Snowy Owl

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
First sighted today at Sandy Hook. Thru the day it has been bumped several times; each time it flew south. Maybe it will make it down here. This is the earliest Snowy I have heard of in recent years; must be really cold up north. Probably the same cold we will have next week.

From a time not so long ago; Feb 2012 at Merril Creek Reservoir....
 
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46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
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Coastal NJ
Great Photo

Thanks. There are now TWO THREE Snowy's, 2 at the Hook and one at Barnegat Light. This is a first. Maybe it's an invasion. Exploratory expedition is planned for Monday if the wind dies down, would be nice to get 2 in one frame. :D
 
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Gibby

Piney
Apr 4, 2011
1,640
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Trenton
There is another Snowy on the western side of the state along Woodbury Creek. My good friend sent me a text early this morning. If anyone is interested in seeing a Snowy Owl, the two closest locations for now are Barnegat and Woodbury. Flip a coin!:)

"National Park Dredge Spoils - It is at the sw corner of the east pond. Excellent looks from the north dike."
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
There is another Snowy on the western side of the state along Woodbury Creek. My good friend sent me a text early this morning. If anyone is interested in seeing a Snowy Owl, the two closest locations for now are Barnegat and Woodbury. Flip a coin!:)

"National Park Dredge Spoils - It is at the sw corner of the east pond. Excellent looks from the north dike."

I heard that bird is gone, busted by too many eager folks getting too close. Tis a shame, these birds are usually not in the best of shape after the distance they have come. No further reports for the one at Barnegat either.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
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Coastal NJ
One is currently at Forsythe NWR.

And in a very observable location. Might be the one seen at Barnegat Light. There was also one seen at Stone Harbor. If they are all individual birds, that would put the total at 6, which I doubt is the case.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Took a ride to the Forsythe NWR, Brigantine division in Oceanville to see if we could find the Snowie. Easily found and exceptionally good looks as it was roadside. If you ever wanted to see one in the flesh, or feathers as the case may be, this is the one. Gorgeous, mature bird. Very tolerant of the humanoids pointing fingers and all kinds of optics at it.
 
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dogg57

Piney
Jan 22, 2007
2,912
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Southern NJ
southjerseyphotos.com
Just adding this to your great photos
A pair of Peregrine Falcons repeatedly dove on a Snowy Owl on the beach at Stone Harbor Point, New Jersey on 2 December 2013. The first sequence was shot in 1080p with an iPhone 5 from a tripod at the same time that I shot the second sequence in 1080p with a Canon EOS 7D w/ 400 mm f.5.6 lens. Video copyright Tom Johnson.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Just adding this to your great photos

Unfortunatley, those vids look the the person taking them was a bit too close. A good viewing distance is about 200ft as they have come a very long was and are not in the best of shape. Their reason for coming is searching for food, and once they find it they will, in all likely hood, stick around to late Feb/early Mar. They are just about everywhere now, had one on an inland golf course within 1 mile from home. Getting crowded. They are as far south as the Outer Banks. Each red marker is a sighting, although they may be multiple's of the same bird. An historic year for sure.

153663627.jpg
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Now three at Forsyth NWR Oceanville location, commonly called Brig. Was there yesterday, big crowd, probably $100K in big glass. All were very visible road side. Couple of eagles kept the birds on their toes, or talons.



Keeping trackof the eagles.



Coming in for a landing.



Looking for lunch, Eagle and Harrier.
 
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46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ


Results from the pressure phone call's can make.


December 9, 2013

CONTACT: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
212-435-7777

STATEMENT FROM THE PORT AUTHORITY ON SNOWY OWLS

The Port Authority is working with the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation to move immediately toward implementing a
program to trap and relocate snowy owls that pose a threat to aircraft at
JFK and LaGuardia airports. The Port Authority's goal is to strike a
balance in humanely controlling bird populations at and around the agency's
airports to safeguard passengers on thousands of aircrafts each day. Over
the past two weeks, five planes at JFK, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia
airports were struck by snowy owls that have been migrating to our region
in far higher than typical numbers this year.
 
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John

New Member
Jul 17, 2009
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6
Aloha All,

The story below is from the Honolulu Star Advertiser from 2012. A Snowy made it all the way to Honolulu Airport!!
Owl's killing is defended as necessary for air safety

By Rob Shikina

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 25, 2012​


advert1.gif
A state Department of Transportation spokesman defended federal officials Tuesday for shooting a snowy owl -- described as the first seen in Hawaii -- at Honolulu Airport after the owl apparently made its way from the Arctic to the islands.
"These guys are unsung heroes," said Dan Meisenzahl, transportation spokesman, referring to biologists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services who killed the owl. "These guys are a little broken up that they had to do it."
A article Monday quoted Denver Holt, director of the Owl Research Institute in Montana, saying an unusually high number of the white, 2-foot-tall birds has been flying south from the Arctic this year, with one making its way to Oahu.
"One showed up at the airport in Hawaii, and they shot it," he told the Times. "It's the first ever in Hawaii, and they shot it!"
The owl was killed on Thanksgiving by officials who feared the bird would interfere with runway traffic, the Times said.
Meisenzahl said the juvenile male was shot by the biologists, who are contracted by the state to scare birds from the runway. He said they killed the bird only after spending two hours trying to get it to leave.
"It basically kept hopping from the end of one runway to the end of another runway, which is a really dangerous situation," he said.
The biologists tried to shoo the bird with pyrotechnics five times, went after it with a truck and stopped runway traffic briefly to go after it. The officials also tried to catch it with net guns but couldn't get close enough, he said.
By about 10 a.m., one of the busiest times on the airport runway, the bird still wouldn't leave. "After exhausting every possible option, they had no choice," Meisenzahl said. "They were pretty heavy-hearted about the whole thing."
 
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