2/10/17 Massena (St. Lawrence Co.) 10 degrees

 

David Buckley and I took a last minute trip to Massena today hoping to see
the Great Gray Owl that Mary Curtis posted on 2/9/17.  We didn't see it on
our first pass of Barnhart Island Road.  On our second pass, a Northern
Flicker was calling non-stop so I slowed down and caught the Great Gray Owl
silhouette about 150 to 200 feet from the road (west side) in the woods
perched on a horizontal branch.  It had its back to us.  I believe this was
around noon.  It was actively hunting and we saw it catch a small rodent
through ice-crusted snow.  When it returned to the tree it perched next to
the trunk blending in perfectly and it would have been very difficult to
spot in that location.  The owl continued to actively hunt through the
afternoon and we observed it catch a second small rodent.  It was most
active after 4 p.m. and flew to the edge of the road several times,
thrilling the crowd that gathered to watch it!  The Great Gray Owl stayed
midway between the Eisenhower Locks (where you drive through a tunnel) and
the 4-way intersection of Barnhart Island Road, Robinson Bay Road, and
Campground Road.  This is a short segment of road.  At sunset, it flew to
the east side of the road and stayed very close to the road.  The habitat at
this Barnhart Island Road location is very similar to the habitat where we
found the Great Gray Owl several years ago in Tupper Lake along Route 30/3,
and the habitat where the Potsdam Great Gray Owl was found (nearly a decade
ago?) - mixed forest with grassy/shrubby, wet, open areas.

 

In mid-afternoon, we drove over to Hawkins Point and then returned to the
owl location.  It had changed trees so we were trying to re-find it when Lee
Harper drove up.  As we were all talking, Lee spotted it flying.

 

I was fascinated watching the Great Gray Owl's behavior for half the day
today.  When a pair of Common Ravens were soaring and vocalizing in the
area, the owl never took its eyes off them (yet it completely ignored a
Red-tailed Hawk that had been soaring in the same location earlier).  At one
point, a Blue Jay flew in to try to harass the owl, and the owl completely
ignored the jay.  I watched the owl make several unsuccessful attempts to
catch prey - it had to jump up and down trying to break through the ice and
it appeared to hamper its hunting.  But we did observe two successful
catches.

 

It was great to finally meet Hollis White!  It was also nice to see Ann
Spencer, Alison Charles, Anne Beaulieu, Joan Howlett, Alan Belford, Lee
Harper, Mary Beth Warburton, George from Binghamton (he drove 8 hours round
trip!), Rose Ann, and the couples from Lowville and Parishville.  The
highlight for me was seeing how thrilled a woman from Lisbon was to see the
owl!  By the time we left (5 p.m.?), the road was lined with cars and the
owl was perched right along the road - cameras were clicking!

 

American Robins and Cedar Waxwings were abundant all along Campground Road.
At Hawkins Point, we found only Common Goldeneyes.  Rose Ann photographed a
Red-bellied Woodpecker down the road from the owl.  Lee Harper mentioned
that this species has moved in to Massena over the past two years (he lives
in Massena).  On our drive home, we found a Barred Owl perched on a wire
along Route 420.

 

On my drive to pick up David in Piercefield, I brought food to 4 Gray Jay
locations in Long Lake and saw 10 Gray Jays and 2 Boreal Chickadees.  In
Tupper Lake, I found a flock of Evening Grosbeaks along McLaughlin Ave. and
a Northern Shrike in its usual tree across from the old OWD factory.

 

Joan Collins

President, NYS Ornithological Association

Editor, New York Birders

Long Lake, NY

(315) 244-7127 cell       

(518) 624-5528 home

http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/  

http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian

 

 


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