Posted by Dan Arndt
There have been many articles published this year about the incredible, record-setting irruption of Snowy Owls in Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States. For example, over the span of one weekend in late 2013, over 300 individual birds were counted in Newfoundland. In a similar fashion to a story from last winter of a Snowy Owl being seen in Hawai’i (where it was unfortunately shot by USDA’s Wildlife Division), this year one was seen as far south as Bermuda!
You can tell just from eBird that there are Snowy Owls all across Canada and the northern U.S., but relatively few make it further west into British Columbia.
Here in the Calgary area, we’ve been rather lucky as well, as this is the third winter in a row where we’ve been on the receiving end of a fairly large irruption. While I haven’t been out as much this year to search for them as I was last, I’ve still had some fairly good luck, netting four owls in a single day in November in the Beiseker area in mid-December, two owls at once in a single day around Frank Lake in late January, and six owls in a single day in the Blackie area in early February. Some local die-hards have even reported finding as many as fifteen (yes, 15) in a single, all-day trip southeast of Calgary.
This map from eBird shows pretty much what one would expect given those numbers, and I wouldn’t hesitate to consider this the furthest westerly extent of the same population of Snowy Owls responsible for the massive numbers out east.
One interesting thing discovered by Project SNOWstorm is that many of these Snowy Owls are in very good health, which goes against the common belief that these irruptions are the fallout from a crash in the lemming population on the tundra, leading starving owls to search further afield for suitable food to survive the winter. There are some others that suggest that this common belief may be completely erroneous, based on the research of Norman Smith, Tom McDonald, and other researchers in the U.S. and Canada.
Of course, not all the Snowy Owls that make their way down here in the early winter will return north. Even those in great health that simply are unable to adapt to the food supply further south, those that have close encounters with power lines, vehicles, or other man-made hazards will simply be unable to return north due to injury or death.
You might have noticed as well that I tend not to label my Snowy Owl photos as male or female. Based on data collected from Scott Weidensaul and Norman Smith indicate that the usual conclusions of all-white individuals being older males, and heavily barred/marked individuals being young females may be much more complex than previously thought.
One thing that is indisputable by any birder, photographer, or even someone who simply enjoys nature and all of its beauty, is that Snowy Owls are absolutely marvelous creatures, and always a treat to find, whether it’s the first one you’ve ever seen in your entire life, or the twentieth one you’ve seen that day. I’ll never get tired of photographing them, especially when they pose in front of such a nice backdrop!
Have a wonderful week, and good birding!
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This is not an irruption around here this is normal wintering area for these birds and have been for thousands of years. Like all northern owls that have to move to find food over a large area over the winter, their numbers fluctuate from day to day, week to week, and now that we are approaching spring, the birds that have wandered further south are moving north again and they sometimes clump up in an area that either has food, or the weather stops them.
I have studied Snowy Owls here around Calgary for about 10 years and have found these facts out for myself.
Thanks Dan for the info on the sex of snowy owls. We saw and photographed three in the Frank Lake area last week, but did not find any today! Instead, we got three bald eagles and a few snow buntings as well as five(?) horned larks in the Frank Lake/Blackie area.
Great article; however, you left out recent research that snowy owls often winter on the pack ice; the dramatic increase of polar ice this last year could account for the owls coming south. It could be the owls are primarily east of the divide is because the western populations may have found pack ice sufficiently open. See the article
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/snowy-owl-invasion-puzzles-sci/21127590
Thanks for that info, Jerry! Very interesting article. That’s not something I’ve seen brought up very often in the discussions I’ve read in the last couple of years, but it’s a good point. I wonder if the major decrease in pack ice overall may lead to “irruption” years on an annual basis, as they simply have no where else to go?
Very nice article, Dan!
Phil Cram
Thanks Phil!
Well written article here Dan! Keep them coming, please.
Turbo
Much appreciated, Turbo!