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Post by bowbum on Jan 9, 2017 12:37:45 GMT -5
Kate and I were fortunate to see a Snowy Owl this morning. We are told it is the first recorded sighting in Bradford county.... The owl was not as far away as I previously stated....I need a new range finder!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2017 13:00:48 GMT -5
Been seeing a bunch of photos of the owl. Must be quite the attraction in Bradford. 250yds is alot even for the biggest of lenses for something the size of an owl.
I do wish it was closer to me! lol
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Post by bowbum on Jan 9, 2017 13:25:57 GMT -5
Been seeing a bunch of photos of the owl. Must be quite the attraction in Bradford. 250yds is alot even for the biggest of lenses for something the size of an owl. I do wish it was closer to me! lol He seems to be content to hunt in one field for the last week. I really didn't expect to find him and so I didn't take a tripod but we had a 50 power optical zoom. There were several other people there from as far away as Bloomsburg U. and even southern PA. Most had cameras with lenses about 3 feet long.
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Post by Dutch on Jan 9, 2017 13:46:18 GMT -5
Many years ago we had a gyrfalcon in Lancaster county for a winter. People came from all around to see it.
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Post by Loggy on Jan 9, 2017 13:51:32 GMT -5
A rare sighting indeed Bowbum!! Pretty darn good pic for that distance!!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2017 16:16:44 GMT -5
Attachment DeletedThis is my best snowy owl pic so far, lol. Was in Lancaster Co in 2014. If only it had turned it's head around to look back at me.....
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Post by bowbum on Jan 9, 2017 17:06:20 GMT -5
This is my best snowy owl pic so far, lol. Was in Lancaster Co in 2014. If only it had turned it's head around to look back at me..... Wow, I would love to be able to get an "in flight" picture but I don't see that happening unless by pure luck. I can't even get a good eagle-in-flight picture but I sure took a lot of bad ones.
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Post by bowbum on Jan 9, 2017 17:09:45 GMT -5
WNEP reported this as "the first ever reported sighting in Bradford County" but I recall a few years back hearing of a sighting, but it could've been Sullivan, Lycoming or Tioga I guess. Never thought they would be as far south as Lancaster County though.
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Post by Loggy on Jan 9, 2017 17:17:42 GMT -5
A rare snow owl sighting at Chincoteague, VA a few weeks ago not too far from our place: Chincoteague Snow Owl
A local birdwatcher captured this pic.
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Post by buzz on Jan 9, 2017 17:49:48 GMT -5
Cool pics. I think that is a great pic for 250 yards. There was one , I believe at the Scranton airport (?)about two years ago. WNEP had it on there.
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Post by bowbum on Jan 9, 2017 19:17:40 GMT -5
A rare snow owl sighting at Chincoteague, VA a few weeks ago not too far from our place: Chincoteague Snow Owl
I'm learning that I was under the obviously "mistaken" belief that these birds rarely ventured this far south. I believe the local news even stated that. No matter, they certainly are a gift to see.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2017 19:29:15 GMT -5
We had a camera at our feeder a few years ago, and I was surprised to get this photo:
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Post by gobblerhunter on Jan 10, 2017 8:00:23 GMT -5
fantastic!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 9:02:11 GMT -5
Must have caught a vole or mouse there Mutt. Neat pic! When we get enough snow... when.... I like to snowshoe at night through the orchards by my place. You can see multiple places where some type of bird of prey went after something in the snow with the wing patterns spread out imprinted in the snow.
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Post by bowbum on Jan 10, 2017 9:18:57 GMT -5
Wow. Talk about a unique photo Mutt, that's a great one!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 9:19:38 GMT -5
Must have caught a vole or mouse there Mutt. Pretty much how I figured it, Todd.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 9:21:08 GMT -5
Wow. Talk about a unique photo Mutt, that's a great one! Not in your class, Bowbum, but I do get a decent one on occasion.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 9:31:54 GMT -5
Here's a link back to last year where there were some short-eared owls working a field just outside of Gettysburg. They are listed as endangered at the state level here in PA. Neat owl that you can watch during the daylight hours more so than others. Short-eared Owl Link
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Post by bowbum on Jan 10, 2017 9:45:22 GMT -5
Here's a link back to last year where there were some short-eared owls working a field just outside of Gettysburg. They are listed as endangered at the state level here in PA. Neat owl that you can watch during the daylight hours more so than others. Short-eared Owl LinkThose are absolutely incredible photos Todd. Thanks for the link. If you know of them being sighted again give me a holler and the wife and I will take a road trip. Got friends near G-burg anyway.
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Post by davet on Jan 10, 2017 9:49:12 GMT -5
Great pictures!!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 10:02:29 GMT -5
Got this photo of a screech owl in our stable a few years ago. Screechies are among my favorite birds.
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Post by bowbum on Jan 10, 2017 13:24:37 GMT -5
My curiosity about the snowy owls increased and more southerly sightings is explained by a Hawk Mountain Biologist.
A baby boom
Because of a plentiful supply of lemmings, they are experiencing a baby boom about every four years - the last one in 2014. The boom led to the disruptive dispersal of snowy owls to far-ranging areas south of their normal northern habitat.
"Simply put, a snowy owl baby boom down south usually follows a lemming feast in the Arctic," Therrien said.
Add to that the flexibility of snowy owls to reproduce large numbers of offspring, as many as 11 in a single breeding season, as compared to their cousin, the great horned owl, which produces only one to three chicks annually with little year-to-year variation.
"Instead of the long-accepted hypothesis that a lack of food is forcing snowy owls south of their range, winter irruptions mostly occur in years following highly successful summer breeding seasons through which an abundance of chicks is being raised," Therrien said.
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Post by bowbum on Jan 10, 2017 13:49:44 GMT -5
I had to make a run for corn and I swung by that area again, No owl. But the guy yesterday who I thought had a range finder and told me it was near 250 yards apparently did not have a range finder. I looked that distance over again and it is every bit of 150 from where I was, but not 250.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 13:51:36 GMT -5
Keep an eye open closer to the weekend. May make a road trip.
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Post by bowbum on Jan 10, 2017 16:48:41 GMT -5
Keep an eye open closer to the weekend. May make a road trip. Give me a holler and I'll meet you there. Word is that he has stayed in that area for at least 9 days now and is still there. I didn't bother to stop today and look for it since there were no bird geeks parked along the road, (a dead give away). I just figured he was in a different area of the field at that time.
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