Hey Paulnj

[Copy_Kot]

I think I remember you mentioning that you would tell us were to look for owl's in the last Bird ID thread... did I miss it? I would love to get a shot of one with some snow around, but I don't have the first idea where to look for them. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[paulnj]

Give me a general area in NY (city) and I will see what's there. From there I will let you know how I would search for it. All owl species are different , so I would be writing a book to discribe them all .... I hate writing too

[Copy_Kot]

Thanks Paul, I live a little north/west of Syracuse, NY in Oswego, NY. There is a lot of old farmland and wooded swampland... it seems like the perfect place to see owl's, and I haven't seen a single one.

[paulnj]

Huge fields that have harrier/rough-legged hawk activity MAY have short eared owls too. When the harriers stop flying(as the sun goes low), the SE owls get up and hunt. They literally look like a loaf of bread with wings reports are coming out of fort edward of 10-`5 of them.

Partridge Run WMA has a sawwhet owl and a few barred owls.

Sawwhet's live in DENSE conifer growths that are honeysuckle vine infested usually. Literally you look for crap and or pellets under a tree(branch level may be 2-10 feet off the ground) and the trees need to be very tight branched and are usually 15-30 feet tall at most. The owl will be sitting inside a hollow in the understory no more than 10 feet up.

Barred owls live near swamps(as do great-horned) and seem to also like conifers. They are usually in a stand of LARGE spruce trees near water when I see them, but can be found in hardwood swamp readily too.

Sowy owls are hit and miss, but are usually on the coast of the ocean here( large lake)

Need more , just ask away.