YORK – A local dairy farmer's steady hand and love for raptors likely saved the life of a stunning but clumsy snowy owl. Arielle Fitch, a lifelong farmer with a growing interest in falconry, found the frustrated owl at the bottom of an empty water tank on Noblehurst Farms on Steward Road, Linwood. With a ladder and a farmer's knowledge of how to handle birds, she went into the tank to pick the bird up. "Birds typically don't fly straight … [Read more...]
Arctic Raptors Enjoy Bonanza Despite Heavy Snow
LIVINGSTON COUNTY – After last week's spring-like thaw, arctic visitors seem to be enjoying a bounty of rodents despite the recent heavy snow. Snowy owls, short-eared owls and rough-legged hawks have all been seen cruising and catching mice in Livingston County's fields and meadows in the snow. As always, environmental and conservation authorities remind birders that these distinctive, charismatic birds live on a knife-edge that could tip them … [Read more...]
Tracked Snowy Owls Cruise Shores of Lake Ontario
NYLON – The shallow dust called Nations Road is buried under sweeping drifts. The snow glides lazily in the open, sometimes curling in the shadow of a leaning fence post. Just as the sun crests the head of a hill, two brilliant golden eyes open and blink. The wind folded over the owl's shoulders. The sun poured over him and faint scratchings and peeps of the mice and voles floated to him from all around. He crouched and leaped into a puff of … [Read more...]
Snowy Owl ‘Geneseo’ Homeward Bound to North Pole
GENESEO – After a brief time in the spotlight in Livingston County, the snowy owl named 'Geneseo' is on the move and has again set his bearings for the Arctic Circle. 'Geneseo' has a tracking device that makes his movements and travel patterns traceable to the public but also to researchers with 'Project Snowstorm,' a research initiative that began in 2013 when an irruption, or mass influx of snowy owls, came into the area from the Arctic … [Read more...]
Snowy Owl ‘Geneseo’ Going to Rack up Frequent Flyer Miles
GENESEO — This winter social media has been sharing spectacular images of snowy owls and as part of a conservancy project a tagged snow owl, now named 'Geneseo' will be tracked and his behavior recorded so conservationists can make proper decisions to protect this spectacular and mysterious animal. Project Snowstorm took flight in 2013 after an irruption of snowy owls came from south of the arctic. An irruption is when, for reasons not fully … [Read more...]