[nysbirds-l] Snowy Owl Influx

[Avery Scott (SkyOfBirds)]

In light of the recent influx of Snowy Owls, I figured I'd share this
article.

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

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[nysbirds-l] lemmings, global warming, and arctic predators incl. snowy owls

[steve rosenthal]

here is a link to a recent article forwarded to me from an out of
state birder, from another birding list, that looks at the possible
impact of lemming numbers and global warming with possible effects on
snowy owls.. I dont think i saw it on our list server...

http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/lemmings.html

(see paper by Reid et al after pasting and searching).


On 12/6/13, Richard Crossley  wrote:
> I'm not sure where the thought that Snowy Owls are diurnal hunters comes
> from. This is also a thread on other listserves and I am not sure how it got
> started. In 'The Crossley ID Guide' it states they are nocturnal/crepuscular
> and I have not noticed any other books mentioning them to be diurnal
> hunters.
> I was fortunate enough to be on the North Slope this summer and it was quite
> interesting to see how birds seemed to have a 'night' and 'day' even though
> there are 24 hours of daylight. Most species were noticeably less active in
> the early morning hours ('night-time') and I never saw Snowy Owl hunting in
> the 'daytime'.
> Weather also has a big impact on behavior. When the weather impairs their
> ability to hunt, particularly when it is windy, they will typically extend
> their hunting hours, often in to the daytime. A calm day after several days
> of bad weather is usually the best time to go looking for hunting Owls.
> Recent work by Hawk Mountain Sanctuary using radio transmitters seems to
> show that most Snowy Owls winter to the north of their breeding grounds on
> the pack ice. Presumably they feed mostly on King Eider that are jammed in
> on open leads of water offshore, much like the now famous wintering habits
> of Spectacled Eider. This would explain why Snowy Owls have huge feet that
> seem way too big for killing Lemmings - much better suited for larger prey
> such as eider. I have heard this is a particularly severe winter in Arctic
> Europe and my guess is that it probably is here too. Interestingly, there
> are relatively large numbers of King Eider this winter - perhaps 'frozen
> out' of the arctic. Coincidence that there is an influx of both species - I
> bet not! We have a lot to learn, but doesn't that make it exciting?
>
> Richard Crossley
> Cape May, NJ
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[nysbirds-l] Snow Owls diurnal hunting

[Richard Crossley]

I'm not sure where the thought that Snowy Owls are diurnal hunters comes from. 
This is also a thread on other listserves and I am not sure how it got started. 
In 'The Crossley ID Guide' it states they are nocturnal/crepuscular and I have 
not noticed any other books mentioning them to be diurnal hunters. 
I was fortunate enough to be on the North Slope this summer and it was quite 
interesting to see how birds seemed to have a 'night' and 'day' even though 
there are 24 hours of daylight. Most species were noticeably less active in the 
early morning hours ('night-time') and I never saw Snowy Owl hunting in the 
'daytime'. 
Weather also has a big impact on behavior. When the weather impairs their 
ability to hunt, particularly when it is windy, they will typically extend 
their hunting hours, often in to the daytime. A calm day after several days of 
bad weather is usually the best time to go looking for hunting Owls.
Recent work by Hawk Mountain Sanctuary using radio transmitters seems to show 
that most Snowy Owls winter to the north of their breeding grounds on the pack 
ice. Presumably they feed mostly on King Eider that are jammed in on open leads 
of water offshore, much like the now famous wintering habits of Spectacled 
Eider. This would explain why Snowy Owls have huge feet that seem way too big 
for killing Lemmings - much better suited for larger prey such as eider. I have 
heard this is a particularly severe winter in Arctic Europe and my guess is 
that it probably is here too. Interestingly, there are relatively large numbers 
of King Eider this winter - perhaps 'frozen out' of the arctic. Coincidence 
that there is an influx of both species - I bet not! We have a lot to learn, 
but doesn't that make it exciting?

Richard Crossley
Cape May, NJ
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[nysbirds-l] Fwd: snowy owl question

[Ardith Bondi]

James O'brien requested that I post his response to my query.

Ardith


 Original Message 
Subject:snowy owl question
Date:   Tue, 3 Dec 2013 22:45:19 -0500
From:   James O'Brien 
To: ard...@earthlink.net 



I saw your post on njbirds and had some info that you might find
helpful.  Basically my theory is that when the snowys are hunting birds
they hunt in the day and when they are hunting rodents they hunt at
night.  My evidence is that when I have observed snowys at jones beach
and breezy point, the birds rest during the day with little activity.
There are no foxes at these locations and the snowys are able to hunt
their favorite prey which are mammals like meadow voles and white footed
mice.  But at places like Sandy Hook, Island State Park and Montauk
there are foxes which diminish the rodent population.  What I saw today
at Island State Park cemented my theory...there were 3 snowys hunting
the beaches from the dunes during the day.  I found numerous bird kills
and having a pellet, believe me I searched, would be the final proof
that they hunt birds as a secondary option and when they hunt them its
during the day.
http://yojimbot.blogspot.com/2013/12/from-tropics-to-tundra.html

Regards,

James



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[nysbirds-l] Black-throated Blue Warbler on SLC campus

[Fred Baumgarten]

Graduate student Mira Furgoch found a female Black-throated Blue Warbler on
the campus of Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers this morning.  (Ms. Furgoch
is an experienced birder from Ottawa.)

--Fred--

Fred Baumgarten
Sharon, CT/Westchester, NY
And points in between
fredbee.ea...@gmail.com

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Re: [nysbirds-l] are Snowy Owls really primarily diurnal hunters??

[Anders Peltomaa]

The other day I was perusing the latest catalog from Buteo Books and saw
that there was a new monograph published last year with the title "The
Snowy Owl". Here is the description and a link to it at Buteo Books here in
case someone wants to check it out.

"The Snowy Owl - possibly the world's sexiest bird - needs little
introduction. This massive white owl breeds throughout the Arctic, wherever
there are voles or lemmings to hunt, from Scandinavia through northern
Russia to Canada and Greenland. Southerly movements in winter see North
American birds travel as far south as the northern United States, while
infrequent vagrants on the Shetlands and other northern isles are a magnet
for birders. The Snowy Owl gives this popular bird the full Poyser
treatment, with sections looking at morphology, distribution, palaeontology
and evolution, habitat, breeding, diet, population dynamics, movements,
interspecific relationships and conservation, supported by some fabulous
photography and the art of Jackie Garner. A major strength is the
availability to the authors of Russian literature, which is generally out
of reach for Western scientists."

http://www.buteobooks.com/product/13826.html

Thanks Ardith for starting this discussion.

Anders Peltomaa
Mannahatta


On Thu, Dec 5, 2013 at 6:26 PM, Ardith Bondi  wrote:

> I'd like to thank everyone who participated in this edifying discussion
> about Snowy Owl hunting hours. It would be nice if the guide books would
> give the broader picture. But, barring that, at least we have some
> perspective. And, the posting of the old publications about Snowys was an
> added bonus.
>
> Ardith Bondi
>
>
>
>
> On 12/4/13 8:49 PM, Angus Wilson wrote:
>
>> As others have said already, being a high-arctic breeder Snowy Owls
>> really have no choice but to hunt in daylight because there is little or
>> no night during the summer. This, I would guess, is what the textbooks
>> are referring to. The opposite will be true during the winter for the
>> many birds that stay north, when the night is long. Also the owls will
>> have the prey to themselves when strictly diurnal competitors such as
>> Rough-legged Hawk and Golden Eagle are roosting. So to persist in the
>> far north the species must be quite flexible relative to other owls and
>> this would come in handy when birds irrupt southward.
>>
>> Speaking from a coastal perspective, I've never seen a wintering Snowy
>> actively hunting during the day time. They certainly move around,
>> occasionally spar with others when present, dodge attacks from
>> Short-eared Owls or hawks and are generally vigilant but don't seem to
>> be hunting per se. I've routinely seen them become much more active at
>> dusk, presumably in preparation for a night of hunting. It would be
>> interesting to hear if this rest up during the day and hunt by night
>> holds true for birds wintering on farmland where they target different
>> prey from those on the coast.
>>
>> Many will remember the Snowy Owl that frequented Piermont Pier (Rockland
>> Co.) in Februrary 2007. This bird dined on Ruddy Ducks snatched from the
>> sheltered bay, bringing them back to a perch where the pile of discarded
>> heads and feet attracted a most splendid adult Ivory Gull. My
>> recollection was that the owl fed mostly at night but maybe someone can
>> confirm or refute this. A priori, it would seem a lot easier for the owl
>> to swoop down on roosting ducks (and as we've heard roosting gulls)
>> under the cover of darkness when it has the visual advantage. Phil
>> Jeffrey has posted pictures (albeit gory ones) of the polishing off a
>> stiff tail.
>>
>> http://philjeffrey.net/piermont2.html
>>
>> Bottom line, individual Snowy Owls can probably adapt their
>> feeding/roosting cycles to fit the available prey. I imagine they also
>> hunt less and roost more if food is easy to acquire during optimal
>> periods. With so many owls around this year, it would interesting to
>> learn from field observers what the current birds (largely immatures by
>> the fact that most are very heavily barred) are feeding on and when they
>> do so. One more reason to view from a distance and let them to do their
>> thing.
>>
>> Angus Wilson
>> New York City
>> --
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>> Rules and Information 
>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
>> 
>> *Archives:*
>> The Mail Archive
>> 
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>
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Re: [nysbirds-l] are Snowy Owls really primarily diurnal hunters??

