Many New York “snow-birds” travel to southern states for all or part of the winter. But who comes to New York —  including the Genesee River Basin — for the winter? Short-eared owls!  Small groups spend their time in open grassy fields hunting for small mammals and roosting on the ground; or in trees, especially in snowy conditions.  They are most active at dawn or dusk flying low across the fields using their acute hearing to locate prey, hovering and then performing an aerial dive for the kill. 

Like most owls, their “ears” are located on the sides of their heads, with one ear positioned higher than the other to better locate prey. They cannot move their eyes sideways or up and down, so they have adaptations that allow their heads to rotate up to 270 degrees!  “Shorties” are medium sized owls with a relatively large wingspan that ranges from 33”- 43”, over 3 ft!  This enables their soaring behavior and long distance journeys.

These winter visitors are just one more way the Genesee River Valley is special and unique. And why Genesee RiverWatch works to improve water quality throughout the basin and connect people to the river.