Snowy Owl

[pkurs...@myfairpoint.net]

Some pic's from today taken at Hampton Beach SP.

https://ebird.org/checklist/S295725773

Paul & Lynn Kursewicz
Epping

[Howard Muscott]

Thank you, Paul and Lynne friendly advice not to list the location of a snowy owl. It may put it at risk. 

Howard S. Muscott Photography

Amherst, New Hampshire

www.chasingthegoldenlight.com

hmus...@gmail.com

Retired Professor of Education, Rivier University

Retired Director, NH Center for Effective Behavioral Interventions and Supports

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[Steve Mirick]

Many people share the opinion that Snowy Owl locations should not be disclosed for fear that observers/photographers could put the owl at risk.  I DO NOT SHARE THESE FEELINGS.  While there are owls that demand protection from being flushed (Saw-whet Owl, Long-eared Owl, etc.), the Snowy Owl is not in the same category.  I am not afraid to disclose the location of a Snowy Owl for the following reasons:

* Snowy Owls choose to roost in the open and are not fearful of predators.  They are at the top of the food chain.  If they get flushed, they might get harassed briefly by a gull, but otherwise are not in any danger at all from being attacked.
* Flushing a Snowy Owl rarely occurs, but when a birder/photographer/dog walker flushes a Snowy Owl, they just fly to a different perch nearby.  That's all.
* Contrary to popular belief, these Snowy Owls that come south in the winter are perfectly healthy.  They don't come south from the Arctic because they are starving.  They eat well at Hampton Beach SP and along the streets of Hampton.  They feed mostly at night or near dawn and dusk and just hang out all day.  Take a look at this photo by Ken Faucher of a Rat that was eaten last week!!!!!!  They will also feed on Meadow Voles and just about all of the ducks and grebes in the ocean.  They are incredible hunters!
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/648903021
* Generally, a Snowy Owl at Hampton Beach State Park is a great location for beginner birders and photographers to see a wonder of nature and share with others this occurrence.  It's easy to watch a Snowy Owl from a safe distance and we birders/photographers can police the situation so that someone doesn't gets too close.
* Finally, there are many, many photographers out there trolling the coast (especially Hampton Beach SP) all the time looking for Snowy Owls.  In addition, random people on the sidewalk often are the first to find owls.  It is a very rare occasion to see an "unattended" Snowy Owl on any given day!  I often tell people that the key to finding a Snowy Owl is to search for the big crowds and photographers lined up in the dunes at Hampton Beach SP.  Why not share the location of a Snowy Owl that everyone else knows about anyway.

To be clear, I certainly don't condone any type of trespassing onto private property or walking into sensitive dune habitat and again, this does NOT APPLY TO OTHER OWLS that rely on camouflage and NEED TO STAY HIDDEN.  As a birding community, I think we are all responsible for educating and policing each other.

Just my thoughts,

Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nhbirds/CAC%3DWQj%2BrY1dkmB6Wz5e21XjTDaCX%2BNVOL4ygx97_0NOQkp-E_g%40mail.gmail.com.

[Roger Stephenson]

Ken's excellent photo of a Snowy Owl eating a Hampton Beach rat  prompts me to share with everyone that the beach community is rife with poison (SGAR) -baited traps.  

And new data suggests that 74% of rats and mice sampled were resistant to anticoagulant rodenticides - this is from a recent study in the U.K. Growing rat and mouse resistance to anticoagulant poisons has been documented (including in U.S.) for years. So why do many pest control companies insist on using them as their first line of defense? How does this protect public health? (It doesn’t) The rats and mice become resistant but their predators do not.

So the owls, hawks, fox, and other natural predators die, but the intended targets do not.

NH Audubon has a very good resource page on rodenticides https://nhaudubon.org/policy/rodenticides/   and there is a bill currently in the House that NEEDS OUR VOICES  HB1018, while not perfect, is a good start in NH.

Thank you Howard.  Personally, I will continue to slow-walk my observations of any owl, including Snowy, by delaying entry into ebird by a week or so. 

Roger Stephenson Stratham

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[Dan Hubbard]

Such as the Long-eared at Salisbury?

[Kirk Elwell]

For those of us who have been at it for decades, things have most certainly have changed. 

We want others to share in the exultation of finding truly unusual or rare birds in our area.  But, revealing the location of these can pose risks to the bird itself but also the adjacent habitat, parking, etc, etc.

Needing to get a photograph seems to have become the end all.  And many will stop at nothing to get one.  Just to have it!!

I utilize a very exotic device with an incredible "God given" hard-drive called the human brain!  The need to save the bird far outweighs the need to have a technological record.  The literature is loaded with records.  Just look!

This past Spring between some major surgeries I located an incredible find only a short distance from my house here in East Kingston.

I was actually looking for this species in particular but hadn't many since my days in Essex County Massachusetts. 

American Goshawks are a favorite of mine and I have over 500 sightings just in Essex County having watched/monitored many breeding pairs.

I found an active nest in late April after having noted some of their  very distinctive habits and preferred habitats for nesting.  They fledged 2 I believe?

But, I did not post it nor have I notified any NH folks.

Drew Vitz of MassWildlife, who studies AMGOs, and one other Mass birder know of its existence because he contacted me in the off chance I "stumbled" across one up here in NH.

I also found another Osprey nest in a nearby location.  It too will remain secret.

Sometimes the less knowledge the better is a worthwhile course of action to protect our natural wonders.

Kirk.

Kirk S Elwell

East Kingston, NH.

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[pkurs...@myfairpoint.net]

Howard,

Thank you for making us aware of this.

Paul & Lynn 

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[Leslie Kramer]

I wish that people wishing to "see" birds like Snowy Owls were well-behaved, ethical, and would adhereto ABA Birding Guidelines. But, they aren't. And they don't. In the quest to "get a bird, they violate a bird's space, continuously interrupt resting periods, disrupt food needs and hunting, and endanger overall survival needs. Traipsing through dunes and across marshes for close views and shots, baiting an area with rodents, movements to get a bird to fly - gotta have a flight shot. The list goes on. 

There are well-documented and witness-based reasons for not disclosing an owl's location. Even a Snowy Owl.

Leslie Kramer 

On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 5:46 AM Leslie Kramer <kram...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Howard Muscott]

It's important to note that MOST photographers and birders pay attention to wildlife ethics even as some do not.  It's easy to get on a bandwagon and paint everyone with a similar brush.  Most of us wildlife photographers try to let people who are violating ethics hear from us right then and there.  As with all things human nature these days, controversy trumps reality.  

Howard S. Muscott Photography

Amherst, New Hampshire

www.chasingthegoldenlight.com

hmus...@gmail.com

Retired Professor of Education, Rivier University

Retired Director, NH Center for Effective Behavioral Interventions and Supports

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nhbirds/CAHFqk8BHjE9v1CgftH54ctC1fMtRYWS7%3DhAzNzgHj3k_NJXdpw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Howard Muscott]

Hi Again.

The comments to your post have been informative rather than hyperbolic.  The irony I've found in other situations is that when a photographer posts to protect an owl, the majority internet response is to condemn photographers for no ethics rather than to see that ebird postings can have a down side.  

Howard S. Muscott Photography

Amherst, New Hampshire

www.chasingthegoldenlight.com

hmus...@gmail.com

Retired Professor of Education, Rivier University

Retired Director, NH Center for Effective Behavioral Interventions and Supports