Snowy Owl, Addison, VT, January 2014

The winter of 2013/2014 has turned out to be a near-record season for Snowy Owls in the northeast.  Likely as a result of an excellent breeding success in northern Quebec in 2013, Snowy Owls started showing up early in the winter season (by mid-November), and were being seen in good numbers in all New England states by December.  I was hopeful that this irruption would finally allow me to see a Snowy Owl in VT – my last New England State for this species.  The challenge for VT Snowys is that most appear in the northwest part of the state, at least a 3 ½ hr drive away.  And of course even when they do show up, they aren’t guaranteed - I’ve chased after Snowys twice in the greater Burlington area without success.  A “greener” way for me to see one in VT is for one to appear in southern VT, which is exactly what happened a couple years ago when one showed up but for just one day in Brattleboro, just over an hour’s drive away.  Unfortunately I wasn’t monitoring my e-mails that day and didn’t have a chance to go after it.  So the 2013/2014 season would have to me my time for them in VT even if it meant a very long drive.

Snowys were being seen quite regularly in northwest VT by early December, as were Short-eared Owls – another species I need.  Unfortunately work and home commitments prevented me from getting there until around Christmas.  And by then Short-ears were no longer being seen, likely because of a thick cover of snow and ice dumped by several big December storms.  By the time I could finally get there it was early January, and Short-ears were no longer a likely target.  Though Snowys were becoming quite regular in the Champlain Valley, especially in Addison where as many as 7 were being seen in a rather small area.  So I was cautiously optimistic that I would get Snowy Owl for my VT list once I finally bit the bullet and took the drive up there. 

Denny Abbott and I planned a trip on a day when the weather was forecasted to warm up (relatively speaking) with a high in the low 20s, with 10-15 mph breezes from the south.  When we arrived in the late morning the temperature was a frigid 9 degrees.  And the wind was howling out of the south at 20-30 mph.  So much for forecasts!  This resulted in considerable blowing and drifting snow and near whiteout conditions, even though it was a sunny day.  Visibility was extremely low in places, and of course the windchill was way below 0.  Our first stop was at the Snow Goose viewing area in Addison, where 3 Snowys had been seen in the past week.  But the blowing snow was so bad that visibility was next to nothing.  And with all this wind, would Snowys or any other raptor even be in the open for us to see?  Suddenly I was starting to worry if I would see any Snowys at all.  We ran into local birder Ted Murin who told us of a perch a couple miles to the west on Route 17 where one had been reliable.  And his advice was spot on – as we drove up to the spot we quickly saw a white bump on top of a barn owl nesting box – our first Snowy of the day.  The nest box was nestled among a small group of trees which must have given the bird at least a bit of protection from the strong winds, allowing it to be in the open and giving us excellent views. 

We then went to Ted’s next recommended location – a barn on Town Line Road.  As we slowly pulled up close to the barn on the icy road I noticed a small white bump near the peak of the roof. 

With binocs it was obvious that it was the second Snowy of the day.  The bird was actually just a bit over the peak of the roof on the north side somewhat out of the wind.  Note in my phonescoped photo a small “ear” tuft – something you don’t see often on Snowys.

With our target bird out of the way we began to slowly drive the snowy and icy country roads to look for raptors and grassland birds.  Over the next couple hours we found quite a number of raptors –

• 1 Peregrine Falcon
• 1 Kestrel
• 6 Rough-legged Hawks including 1 dark phase
• 5 Red-tailed Hawks

But no luck with the amazing Prairie Falcon seen in the area the week before.

Plus we found 5 flocks of larks/longspurs/buntings along the roadsides consisting of  - 

• 74 Horned Larks
• 16 Lapland Longspurs
• 15 Snow Buntings

Our last stop was back at the goose viewing area where I noticed a pale perched bird at the top of distant tree.  It was another Snowy Owl, interestingly very exposed to the wind.  A nice way to end a classic winter day in the VT Champlain Valley.

iPhone picture from the warmth of the car

 Snowy Owl was #259 for my VT list, and my 224^th bird in each New England state.  But VT was only my 10^th state for this species.  I guess I don’t do a lot of mid-winter birding in the northern tier of states.