Assateague’s back, and we couldn’t be happier. You’ll recall that he was the first snowy owl we tagged this winter, back on Dec. 17 on his namesake island in Maryland. He’s also been one of the most exciting to track, moving more than 150 miles in a couple of weeks around Delaware Bay and up the New Jersey … Read More
Erie and Millcreek
What a week. There’s a lot of news to share, all of it good, which will come in a couple of updates. But the biggest development is that earlier this week, Mike Lanzone and Tom McDonald tagged two more snowies in northwestern Pennsylvania at Erie International Airport. But that success only came after two long, frustrating days trying to catch … Read More
How to Make an Owl Researcher’s Heart Stop
Every time we get an upload of data from Philly’s transmitter, which happens every third day, I hold my breath a little until I’m sure he’s still OK. As we’ve pointed out before, living in the middle of one of the nation’s busiest airports, and hunting beside the busiest interstate in the country, is an invitation for trouble. We’ve also … Read More
Airport Food Court
Most people want to get in and out of airports as quickly as possible, but not Philly. Apparently this young male owl, which we tagged on Jan. 9, has found his own food court at Philadelphia International Airport — though it’s not the safest place to hunt. One theory about why airports are so attractive to snowy owls is that, … Read More
Over the top!
When we launched the Indiegogo campaign for Project SNOWstorm on Jan. 2, we gulped hard and set the goal at $20,000 by March 2, hoping we’d get at least a good portion of that figure to fund additional transmitters. So it is with no small degree of amazement, and a boundless sense of gratitude, that we mark a milestone: This … Read More
David Sibley print to benefit SNOWstorm
We’re delighted (and honored) that renowned artist and field guide author David Sibley is making limited edition prints of this lovely gouache portrait of a snowy owl available to support Project SNOWstorm. David will donate $10 from the purchase of each signed, numbered giclee print to help fund the work we’re doing to study this winter’s snowy owl invasion. The painting … Read More
He (hearts) Philly
I spend a lot of time at airports, but usually not like this — crouching next to a taxiway at Philadelphia International Airport, trying to keep a snowy owl from being killed. Working with the USDA’s APHIS-Wildlife Services program and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, I was hoping to catch a snowy that had set up housekeeping at the midst of … Read More
Hair on fire
Sorry for the lack of updates the past few days — there’s been plenty going on, some of it behind the scenes (more about that shortly). One friend commented today, “You guys must be running around like your hair’s on fire.” That pretty much sums it up. In Wisconsin, SNOWstorm collaborator Gene Jacobs has been trying to tag two more … Read More
Checking in on Buena Vista
Thanks to Eric Preston of Madison, Wisconsin, for sending in this photo of “Buena Vista,” which was tagged with a transmitter on Dec. 23 in Portage County, WI. Here you can see the transmitter clearly, right where it’s supposed to be – high in the middle of the back. Buena Vista has been hanging out in the same square mile … Read More
Back on the prowl
After his enforced hiatus during the snowstorm, Assateague was back on the prowl last night, cruising much of lower Barnegat Bay. He flew across Barnegat Inlet to Island Beach, then made a number of extensive overwater flights to the north, sometimes stopping (as has been his habit) on channel markers a mile or two offshore. How much of that was … Read More