Want to see a snowy owl? This could be your winter

This could be an unusually good year for snowy owl sightings in southern Canada.

Over the weekend, the Owl Foundation, an owl rehabilitation center located in the Niagara region of Ontario, said in a Facebook post thatit has already adopted two young snowy owls this year, suggesting this is “the year of the snowy owl invasion!”

An invasion is a surge in a local population of a species, such as an unusual number of snowy owls moving south from the Arctic. More juvenile snowy owls have been recorded earlier than usual in southern Canada and the northern U.S. this year, and researchers say that could mean a chance to see a relatively rare visitor from the North that was recently marked as endangered Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

The post was written by Brian Hayhoe, a wildlife biologist and rehabilitator for the Owl Foundation. He says the center has seen zero to two snowy owls visit the center each year over the past few winters, often only in December or January.

He's heard from other wildlife centers in other parts of Ontario that are also reporting higher numbers earlier than usual, and said they are often the first to notice similar trends: “Rehabilitators are like the canary in the coal mine.”

Meanwhile, Two snowy owls recently drew a crowd near Chicago.which also raises speculation about the year of the invasion.

Scott Weidensaul, a researcher with the snowy owl GPS tracking program Project SNOWstorm, says most snowy owl sightings in the South so far have been in the central and western Great Lakes and prairies. But several were noticed Far west like British Columbiawhere they have rarely been seen in recent years.

“Maybe this year is going to be decent too,” Weidensaul said.

What does it cost?possible snowy owl invasion

An invasion is a mass movement of birds that occurs periodically—as opposed to a migration that occurs regularly, such as from a northern region to another region.Southern region every autumn.

For snowy owls, infestations often bring them south in large numbers every six years or so, says Guy Fitzgerald, a veterinarian who specializes in wild birds of prey in the United States.he is from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Montreal and is part of the SNOWstorm project team.

There are reports of intrusions into 2017-2018 And 2020-2021. But Weidensaul says the largest in recent history occurred in 2013-2014, when “literally thousands of snowy owls flew in from the subarctic.”

Fitzgerald says peaks in snowy owl numbers over the past decade have not been as evident as in the past. “This could be a sign that something is wrong in their breeding area in the north.”

Nicolas Lecomte is a professor at the University of Moncton, part of a team that has been tracking and studying snowy owls for 25 years and collaborating with Project SNOWstorm.

He says invasions typically occur in years when lemmings, an important food source for snowy owls, are abundant in the Arctic. During these years, snowy owls produce many more chicks than usual, and there can be hundreds of nests in a very small area.

“It’s just wonderful to see,” Lecomte said.

In the fall, these owls must disperse in search of food, often heading south in large numbers.

Some snowy owls come south every winter in search of food, but there are not many of them.

For much of the winter, they can be found consistently on the prairies, with their tundra landscape, relatively shallow snow cover, and agricultural fields where voles, mice, and other prey are abundant.

Jody Aller, who lives in Drumheller, Alta., says there is a pair of snowy owls living near his home. right now, and he sees them often on his travels.

“You know, I can go to Calgary and back and you're almost guaranteed to see a snowy owl sometime in December or January, and that's just amazing,” said Allaire, director of communications for Birds Canada.

They are also found along shorelines in the Great Lakes region and further east, where they prey on waterfowl stuck in ice—something Allaire said he witnessed while living in Long Point, Ont., on Lake Erie.

Fitzgerald says owls are also commonly seen at airports, including both airports in the Montreal area – one of his goals is to move them so they don't interfere with planes.

In a normal year, small numbers of adult and juvenile snowy owls are found in southeastern Canada. But during invasion years, a much larger proportion are minors, Leconte said.

So is this the year of the invasion?

Lecomte says researchers weren't aware of particularly good breeding grounds for snowy owls in the Arctic this year, although Fitzgerald notes the owls may simply have been somewhere that hasn't been surveyed.

Snowy owl sightings appear to be frequent early in the season this year, but Leconte says they won't know if it's a true irruption until January, when more birds head south.

How to see polar owls

Snowy owls are most often found in agricultural fields and coastal areas.

Allair advises people to visit snowy owls if they are near you. “Go see it, take your family with you… it’s such a treat to see.”

He thinks it's a great way to connect with nature, but recommends keeping an eye on the birds from a distance and not lingering too long. “If the bird changes its behavior because of your proximity, it’s time to leave,” he said.

Birds Canada has list of recommendations to minimize the likelihood of disturbing owls while observing them. Fitzgerald recommends contacting birders who know where to find birds and birding etiquette.

He also notes that snowy owls are nocturnal and need to rest during the day. “If you disrupt this resting behavior, you can affect the health of the bird.”

He says every winter he gets calls from people who think they've seen an injured snowy owl because it's sitting on the ground with its eyes closed. Sometimes, when he explains that this is how snowy owls rest because there are no trees in the Arctic tundra to perch on, they have already approached the bird and forced it to fly away.

Another problem is photographers who Bait owls with mice purchased from pet storesa practice condemned by conservationists. Fitzgerald says this causes birds to associate cars and people with food, causing snowy owls to fly towards and collide with cars.

He says that with all the technology now available, including telescopes and long-focus cameras, there is no reason to get close to the birds, especially given all the problems they already face.

Snowy owls are disappearing

Birds Canada monitors bird populations through an annual citizen science project called Christmas Bird Count. Since 1970, the number of snowy owls has declined by 56 percent.

Aller says climate change is likely a significant factor. Snow owls are adapted to hunting rodents in soft snow, in icy and warming conditions”create really very difficult conditions,” he said.

Loss of habitat in more southern areas where the birds winter, as well as collisions with vehicles, also play a role, he said.

Due to the sharp decline in the species' numbers, scientists from the Canadian Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada recommended in May that snowy owls be added to the List of endangered species of Canada. The governments of Canada and Quebec have not yet officially recognized this status.

Weidensaul hopes that seeing snowy owls will connect people with the Arctic and make them think about the threats facing animals living there.

“You don’t see a polar bear walking down the streets of Chicago,” he said. “But these snowy owls bring with them a piece of the Arctic south.”