Ebird Suggestions on Snowy Owls

[Melissa Groo]

I saw a snowy owl a couple weeks ago right off the shore of southern Lake Ontario; I spotted it sitting some ways off the parkway in a field. I pulled over and had to use a lot of willpower not to approach it for a good shot, though I did step a few yards from my car and sit watching it with my 500mm (got some poor shots). With the snowy owls in irruption this year, it's important for us to keep in mind that they are often exhausted from traveling and need some space. Reading this on the ebird web site helped clarify this for me:

An important word of caution about this striking and photogenic species--the birds we see in the states are already stressed, since they moved from locations in the north due to a lack of food. One of the southeast Wisconsin Snowy Owls in Ozaukee County was seen for a few days and then found dead by a farmer. Apparently the bird was extremely emaciated, so it likely starved to death. While very beautiful and often approachable, life for them can at times be very difficult, and keeping a good distance so as not to disturb them is the best approach. Please don't use live mice to lure them in to roadsides for photography. Flushing a large raptor, especially a white one can catch the attention of nearby crows causing unnecessary mobbing. We want these birds to successfully over-winter and then return back to the tundra to breed next spring.

You can read more about the irruption and see sightings here:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/got-snowies

[Randy Stout]

Melissa:

Thanks for bringing this up! Just yesterday I got a lead on a snowy less than ten miles from my home. I was so excited, as I have never seen one in the wild before, and do plan to check it out.
However, no matter how much I would like to get a good photo of a snowy, I will stay well back and not stress him. The location he chose is along a busy road, so it seems a bit odd, when there are lots of tracts of farm land near by, but so be it.

Cheers

Randy

[Melissa Groo]

Melissa:

Thanks for bringing this up! Just yesterday I got a lead on a snowy less than ten miles from my home. I was so excited, as I have never seen one in the wild before, and do plan to check it out.
However, no matter how much I would like to get a good photo of a snowy, I will stay well back and not stress him. The location he chose is along a busy road, so it seems a bit odd, when there are lots of tracts of farm land near by, but so be it.

Cheers

Randy

Good luck with your nearby snowy owl, Randy, how exciting!!!

[Dave Leroy]

A very interesting link Melissa and thanks for posting it. Here in Delta, BC, near at the mouth of the Fraser River every three or four years we will get several or more Snowies show up. This year seems to be a banner year with 20 or more in one marsh area and 6 or so in another. The owls seem to like the same perches during the day. Often the perches are close to a dyke where walkers, bikers, dog walkers and others frequent. Apparently they get used to the activity because they don't flush from the passer by's.

One of the downsides to the snowies is the added pressure on both food and habitat. Several Short-eared Owls have moved off from the one marsh area. Also with the winter harriers and short-eared owls and now large numbers of snowies I would expect a tough winter for all these birds.

[John Watson]

Good info! Another site what has a more interactive and up to date map of snowy owl sitings is at http://www.owlpages.com/owlstuff.php?c=2011-12-05-1553 .
One reason the owls are often found near roads is because of the drainage ditch along the road. They hunt mice (voles) in the ditch. Many end up being struck by cars as they pay more attention to the pry and not the cars and trucks.

John

[Melissa Groo]

Thanks John. That's a good site too, I had seen it before. Interesting about the drainage ditch, that sure makes sense.