Bird Photos and their Stories
Red-necked Grebe Red-throated Loon, Ross’ Goose, many Red-necked Grebes, White-winged Scoters, various other ducks, as well as thousands of Snow Geese and Canada Geese were spotted by the members of a recent Pennsylvania Society of Ornithology (PSO) field trip. Because Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area above Lancaster, PA was frozen over, the trip became a Susquehanna river […]
Project Snowstorm According to the All About Birds blog by Cornell, The massive Snowy Owl irruption going on this year—the biggest in decades—is captivating birders and nonbirders alike with unexpected glimpses of an avian superstar with hypnotic golden eyes. But this winter’s phenomenon is also an opportunity for science to learn about the lifestyle […]
Identification of the Snowy Owl As the photos show, Snowy Owls can be very lightly barred or almost white if they are adult males, and more moderately or darkly barred if they are juveniles or adult females. In our area, we happen to have all three! Here is a great infographic put out by Nature | PBS. […]
Identification of the Red-Tailed Hawk Red-tails are easily seen from the highway, perched in trees, telephone poles or even wires, and sometimes soaring in the air with their rufous-colored tail shining brightly in the sun. When perched, their bright white breast glows, and a belly band of dark streaks is usually visible. Their […]
Identification of Rough-legged Hawk The Rough-legged Hawk is a buteo like the Red-tailed Hawk, but is a little larger. It has both a light and a dark morph, with much variability. The hawks pictured here are all light morph. They have dark “wrist” patches on the wings, and a dark belly. A U-shaped lighter […]
Identification American Kestrels are our smallest, and most beautiful falcon. Although they are declining most places, in our part of PA they are thriving! They are often seen on telephone wires on back roads or hovering over fields next to highways, searching for grasshoppers in the summer and voles in every season. If you look […]
Snowy Owl Invasion Snowy Owls are on the move! There is an irruption of Snowy Owls from the Arctic to mainly the North-eastern United States, like there has never been seen before. In the beginning of the irruption in early winter, one observer in Newfoundland was able to see 75 owls from one vantage point, […]
In case you haven’t heard, we are having an irruption year for Snowy Owls in the United States. Not just an ordinary irruption year when a few owls come south; no, it’s a banner year! A once in 50- or 100-year event! And it’s happening mostly in the Northeast. More information on the irruption can […]
Seven or eight years ago, we put up four Eastern Screech Owl boxes all around our house, hoping a pair would choose one and nest in our wooded yard. We followed the specs found on the Audubon page by Kenn Kaufman, and were very excited to have owls sporadically roosting in one of the boxes, […]
Early this morning I heard a gang of Blue jays carrying on right outside the back of the house. It only lasted a minute, and then the Bluebirds and Nuthatches took over, making alarm calls like I’ve never heard before. We have 4 Screech Owl boxes put up around our house in the woods. The […]