As the new year begins, I am going to try to establish a new habit of posting about natural history, birds, conservation, musings, etc., etc. Wish me luck! There are so many things I see or think about that I’d like to share, but then I get distracted or they slip away somehow. So I’ll be trying my best to make sure to take note but then also follow up by actually writing notes, and posting them here. The great adventure begins!
On January 5, Ron, Rachel and myself went to Presque Isle State Park (Erie, PA) with the goal of seeing Snowy Owls. We saw a total of six after spending a few hours there! What was most interesting to me was the way they were spread out, each one alone, out on the ice. They seemed to be spacing themselves quite far apart, like a mile or so. Now, normally when you see animals spacing themselves out it’s because they are defending territories in order to protect resources for themselves. In this case, each owl just had a vast expanse of bumpy snow and ice, with plenty of wind and cold air to go with it. They aren’t getting any food from the ice- no rodents under the snow out there, that’s for sure. The other cool creature we saw was a coyote, curled up like a hockey puck, way out on the bay ice. Why would the coyote choose to sleep way out there in the open rather than finding a more sheltered, hidden spot on land? I was concerned that the coyote might be injured or ill, but in looking at it through the scope, he would periodically lift his head, yawn, look all around flicking his ears to pick up distant sounds, then put his head back down. So he was fine.
After pondering this for a while, my thought is that the owls are out there for the same reason the coyote made the choice to take a nap way out there. It’s easy to see something coming towards you. And not much is likely to bother you way out there. Also, from what I’ve read, the owls tend to rest during the day and feed at night. So I guess they are out there resting up and enjoying the cold.
View from the Catbird Seat 
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