[texbirds] Big year for snowy owls?

From: David Reimer <dkrinc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "<texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2013 08:40:45 -0600
Guardian article - funny how most of the good birding articles in the "regular" 
press I find are from the UK!
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Ã¢ÂÂ Snow-white owls with luminous yellow eyes are thrilling bird-watchers as 
the magnificent birds set up winter residence at airports, fields and beaches 
far south of their normal Arctic range.
Snowy owls, familiar to children as Harry Potter's pet, made a noticeable 
appearance in the northern half of the U.S. in 2011. Bird-watchers recently 
report on eBird.org snowy owl sightings in dozens of locations across the 
Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states as far south as Cape Hatteras, N.C.

The owls live in the Arctic, but when their population spikes or lemmings are 
scarce, young ones fly south.

"Snowy owl populations are synchronized with their food source, lemmings," 
wildlife photographer Lillian Stokes, who co-authors the Stokes bird guides, 
said Thursday. "If the lemming population crashes, the owls have to go south in 
search of food."

A few snowy owls are seen in the U.S. every year, Stokes said. "But this year 
is phenomenal. People believe this could be historic numbers."

It's too early to say how large this year's snowy owl invasion will be, said 
Denver Holt, a researcher in Charlo, Mont., who has been studying the owls in 
Alaska for 22 years. "In 2011, it was enormous, nationwide, with sightings in 
35 states," Holt said.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website says that winter irruptions, or large 
numbers appearing outside their normal range, occur in snowy owls about every 
four years. During irruptive years, snowy owls may winter as far south as 
California, Texas and Florida.

They're easy to see because they're big and white, are active during the day, 
and hang out in flat, open areas such as airports, farm fields and coastal 
dunes and marshes, where they hunt for mice, rabbits, waterfowl and other prey.

Jessie Barrie, a scientist at the Cornell lab in Ithaca, agrees it's too early 
to say how this year's irruption compares to the one in 2011.

"We're just at the beginning of the invasion," Barrie said. "It certainly is at 
a level that is pretty intense and exciting for bird-watchers, though. There 
are multiple birds in many locations, an indication of a strong irruption."

Six snowy owls have been hanging out on one dock at Braddock Bay on Lake 
Ontario near Rochester. Stokes said she and her husband spotted nine on the New 
Hampshire coast last weekend. At least 20 have been reported around New Jersey, 
and birders flocked to the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in that 
state on Wednesday to peer at a snowy owl there.

Barrie said reporting by spotters in the eBird database provides researchers 
with valuable information that will help them better understand the movements 
of snowy owls and other species. Because the snowy owl, with a wingspan of 5 
feet, is so impressive, its appearance in an area can inspire people to get 
involved in bird-watching and citizen-science projects, she said.

"It's a magical bird that gets people really excited about seeing birds and 
engaging with the natural world," Barrie said.


http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/11097767

David Reimer
Dripping Springs
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[texbirds] Big year for snowy owls?

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