Snowy Owl (departing).
Relatively warm this morning—in the high teens (F)—with a light snow falling and only a slight breeze. Jack and I didn’t make it to the hill until much later than usual, but we met no other hikers there. We did meet a few birds.
Outbound SNOW.
Ascending, I said aloud to my dog, “This would be a good day to see a Snowy Owl.” Not three minutes later, we flushed a young one that had apparently been sitting just over the rise ahead of us. I was sorry to have missed noticing it until it took off, but I did get a few photos of it winging its way out toward the bay.
First snowy of the winter—and first since my one sighting in the Winter of 2015.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 11:30 a.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American Goldfinch (v)
2. American Crow* (v)
3. Snowy Owl
4. Northern Flicker
5. Common Raven (v)
6. Black-capped Chickadee**
7. White-breasted Nuthatch
8. Tufted Titmouse** (v)
9. Downy Woodpecker
Elsewhere
10. Northern Cardinal (v)
11. Herring Gull
12. Eastern Bluebird
13. Rock Pigeon
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, common raven, downy woodpecker, eastern bluebird, herring gull, northern cardinal, northern flicker, rock pigeon, snowy owl, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch
