A town in Connecticut has dogs, Saugerties, N.Y. has butterflies, but what do they have in Coxsackie, NY? Owls! Owls are on display in town and will be auctioned off in late September to benefit local charities.
It goes to reason that Coxsackie would choose owls for a fund raiser. The town name originates with Native Americans. The area was originally inhabited by the Mohicans(Mahicans), part of the Algonquin nation. Original meaning of the town name was said to relate to owls. Two possible translations of Coxsackie in its previous spellings were “Hoot of the Owl” and “Place of the Owls.”
Location
Where can you find these owls? There appears to be someone 9W and I found some along different parts of Mansion Street and on other streets in the waterfront area. Mansion Street in Coxsackie along with 9W appear to be the main business streets. Although I would try to pick up a map locally to try to locate them all. There are many more than the ones I pictured.
If you are traveling along the NYS Thruway and want to break to stretch your legs and get a bite, pull off on Exit 21B. Punch in under intersections Mansion Street and 9W on your GPS. That should get you there. There are many owls around Coxsackie. Go out and have a peek. If you like one, bid on it. It supports local causes. Get out and enjoy your surroundings!
For more information:
Or their Facebook page: What a Hoot by search or:
Sharon's Iconic Travel Photography Blog 
Wow! Thank you, Sharon! These photos are really wonderful. They make me want to get out to Coxsackie to see them in person for myself. ..
It seems to me many towns have tried similar fundraisers, but with their own unique takes on
various creatures or objects. To add to your list, Putnam, CT has calves, Salem, MA has ship figureheads, and Bennington, VT has both catamounts and moose. And my own city of Worcester once did it with the most mundane of objects, giant energy-saving light bulbs…LOL!
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Does Salem have the ship figureheads now? Or was that in the past? I love it when they incorporate something local into the mix. Owl is part of the town’s name in a Native American language.
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Actually, I think you are right about Salem. The ship figureheads were during the last time I was there in 2018 (I’m not sure if they are still there or not, perhaps there are some that remain..)
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These owls are marvelous! I love the photographer and the snowy family and really enjoyed every one of them . Thanks for sharing them.
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I like them all! I am attached to those two as well. Photographer for obvious reasons and the snowy because I got to take pictures of a few this past winter. It was hard choosing which ones to include.
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Coxsackie Owls On Friday, July 16, 2021, Sharon’s Iconic Travel Photography Blog wrote:
> sharonsiconictravelphotographyblog posted: ” A town in Connecticut has > dogs, Saugerties, N.Y. has butterflies, but what do they have in Coxsackie, > NY? Owls! Owls are on display in town and will be auctioned off in late > September to benefit local charities. It goes to reason that Coxsackie wou” >
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Loving the series you are doing, Sharon. After the butterflies, the owls stole the show and the artists were really creative with it . Thank you for this glimpse into a world so different from mine.
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The owls are great! They even sell small ones you can do yourself. It’s a great idea to raise money for charities. The artist gets part of the money from the auction.
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Several towns here in WMass do similar except for the most part the animals are permanent fixtures. In our town there are a few cows, other towns have terriers, pigs, etc. It’s fun for the communities and occasionally there is a fundraising auction.
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Here the art is all up for auction. If any are seen permanently after the auction the business or homeowner bought it.
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Sharon, when I read your title, I was thinking, “Cool, I’ve never heard of this owl before!” 😅 😂 Love these Coxsackie owls! I love when you visit a town and find themed artist sculptures throughout the streets. Or painted fire hydrants! 🙂
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Ha! Lots of owls I have not seen yet. I’m always looking for something different. There are several towns with these right now. Some never held their auctions last year due to covid so they left them up or put them out again. The artist usually gets some of the proceeds the rest usually goes to charity.
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Great findings!! Some are even cute 🙂
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