching and take care <3

 

A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann
Part One

Dear Friends,

Not last winter but the winter before, an exquisite Snowy Owl arrived on Cape Ann. I think it was sometime in December we first began seeing her perched on Bass Rocks. Many of us followed her escapades daily and we took lots of photos. I was also filming her. Like many Snowies, she was tolerant of people, but I think she was especially unperturbed by humans. I also filmed other Snowies that irruptive winter, a stunning nearly all white male nicknamed Diablo at Salisbury Beach, a pretty female at Plum Island, and several males that were located at a beach just north of Logan Airport. And while filming one morning in the dunes at Crane Beach, two were having an epic battle. I was sitting super still and one of the combatants landed within several feet of where I was perched, startling us both!

About two months ago my computer crashed and I lost my film editing program and also became sick with what I thought was a cold. I had been mostly self-quarantining for a month prior to the mandated quarantine because I didn’t want any elderly friends to catch my cold. It turns out it is pneumonia. So between quarantining and learning my brand new film editing program I have made a series of short 3-5 minute films, mostly for the parents and kids in our neighborhood, and also for all our owl lovers. Hopefully, these shorts will help a bit to pass the time.

A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann is part one in the first of five episodes. Next to come is Snowy Owl Mighty Hunter.

Please share with your neighbors and Moms and Dads home with the kids. I think you will love seeing the Snowy and how beautiful, too, Cape Ann looks in wintertime. And we’ll also learn some fun facts about Snowies!

Thank you for watching and please be well <3

NEW SHORT FILM: DO YOU REMEMBER CAPE ANN’S SNOWY OWL HEDWIG?

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Dear Friends,

Not last winter but the winter before, an exquisite Snowy Owl arrived on Cape Ann. I think it was sometime in December we first began seeing her perched on Bass Rocks. Many of us followed her escapades daily and we took lots of photos. I was also filming her. Like many Snowies, she was tolerant of people, but I think she was especially unperturbed by humans. I also filmed other Snowies that irruptive winter, a stunning nearly all white male nicknamed Diablo at Salisbury Beach, a pretty female at Plum Island, and several males that were located at a beach just north of Logan Airport. And while filming one morning in the dunes at Crane Beach, two were having an epic battle. I was sitting super still and one of the combatants landed within several feet of where I was perched, startling us both!

About two months ago my computer crashed and I lost my film editing program and also became sick with what I thought was a cold. I had been mostly self-quarantining for a month prior to the mandated quarantine because I didn’t want any elderly friends to catch my cold. It turns out it is pneumonia. So between quarantining and learning my brand new film editing program I have made a series of short 3-5 minute films, mostly for the parents and kids in our neighborhood, and also for all our owl lovers. Hopefully, these shorts will help a bit to pass the time.

A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann is part one in the first of five episodes. Next to come is Snowy Owl Hunting.

Please share with your neighbors and Moms and Dads home with the kids. I think you will love seeing the Snowy and how beautiful, too, Cape Ann looks in wintertime. And we’ll also learn some fun facts about Snowies!

Thank you for watching and please be well <3

 

 

A SOGGY SNOWY OWL FOR A SOGGY DAY

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This sweet messy-faced girl was relaxing on the limb of a craggy tree after what had clearly been a successful morning hunt. She coughed up a pellet while enjoying a rare quiet moment perched in the branches.

LATE WINTER WILDLIFE UPDATE -AND LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

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Beautiful bird songs fill the air as songbirds are pairing up.

Carolina Wren

Red-winged Blackbirds

American Robin

Winter resident ducks are seen in pairs, too.

Buffleheads, Ring-necked Ducks, and Scaups

Our young Black-crowned Night Heron has made it through the winter!

And a pair of American Pipits has been here all winter, too.

Many Short-eared Owls and Snowy Owls have not yet departed for their summer breeding grounds.

Red-tailed and Marsh Hawks are here year round and this is a wonderful time of year to observe their behaviors, before sparse vegetation turns lush with summer growth.

Fox and Coyotes have been busy mating; their kits and pups are born from mid-March-through May.

