3.31.2007
The Short-eared Owls of Ft. Edwards NY glasslands
Adventures in Birding 
All photos and text copyright Peter Manship
This winter I wanted to try and find as many unusual wintering birds as I could. Carol and I started in Barnagut NJ looking for Harlequin Ducks (see Jan 2007 newsletter) then Moose bog in Vermont for the Three-toed Woodpecker plus the Boreal birds (scroll down to bottom of the Feb 2007 newsletter) and then to Ft Edward NY grasslands for wintering Hawks and Short-eared Owls. 
Ft Edward proved to be one of those special places that comes along every now and then. Each time I went over there something wonderful happen, the owls put on quite a show in Jan. /Feb. and people of all ages came to watch.
Why the Owls choose Ft Edward I really don't know.
Sometime you had to waite until sundown for the Owls to start flying around , other times they were out in the open on Hay bails along the edge of the road .In the beginning there were reports of 7 then 19, 22 and all the way up to 49 Short-eared Owls sighted before they left for all points north.
I had plenty of surprises along the way to and from Ft Edwards : Blue birds, Snow buntings , Horned Larks,Lapland Longspurs and a February Eastern Meadowlark just to mention a few. 
In the end this has been a wonderful winter of birding . Enjoy !
PeacePeter and Carol 
3.25.2007
Possible Slate-colored Junco?
Adventures in Birding
All photos and text copyright Peter Manship
This morning I was looking out the kitchen window at the feeding birds and there it was The mystery Junco. This is the second time Ive seen the bird this winter and this time I got 2 photos.
Taken through a double pane window but good enough to I.D. the bird in question. Two photos and it was gone.
I am not sure what this Junco's I.D. is but it looks a lot like a Slate Junco and I would love help I.D.ing this bird.
All photos and text copyright Peter Manship
This morning I was looking out the kitchen window at the feeding birds and there it was The mystery Junco. This is the second time Ive seen the bird this winter and this time I got 2 photos.
Taken through a double pane window but good enough to I.D. the bird in question. Two photos and it was gone.
I am not sure what this Junco's I.D. is but it looks a lot like a Slate Junco and I would love help I.D.ing this bird.Thanks for the help!
Peter
3.09.2007
Northern Harriers,Rough-legged Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks in Ft Edwards New York 2-16-07
Adventures in Birding All photos and text copyright Peter Manship Designs LLC.
The hawk show just kept getting better at the Ft Edwards grassland as time went on Northern Harriers , Red-tailed Hawks and finely rough-legged hawks were fairly easy to locate , observe and photograph. 
This photo of the Red-tailed Hawk just taking flight is one of my favorite's from the Ft Edwards birding trips that I made .(above)
This Red-tailed Hawk was very close to the road in a tree and a half dozen of us(birders) got great views for about 5 minutes ! This Red-tailed hawk was very beautiful too !
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk(below)
This photo of the Red-tailed Hawk just taking flight is one of my favorite's from the Ft Edwards birding trips that I made .(above)
This Red-tailed Hawk was very close to the road in a tree and a half dozen of us(birders) got great views for about 5 minutes ! This Red-tailed hawk was very beautiful too !
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk(below)
There were Rough-legged Hawks in Light and Dark Morph as well as juveniles. I found this ruffy (below) just hovering looking for food . After about twenty to thirty minutes of hovering it would move a little to a new spot and hovering again until the hawk spotted a little parcel of dinner and down it went, disappearing into the tail grassland to eat.
To get an opportunity like this has been , must be called a once in a life time event. Seeing these hawks and observing their hunting habits , flight styles and all , was a very big thrill for me. One that I will never forget. After the first big snow storm they pretty much all left the area for better hunting grounds.
I will leave you with this photo of a juvenile Northern Harrier flying somewhere over Ft Edwards New York Grasslands. Shout-eared Owls will be the next subject that I will be posting.
Peace
Peter & Carol
3.05.2007
Northern Harriers of Ft Edwards New York 2-12-07
Adventures in Birding
All photos and text copyright Peter Manship Designs LLC.
Part oneThe Ft.Edwards Grasslands Bird Report
Carol and I were coming back from our trip to N.J. when I decided to do some birding on the way home. North east of Albany N. Y. in the Hudson river valley is perfect rich bottom land for farming with wide open spaces created by growing hay for the cows to feed on , it also makes great habtat for birds.
We found many Raptors as we wound are way through the old roads in this part of eastern New York. The rolling hills ,beautiful old farms and villages that date back to before the Revolutionary War line the eastern side of the Hudson River. What we saw was so impressive that we decided to return another day.
One week later we returned to see what secerts the grasslands had to offer, we found over seventy hawks , they were in trees , flying around looking for food and fighting with each other for territory and food plus, attaching each other trying to steal the food right out of under each other. What a great show. In east Ft Edwards grasslands it was as if the Raptor world was having a convention, what with all the Northern Harriers , Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks all in a couple of square miles. The first time I pull our car up to the field , I couldn't beleave my eyes ,there were twelve hawks flying over the field hunting and all these brown spots in the field which it turns out to be hawks on the ground eating. I was amazed at the site I was looking at, JUST AMAZED !!!
I returned three more times and each time it changed a little, more of one kind of hawk and less of another. Then we got the Valentine Day Snow Storm and they all left. There are a few Hawks left now but alot has changed, I am glade that I took the time to go see this once in a life time birding event.
Little did I know what was going to happen next! A birder I was talking to told me that I should go over to such and such road and check it!
What I discovered was a field full of Short-eared Owls that were migrating north, What Luck! I will tell you all about it in my next post.
Till then peace be with you!
Pete and Carol
Three-toed Woodpecker and other Boreal Forest Bird report
Adventures in Birding all photos and text copyright Peter Manship Designs LLC.
The Gray Jays came down to check everyone out 6 to 8 feet away , what luck!
On Feb 5th,2007 Montana and I went on a birding trip to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont looking for the Three-toed woodpecker that had been reported at Moose bog. It had snowed the night before making the woods very quiet and beautiful , we walked about a half mile in the wrong direction before running into another birder that sent us in the right direction .
When we finely arrived there we found six other brave souls out looking for the Three-toed Woodpecker also. It was the coldest weather of the winter with temps running around -7 an 20 to 30 below zero wind chills but a very beautiful day to be outside with those great blue skies that we get after a storm. Everyone there seemed to enjoy being outside in the fresh air , and we all got great looks at the Three-toed woodpecker and several other Boreal Forest birds.
The Gray Jays came down to check everyone out 6 to 8 feet away , what luck!The show started when I got out of the car, there in front of me was a White-winged Crossbill ( male) perched at eye level , I got two photos before it took off.
We also watched three other woodpeckers : Black-backed Woodpecker (female) , Downy and Hairy woodpecker's plus many Black-capped Chickadee's no Boreal Chickadee's for us but other people there saw them. There was plenty of signs of life in the fresh snow, Moose tracks along with Deer , mice, rabbit and others.
All in all it was a great day for the both of us!
Peace!
