Oswegatchie’s last check-in was June 16, when he was still hanging around the Mine Canadian in Malartic, Quebec — the largest open-pit gold mine in Canada. He’d been steering clear of the pit itself — not surprisingly, since a big hole in the ground is not the kind of habitat that would appeal to a snowy owl. (To get a … Read More

Oswegatchie has been the gift that keeps on giving — and the owl that keeps coming back. Every time we think we’re about to see the last of him, he reverses course to stay within cell range, or finds the only cell tower for miles. And he did it again this week. On Friday night he was on Lac Malartic … Read More

Sorry for the lack of updates — I’ve been guiding in Alaska the past couple of weeks. And while I was gone, our final tagged owl of the season still in cell contact, Oswegatchie, seemed to have flown the coop. After spending several weeks near Fitzroy Harbour on the Ontario/Quebec border, on May 28 Oswegatchie flew briefly north into Quebec, … Read More

Last week, when Oswegatchie failed to check in on Wednesday the 14th, we assumed it meant he had finally headed north — but we jumped the gun. The next day, Patricia and Daniel LaFortune — local SNOWstorm enthusiasts who had been keeping an eye on Oswegatchie — swung through that area and found him perched on a utility pole in … Read More

It looks as though our last snowy may have gone north. We had a report from Oswegatchie’s transmitter on Sunday evening, showing him still hunting the area around Fitzroy Harbour, Ontario the previous three days. But tonight, when he was due to check in again, there was nothing. The very warm weather in the East the past three days may … Read More

The only owl we’re still in regular contact with is Oswegatchie, who has settled down to a new favorite spot in the Ottawa River valley of southeastern Ontario. Oswegatchie had passed through this area back in late April while moving west, then fetched up for a few days just east of Algonquin Provincial Park. The night of May 1 he … Read More

The season is definitely winding down, and it seems as though several of the snowy owls that were near the edge of regular cell range may have passed beyond it, since only three checked in Thursday and Friday. Oswegatchie, who had been west of Ottawa, moved right to the edge of 7,600 square kilometer (2,900 square mile) Algonquin Provincial Park, … Read More

Ramsey, our Minnesota-tagged owl who spent the winter just outside the Twin Cities, definitely hears the call of the north. After missing a check-in on April 23, his transmitter phoned home on Saturday night — from Saskatchewan! In the previous six days he’d left Ramsey County, ND, flown across the southwestern corner of Manitoba the night of April 22-23 — … Read More

The last transmission cycle seems to have been a quiet one; four owls checked in, and they pretty much stuck to where they’d been the last time they sent in data. Millcreek hadn’t checked in for more than a week, but he was just off the Buffalo waterfront, stubbornly clinging to what’s left of the ice of Lake Erie, which … Read More