Bald Eagles in our area may begin laying eggs as early as February.

The Harbor Seal posse is seen nearly everyday. The highest count so far was 27!

A pair of sweet Snow Buntings has been here for several days, eating tiny seeds found on the ground.

Brant Geese are seen in small to large flocks before heading to the high Arctic tundra to breed.

BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL DUXBURY!

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Snapshots from beautiful Duxbury

A new twist on a dream home -living in a Lighthouse House. The private home is sited at the beginning of the wooden Powder Point Bridge.

Wonderful fun to drive across Powder Point Bridge, which was at one time the oldest and longest wooden bridge in the US. It lost that status when the bridge was damaged by fire and completely rebuilt in the late 1980s. The bridge is one of two ways for the public to access Duxbury Beach.

Duxbury Beach, like Crane Beach and Plum Island, is a barrier beach that is home to Piping Plovers in the summer and Snowy Owls during the winter months. Read more about Duxbury Beach here.

“Our mission is to restore and to preserve the beaches in so far as reasonably possible in their natural state as host to marine life, native and migratory birds and indigenous vegetation, as barrier beaches for the protection of Duxbury and Kingston and as a priceless environmental asset to the Commonwealth and the nation; and to operate for the benefit of the people of Duxbury and the general public a public recreational beach with all necessary and incidental facilities, while preserving the right to limit and regulate such use so as to be consistent with the corporation’s primary ecological objective.”

Duxbury cranberry bog

BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL SNOWY OWLS

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I haven’t seen any Snowies yet this winter on Cape Ann; there simply seem to be fewer that migrated to our region than there were several years ago when Hedwig was the star of the backshore.

These Snowy Owl photos were taken earlier in the month at Parker River. The dirt road, the one that begins after the Hellcat Trail, has reopened, although I wouldn’t recommend going there on the weekends, much better to go during the week. There are so many photographers and owl lovers on the weekends, especially in the afternoon, that it has become really disruptive to the owls, both the Snowies and Short-eared. Even though folks are very respectful and (most) stay on the road, the Short-eared Owls aren’t catching much food, as far as I can observe, when there are great crowds chasing them up and down the road.

RULER OF THE MARSH – FEATURING RABBIT, HAWK, OWLS, AND EAGLE

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Life on the marsh –

The Marsh Hawk (Northern Harrier) sitting in the grass off in the distance, was holding captive a bunny.

The bunny was staying still and the hawk was, surprisingly, not attempting to capture the rabbit. Perhaps because avian predators, like hawks, hunt by swooping in, and in a short distance stand-off, the hawk would have to sort of hop over to the bunny. Rabbits can hop to escape a great deal quicker than can hawks-on-foot give chase.

The Short-eared Owl arrives and the Marsh Hawk takes cover.

The Snowy Owl appears on the scene…

and the Short-eared Owls are nowhere to be seen.

The Bald Eagle, Ruler of Marsh and Meadow, swoops in. The Snowy departs.American Bald Eagle Juvenile

MORE SNAPSHOTS OF THE BEAUTIFUL SHORT-EARED OWL, SNOWY OWL, TENDERCROP FARM, AND IPSWICH CLAMBAKE

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Charlotte and I had a wonderful adventure morning checking on the owls at Plum Island. We observed several Harrier Hawks flying low over the marsh grass hunting for prey, a Short-eared Owl perched on a craggy tree, and a Snowy parked for the morning far out in the dunes. We played on the beach and she had a blast zooming up and down the boardwalk at lot no. 2.

Tiny white wedge in the distance

We next stopped at the refuge headquarters to play in the marsh boat that is part of the exhibit about the Great Salt Marsh. She brought along her own stuffed Snowy to join on the boat ride.

Next destination was a visit to see the farm friends at Tendercrop Farm. Currently in residence are a turkey, ginormous steer, pony, chickens, ducks, llama, and the sweetest miniature goat who is just wonderful with toddlers.

I purchased the best steaks we have ever had, Tendercrop’s own grass fed rib-eye, made even more magnificent cooked to perfection by Alex, with a beautiful red wine demi-glace.

Everything at Tendercrop Farm is always amazingly delicious. They have the freshest and best selection of fruits and vegetables during the winter months, bar none.

Great bunches of freshly cut pussy willows are for sale at Tendercrop

Last stop was lunch at the Ipswich Clambake. The owners and staff are just the most friendly. The clam chowder at the Clambake is perfection. Charlotte and I shared a mini super fresh fried clam appetizer and that, along with the chowder, made the best sort of lunch to top off our fun adventure morning.

Tendercrop Farm is located at 108 High Road, 1A, in Newbury.

Ipswich Clambake is located at 196 High Street, 1A, in Ipswich.

SHORT-EARED OWLS IN OUR MIDST!

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Melded to the grass as he was, in monochromatic winter pasture shades of taupe, buff, and gray, it was nearly impossible to spot the impostor posing in the dry stalks and twigs. But there he was, a small mound resting along the thicket edge. You can barely see him in the photo below.

He sat up for a brief moment and even from a great distance his wide-eyed, and only seconds long, golden-eyed look was unmissable.

I’ve read the Short-eared Owl flight described as erratic, but I would call it anything but that. They swoop gracefully over fields in multi-directions, with great intention, listening for the sound of voles, moles, mice and other small mammals scurrying through the tall winter grass and phragmites. Flying low while hunting, their wingbeats are smooth and steady.

The Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)  is called as such because of the little tufts of display feathers atop its head, which aren’t really ears at all. The Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) is a cousin of the Short-eared and it has longer feather tufts. Owls have a highly developed hearing system and their ears are actually located at the sides of their heads, behind the eyes, and are covered by the feathers of the facial disc.

Unlike many species of owls, which prefer forest and woodland, the Short-eared Owls is a bird of open country. They require fields, grasslands, marshes, bogs, heaths, and dunes. Shorties are crepuscular, which means they mostly feed at dawn and dusk.

Short-eared Owls are found the world over on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Sadly, in Massachusetts, breeding pairs have been driven to the brink of extirpation. There may still be one or two pairs that breed at Nantucket’s Tuckernuck Island but, because of loss of habitat, the Short-eared Owl was listed as endangered in Massachusetts in 1985.

Listen for the Short-eared Owls wing “clapping” in the video below, and some adorable chicks, too 🙂

From Cornell: “Hawaii’s only native owl, the Pueo (Asio flammeus sandwichensis), is a Short-eared Owl subspecies found on all the chain’s major islands. Pueos may have descended from Alaska forebears, taking hold in the islands after the first arriving Polynesians brought owl food in the form of the Pacific rat.”

Short-eared Owl Range Map

OWL FEVER!

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This past weekend’s glorious and record breaking mid-January 70-degree-plus weather encouraged everyone to get out doors and it was wonderful to see. On both Saturday and Sunday there was a line to get into Parker River Wildlife Refuge. Many were enjoying the beaches and hiking the trails while quite a few were there to see the Snowy Owls and Short-eared Owls.

There are currently two Snowy Owls and several Short-eared Owls at Parker River. Folks are asking where the owls can be found specifically. I can only share where I have seen them and that covers almost the entire refuge, from parking lot no.1 (where the gates are) all the way down to parking lot no. 6. The photographers and birders out shooting at the refuge are super helpful and if you see a bunch, park  your car (intelligently please, so that you are not blocking traffic) and ask. Many of the birders will also share a look through their scopes.

 

SNOWY OWL ALERT! AND BALD EAGLES, TOO!

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It was a beautiful morning at Parker River despite mostly overcast skies and a strong wind. This first day of our “January thaw” was made even more beautiful by the presence of the Snowy Owl.

I believe she’s a female, although the lightest females can look like the darkest males. She appeared largely unperturbed by the gaggle of photographers that came and went. The Snowy flew across the dune for a few moments, but then flew back to roughly the same spot; in both locations she was somewhat protected from the blustery wind.

I have it on good authority that there are currently SIX Bald Eagles at Parker River, two hatch-years, two that are roughly three years old, and two adults. I have only seen one youngster this week, in a battle with a crow, and I couldn’t tell who was chasing who 🙂