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 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --