The start of November into December was seen as an Owl invasion in many areas.  On the internet I read from November 23, 2004, “Unless you've already heard, the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union in Duluth, Minnesota has reported an incredible Owl invasion of biblical proportions.  As of November 18th, they had recorded over 140 Great Gray Owls and 80 Northern Hawk Owls observed over the northern portions of Minnesota.  Snowy Owls will be more visible in New York this winter as opposed to the last 3 years or so, but as a rule, we don't usually see the incredible numbers like you will witness in the Winnipeg corridor.  The last time that New York saw big numbers of Snowies was between 1990 and 1992.” (Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes, Research Assistant, Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Boreal Owl in Central Park, NYC, December 2004 Photo by Lloyd Spitalnik

There has been a Boreal Owl in Central Park since December near the Tavern on the Green.  Some of our members have been down to see it. At this writing (1/11) the owl has moved to a more vulnerable spot and the location is not being disclosed.  Snowy Owls have also been reported in the Jones Beach area and other areas in the State.

On the Christmas Bird Census a Long-eared Owl was found on the Vassar Campus.  Chet Vincent went to find it the next week with no luck and it has not been found again.  Chet and November and December reports have reported two Golden Eagles back at Stissing Mountain.

With the weather changing from warm days to cold arctic fronts, many birding days have been slow. There have not been a lot of rare birds around to report.

If you do find a rare bird please call Barbara Butler or Carena Pooth as they will start the Rare Bird Alert while I am not available to do it.  Keep your feeders filled and good birding to all.