So, the great “Bolt for the North” we were expecting last week didn’t materialize, although one snowy did shift his compass in that direction and one of our long-stationary owls did begin to move significantly — although to the west, not the north. And one of the owls that had been migrating north did a complete turnaround and is back … Read More
They’re Off (Some of Them, Anyway)
Just a quick update, but after a few false starts, two of our tagged owls are moving north in a serious way. Huron, after lingering for several weeks at the edge of Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron, flew 220 miles (355 km) north, up the “hand” of Michigan’s mitten, across the Straits of Mackinac and onto the Upper Peninsula, covering … Read More
Alderbrooke, All Over the Place
For an owl that was off our radar until just a few weeks ago, Alderbrooke has proven to be one of the most wide-ranging of this winter’s owls. When she first popped back on the grid last month she was on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in southern Québec, 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Québec City. … Read More
First on the Way
And they’re off. We’ve been wondering when the first significant push north would occur among this winter’s cadre of snowy owls, and it appears Huron, the adult female that had been wintering in southern Ontario, is the first out of the gates. Since late January she’s been hanging out south of Tilbury, ON, between Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, … Read More
A Big (Pleasant) Surprise
We’re usually on tenterhooks in late autumn and early winter — from about mid-November to the end of December — expecting to hear from the first returning tagged snowy owls. As we’ve mentioned before, this was a very slow year on that front — just two returning veterans, Columbia and Otter, compared with a more typical winter like 2021-22 when … Read More
A Last Hurrah on the Prairie
Working with snowy owls is not for the faint of heart; you’re outside for long hours in weather that sends most people scurrying for the warmth of a wood stove and a mug of hot chocolate. And in a winter like this, when there’s been no appreciable irruption and the owls are thin on the land, those hours and days … Read More
Homebodies and Wanderers (and One Crazy Mink)
We’re at the point in the winter where we have a sense of the personalities — and I use the word advisedly, because individual birds certainly do have personalities — of the owls we’re tracking. Some of them habitually find a spot and stick like a tick; others, at least as evidenced by their GPS data, have wandering wings. We … Read More
Howdy, Huron!
It’s been a slow start to the season, but not for a lack of trying on the part of our cooperating banders — and that’s finally paying off as more snowy owls have moved into their territories. Our newest trapping team are Charlotte England and Malcolm Wilson in the Toronto, ON, area. They’re part of the Simcoe Raptor Research Group, … Read More
How Does This Winter Stack Up?
Happy 2023, a bit belatedly — I hope the new year is off to a peaceful start for everyone. Columbia certainly seems to have found her spot, and every check-in shows her using a fairly small 11 sq. km (4.25 sq. mile) area of farmland southeast of Carman, MB. That’s where Ken Stewart, an amateur wildlife photographer, encountered Columbia on … Read More
A Year-end Update, and an Out-of-Place Owl
Here’s hoping everyone is enjoying the final days of 2022. It certainly seems as though Columbia has found her spot for the winter, just southeast of Carman, Manitoba, where she’s been hanging out since the beginning of December. It’s always possible deeper snow cover may eventually force her farther south where hunting may be easier, but for now she seems … Read More