Just a very quick update to say that all three of our tagged owls are where we’d expect them to be. After going dark for a week, Hochelaga’s transmitter picked up enough solar juice to reconnect regularly starting Feb. 20, and his data show he’s doing what he’s been doing all winter, hanging around the Montréal-Trudeau airport and nearby highways. … Read More
North, Then Not
As we noted last week, both of our veteran snowy owls, Newton and Hochelaga, have been off the grid for a week or two. In my most recent update, I noted that both had very low battery voltages before they went dark, so that their radio silence probably had to do with low solar recharge that’s not unusual at this … Read More
Introducing Loren
For the first time in this exceedingly slow winter, we have a newly tagged owl to introduce — Loren, an immature female in Québec. After she showed up at the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, she was trapped Jan. 25 by biologists from Falcon Environmental, which handles wildlife control at the airport — they have been great colleagues of our in years … Read More
Two Owls, Two Personalities
So far this winter, two of our previously tagged snowy owls have come far enough south to register on the cell network and send data — Newton, an adult male tagged last winter in southern Ontario, and Hochelaga, another male that is at least 10 years old, who came down into southern Québec after remaining in the subarctic last winter. … Read More
Newton Update
In the 10 days or so since he reappeared on the cell network, Newton has seemed content to remain in the Timiskaming area of eastern Ontario, just 20 km (13 miles) from the Québec border. This is a pocket of open, flat farmland at the north end of Lake Timiskaming, more or less surrounded by boreal forest. He’s been on … Read More
Finally — Owls!
It’s been a long time coming, is all I can say. Last night (Sunday, Jan. 14) my cell phone started buzzing around 7 p.m. Eastern time, as my wife and I were eating dinner. I glanced to see who was texting me, and almost dropped my fork when I saw the words “CTT Check-in Alert: Unit Newton – ATY Male.” … Read More
Still Time to Join Our Winter Raptors Tour
A quick update — we have a couple of spots still available for the winter raptor fundraising tour we’re running at the end of the month with Destination: Wildlife, from Jan. 31-Feb. 7 in upstate New York and southern Ontario. (These dates are a slight shift from what we originally proposed, so doublecheck your calendars.) You can find costs and … Read More
A Year-end Thank You
As we close out 2023, everyone at Project SNOWstorm sends our sincere thanks to all of those who have supported our work in the past year. We are unique in that 100 percent of our operating funds comes from individual donations (tax deductible for U.S. residents), rather than from foundations, agencies or other institutions. No one of the SNOWstorm team … Read More
A Look Back – Way Back
As we wait to see if snowy owl activity will pick up as we move deeper into winter, I thought it would be fun to look back on something my SNOWstorm co-founder Dave Brinker pulled together in December 2015, during our early years, which puts what we’re doing in some historical perspective. This was the first of several “On the … Read More