Grasslands
One of the most popular birding sites in this part of New York in the winter is the Shawangunk Grasslands. The Refuge is a 1,300-acre protected area dedicated to conserving grassland habitat and the species that depend on it, especially grassland birds like bobolinks, eastern meadowlarks, and upland sandpipers. During the winter months, it draws good numbers of Northern harriers, Rough-legged hawks and our target bird of the day - Short-eared owls. Located near the Shawangunk Ridge seen in the rear of this photo, the refuge features rolling fields, remnant agricultural landscapes, and most amazingly a restored Worle War II airfield.
Observation Deck - Shawangunk Grasslands NWR - 12/11/25 Nikon Zfc Merged Panorama
It’s a tad early in the season for the Short-ears to be here in any numbers, but this has been a much colder than normal December in New York, so a few have made it down here ahead of schedule. With our plans to head south in a few weeks, we are running short on time to see these marvelous birds, so it’s now or never. Our first sighting is of my all-time favorite, the Northern harrier. There is a good cloud cover reflecting the late afternoon “Golden hour” amber hues of the sun. Makes for a nice backdrop for the birds as they fly by.
Northern harrier - Shawangunk Grasslands - 12/12/25
A second lower fly-by
These harriers are females and that is not surprising. It seems that (at least anecdotally), the females are seen earlier in the winter on these grasslands than the “Gray ghosts” as they are called, the males. We are still awaiting the first sighting of the hoped-for Short-eared owls as the sun slowly approaches the western horizon. There is a short window (especially as we approach the solstice) between when the owls, primarily nocturnal hunters, arrive on the scene and when the sun is too low to afford decent lighting for photography. More than once, we have seen our first owl of the day after it’s too dark to shoot. Always great to see these birds, but for a blog, a photograph is obviously the main goal. Finally, high in the western sky, two of the owls appear. One is a bit too low on the horizon and blends right in with the landscape making for poor photo-ops. The second, however, is fairly high in the sky and the sun’s fading rays illuminate the bird nicely if only for a few minutes.
Short-eared owl - Shawangunk Grasslands NWR - 12/12/25 Nikon Z8 with 180 -600 zoom lens at 600mm 1/1600 sec, f/6,3, ISO 1400
That owl showed up just in time as the sun was rapidly descending, making for a wonderful sunset and fitting close to the day. Later in the season, the days will be longer and the owls more prevalent, but for this day, I was more than happy to record my first Short-ear of 2025.
Day’s end at the Shawangunk Grasslands 12/12/25
