When Frank Gallo's report was posted yesterday on CTBirds of someone seeing a Snowy Owl on a porch railing in East Haven, I think many of us expected this bird to be a cat or possibly a Gull. Frank asked for anyone in the area to go check it out and see if they could find it. Why not a Snowy Owl in CT? This past week, there have been reports of one bird at Logan Airport, one bird at Hampton Harbor, N.H., two birds at Duxbury Beach, and another bird at Plum Island.
Sure enough in a short time, Janet Mehmel reported a Snowy Owl was indeed loafing on someones porch! I wasn't able to leave my studio yesterday, but hoped the bird would still be there today. On my way to a business meeting this morning, Janet reported that the Snowy Owl was present at 7:40 am. After my meeting was over, I drove back to Killingworth, grabbed my cameras and scope and headed southwest to East Haven. Of course, when I left Killingworth it had started to rain, foiling my plans of hopefully getting to the Owl before the predicted rain.
Arriving in the secluded beach area of East Haven, the rain hadn't made it there yet, but would the Owl still be there? Turning the corner, it was obvious that the bird was still there. Janet was there keeping an eye on the bird along with a handful of other birders including Sally Brown and Tina Green. The spectacular Owl was contented and resting on the small jetty on the beach. The air was still and a distant fog drew a curtain on the horizon. Here are a few digi-scoped images of the Owl which gave us a peaceful mid-day thrill-
Here comes that pesky Gull again.....the Owl wasn't impressed with the Gull's mobbing techiques!
Predator and Prey........
Janet keeping watch of the Owl. Thank You Janet for reporting it to us!
If you have a chance you should go to East Haven and enjoy this bird......not sure how long it will stay. Its easy to find and close to observe!
Keith Mueller Killingworth
ADDENDUM.........
This Snowy Owl has inspired me!! I have a commission for a miniature bird, but I am seriously considering carving a full sized decorative piece! Here is an image of a miniature decorative Snowy Owl sculpture I carved a few years ago, which was the subject for a book I wrote about carving this bird. Thanks for the picture Jim!
Here are a few more images of the Owl from yesterday.....
Thursday, November 17- The Owl was not present this morning, so I decided to investigate the area; especially the airport. Since Snowy Owls are often found around, near or on airports (ex-Logan) and since this beach is very close to Tweed, this would be the logical choice. As I was looking over the Tweed runways, I saw a familiar Hawk hunting the grassy areas at the end of the runway. Although the bird was at a distance in my binoculars, I am 90% positive it was a Rough-legged Hawk. I didn't take any images for obvious reasons.
I drove over to East Shore Park and just as I was getting out of my truck, this Red-tailed Hawk flew over my truck. Looking over the Harbor, I spotted a huge bird flying just off the surface of the water coming from the Bradley Point area. Its huge wings carried the bird in a "flap and glide" flight, and I thought for sure the Pelican had returned to New Haven and it was flying directly for me! As the bird approached the main channel it lifted up and it and revealed its identity: Bald Eagle. The Eagle flew up over the Park and headed east.
The Eagle..........
Keith Mueller Killingworth
