After lunch I continued to the northern Montezuma complex in search of
raptors and owls. Van Dyne Spoor Road has been plowed to where the
woods end and the fields open up. From there I walked east, watching
for shrikes and owls. At 2:50 the first Short-eared Owl glided in from
the NE and perched on top of one of the electric poles. A scan out
across the field produced a second SHEAOW on one of the saplings.
From there I drove down East Road, stopping briefly at the Knox-
Marcellus overlook. Two Short-eared Owls were foraging over the field/
marsh.
Next stop was on Rt 89 just south of Goose Haven. Jim Eckler, who I
had run into on VD Spoor Rd, mentioned a recent sighting of several
SHEAOW there. Chuck Gibson was manning a scope along the road and
reported no owls yet (about 3:30).
My last stop was the new Seneca Meadows Wetland Preserve north of
Seneca Falls. Two Red-tailed Hawks were visible from the parking lot,
and an American Kestrel flew over as I walked south. From the southern
platform I watched two Short-eared Owls fly back and forth over the
meadows and eventually perch in a large, lone oak (4:00). After awhile
one of the Red-tails flew in and dislodged the owls who then continued
foraging while emitting an occasional soft bark call.
Bob McGuire
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