This immature male was originally banded by Scott Weidensaul on Jan. 31, 2014, near State College, PA, where the owl was frequenting the airport. Moved by USDA Wildlife Services to Perry County, PA, Wiconisco moved 15 miles farther east on his own and was recaptured and tagged by Weidensaul March 11. He was named for Wiconisco Creek, which flows through the farming valley where he was tagged.
In mid-March Wiconisco, like several other snowy owls, moved rapidly north through Pennsylvania and western New York. He reaches Buffalo and turned around, moving southeast about 40 miles to Wyoming County, NY, where his transmitter was last in contact on March 27, 2014.
Thanks to support from hundreds of people, Project SNOWstorm put GPS transmitters on 22 snowy owls during the winter of 2013-14 to study their ecology and movements while on the wintering grounds. Our work is ongoing, but we remain funded entirely by contributions from individuals and birding groups. Your support will allows us to continue this important research on these beautiful birds. Please donate to this project to make it a success!