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
It’s Quiet…Too Quiet?
One thing about studying a species with cyclical or irregular movements, like snowy owls, is that every once in a while you hit a dull stretch. And in the East and upper Midwest, where Project SNOWstorm primarily works, it’s definitely one of those winters. So far, there have been only a handful of snowy owls reported from the western Great … Read More
Spice up Winter, See Cool Raptors — and Help Project SNOWstorm
As we mentioned earlier this season, we’re trying something new this winter — a chance for folks with an interest in raptors to do some small-group travel, see a variety of winter birds of prey and help Project SNOWstorm with a tax-deductible contribution at the same time. We’re partnering with Destination: Wildlife, a New York-based tour company that specializes in … Read More
Otter’s Summer Ramble
Once our tagged owls head north in the spring, that’s usually the last we hear from them until they come back south in the spring and re-enter the cell network, through which we communicate with their transmitters and obtain their data. There is one exception: Otter. First tagged in January 2019, this then-three-year-old adult male carries a hybrid transmitter. In … Read More
Taking SNOWstorm on the Road
When we started Project SNOWstorm 10 years ago, it was on a wing and a prayer, pulled together in a matter of a couple of frantic weeks in late 2013 in response to the largest snowy owl irruption in the East in more than 80 years. We didn’t plan for this to become one of the largest snowy owl research … Read More
A New Season Draws Near
It’s that time of year, when the first snowy owls are starting to appear south of the Arctic — a few have popped up in southern Ontario and the Great Lakes region in recent weeks, and quite a few in the Canadian prairies in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. This will be Project SNOWstorm’s 11th season of snowy owl research, … Read More