[Anders Peltomaa]

The other day I was perusing the latest catalog from Buteo Books and saw
that there was a new monograph published last year with the title The
Snowy Owl. Here is the description and a link to it at Buteo Books here in
case someone wants to check it out.

The Snowy Owl - possibly the world's sexiest bird - needs little
introduction. This massive white owl breeds throughout the Arctic, wherever
there are voles or lemmings to hunt, from Scandinavia through northern
Russia to Canada and Greenland. Southerly movements in winter see North
American birds travel as far south as the northern United States, while
infrequent vagrants on the Shetlands and other northern isles are a magnet
for birders. The Snowy Owl gives this popular bird the full Poyser
treatment, with sections looking at morphology, distribution, palaeontology
and evolution, habitat, breeding, diet, population dynamics, movements,
interspecific relationships and conservation, supported by some fabulous
photography and the art of Jackie Garner. A major strength is the
availability to the authors of Russian literature, which is generally out
of reach for Western scientists.

http://www.buteobooks.com/product/13826.html

Thanks Ardith for starting this discussion.

Anders Peltomaa
Mannahatta


On Thu, Dec 5, 2013 at 6:26 PM, Ardith Bondi ard...@earthlink.net wrote:

 I'd like to thank everyone who participated in this edifying discussion
 about Snowy Owl hunting hours. It would be nice if the guide books would
 give the broader picture. But, barring that, at least we have some
 perspective. And, the posting of the old publications about Snowys was an
 added bonus.

 Ardith Bondi




 On 12/4/13 8:49 PM, Angus Wilson wrote:

 As others have said already, being a high-arctic breeder Snowy Owls
 really have no choice but to hunt in daylight because there is little or
 no night during the summer. This, I would guess, is what the textbooks
 are referring to. The opposite will be true during the winter for the
 many birds that stay north, when the night is long. Also the owls will
 have the prey to themselves when strictly diurnal competitors such as
 Rough-legged Hawk and Golden Eagle are roosting. So to persist in the
 far north the species must be quite flexible relative to other owls and
 this would come in handy when birds irrupt southward.

 Speaking from a coastal perspective, I've never seen a wintering Snowy
 actively hunting during the day time. They certainly move around,
 occasionally spar with others when present, dodge attacks from
 Short-eared Owls or hawks and are generally vigilant but don't seem to
 be hunting per se. I've routinely seen them become much more active at
 dusk, presumably in preparation for a night of hunting. It would be
 interesting to hear if this rest up during the day and hunt by night
 holds true for birds wintering on farmland where they target different
 prey from those on the coast.

 Many will remember the Snowy Owl that frequented Piermont Pier (Rockland
 Co.) in Februrary 2007. This bird dined on Ruddy Ducks snatched from the
 sheltered bay, bringing them back to a perch where the pile of discarded
 heads and feet attracted a most splendid adult Ivory Gull. My
 recollection was that the owl fed mostly at night but maybe someone can
 confirm or refute this. A priori, it would seem a lot easier for the owl
 to swoop down on roosting ducks (and as we've heard roosting gulls)
 under the cover of darkness when it has the visual advantage. Phil
 Jeffrey has posted pictures (albeit gory ones) of the polishing off a
 stiff tail.

 http://philjeffrey.net/piermont2.html

 Bottom line, individual Snowy Owls can probably adapt their
 feeding/roosting cycles to fit the available prey. I imagine they also
 hunt less and roost more if food is easy to acquire during optimal
 periods. With so many owls around this year, it would interesting to
 learn from field observers what the current birds (largely immatures by
 the fact that most are very heavily barred) are feeding on and when they
 do so. One more reason to view from a distance and let them to do their
 thing.

 Angus Wilson
 New York City
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[nysbirds-l] Black-throated Blue Warbler on SLC campus

[Fred Baumgarten]

Graduate student Mira Furgoch found a female Black-throated Blue Warbler on
the campus of Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers this morning.  (Ms. Furgoch
is an experienced birder from Ottawa.)

--Fred--

Fred Baumgarten
Sharon, CT/Westchester, NY
And points in between
fredbee.ea...@gmail.com

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