Syracuse.com - Snowy owl sightings throughout Central New York

[HuntingNY-News]

"I live on the South shore of Oneida Lake. Last night around 10:00 p.m., a snowy owl flew "into" my picture window facing the lake," said one reader.

The presence of migrating snowy owls at the Hancock International Airport has drawn a lot of attention lately. But so has the appearance of these magnificent birds, with wingspans of four to five feet, in other locations around Central New York.

The following is a sampling of sightings from readers:

"On Monday Nov. 25, we had a snowy owl visit our yard in Bridgeport and stayed for most of the day. I first spotted him a little after 7 a.m. sitting under one of the bird

feeders near the house.

This snowy owl was spotted on a rooftop in Eastwood on Thanksgiving Day.Scott McDonald photo 

"He then flew to a fire pit we have next to the water and remained there until about 4:15 in the afternoon. He left shortly after a missed attempt to have a mourning dove for dinner."

-Dan Millert, Bridgeport

"I live on the South shore of Oneida Lake. Last night around 10:00 p.m., a snowy owl flew "into" my picture window facing the lake.

"I had my outside light on and the owl flew onto my deck and walked around a little. I'm sure I scared him trying to take a picture of him. Boy, was he large! I thought you might be interested to know that he was exploring my lakefront.

-Barbara Rivard, Brewerton

"Two weeks ago I was out jogging at around 2 p.m. and I heard what sounded at first like a crow. I looked up at a tree next to Minoa Elementary School and saw what I initially thought was a cat, and then realized it looked like an owl. I googled owls when I got home, and discovered it was a snowy owl.

"On Tuesday, I heard one, then saw it in a tree in front of a house on my block in Minoa. I stared at it for about 3 or 4 minutes as it continued to make its unique sound. I jog outside everyday and have seen many different birds and animals, we live near the woods, but never a snowy owl before. Pretty cool.

-Jeff Goldstein, Minoa

"On Monday Nov. 25, we had a snowy owl visit our yard in Bridgeport and stayed for most of the day. I first spotted him a little after 7 a.m. sitting under one of the bird

feeders near the house.

"He then flew to a fire pit we have next to the water and remained there until about 4:15 in the afternoon. He left shortly after a missed attempt to have a mourning dove for dinner."

-Dan Millert, Bridgeport

"A snowy owl sat on the roof of my house in Eastwood all Thanksgiving morning and part of the afternoon -- even though it was being harassed by up to a dozen crows taking turns diving on it and clawing at its head.

"The owl sat there and never moved. The crows finally gave up and moved on. The owls persistence won out and enjoyed the peace and quiet for quite a while before finally flying off."

- Mrgrumpo, Eastwood

This snowy owl has been sighted by several readers at the Fuccillo Kia dealership in Clay.Nick Capria 

"Hello! Just wanted to let you know that the snowy owl is still in the vicinity of the Kia dealership in Clay on Route 31. According to the salespeople, the bird has been walking near the pond that is located in front of the building, as well as roosting in trees and on top of the light fixtures.

"They said I was about the 10th person to stop by today to see the bird. The owl looks good, and seems very tolerant of people being in close proximity. All in all, a magnificent experience for me.

-Diane Massie, Baldwinsville

"Yesterday morning I was at Fucillo Kia. When I walked outside I saw an owl sitting on the light pole being harassed by some very noisy black crows that were dive bombing it. I stood there for a few minutes, and someone from inside came out to take a picture of it, and said that it's been there for a few days. It flew off the light pole and went to sit on a car but slid off, and still the crows were trying to attack it.

"Poor thing, I believe it is hurt, or something. It's been bothering me since yesterday morning. Wouldn't know who to call. :("

-Shelly Rogers

"There is one (snowy owl)that has been seen various times on new Wal-Mart site in Clay this past week. He/she has about a 3-4 foot wing span."

-Steve Hannon

Baddnuzz photo 

" While hunting in the Chateaugay State Forest recently, I had an opportunity to observe a snowy owl.

" The sun was shining very bright while I was hunting on the edge of a dense stand of hemlock trees in a swamp. All of a sudden I observed a large bird fly down and catch something to eat.

"The next thing you know, this large bird flew into a tree that was two trees over from me. It turned out to be a very large snowy owl.

" Instead of watching for deer, my attention was now going to this amazingly beautiful bird. I watched it turn its head 360 degrees (This might be a slight exaggeration, but that is what it seemed.) one way and then back the other way for about 10 minutes or so. I was chuckling to myself the whole time because the movement of its head was like a washing machine with an agitator going one way and then back the other way.

" The next thing you know, it flew to the tree next to me, landing about 15 feet away. Finally, it decided that it didn't like what it saw, said "Who, Who" and flew away."

- Jackie Coon, Fulton

Greg Craybas snapped this photo of a snowy at the airport this week.Greg Craybas photo 

Finally, Syracuse dentist/wildlife photographer Greg Craybus has taken some beautiful pictures of the birds at the airport in recent weeks. He's beginning to wonder, though, if they're following him. He wrote:

"I must be leaving a food trail. I guess it helps to photograph owls. I was driving by Home Depot In Camillus on way to work and caught this snowy owl out of the corner of my eye. It was pretty dark out and all I had was iPhone. Pretty cool to see the owls spreading out and not concentrating at the airport. Of course my camera is nice and warm at home. "

Greg Craybas snapped this photo of snowy on top of the Home Depot building in Camillus with his iPhone.Greg Craybas photo 

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog