Will Snowy Owls return this winter?

Remember the winter of 2013-14? The Lehigh Valley was graced with uncommon sightings of Snowy Owls, a ghostly predator rarely seen in our region. Sometimes many years go by before one of these birds is seen here. Surprisingly they may be on their way back.

There are early signs of Snowy Owl invasion this year, according to the online bird watching service, E-bird.com. Some birders are speculating that the numbers may be even greater than the snowy winter of 2013-14.

Since October, an unusual number of sightings have been reported in the Upper Midwest and the upper New England states. Approximately 50 Snowy Owls already have been seen in the area between eastern Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The birds have been spotted on a backyard deck, a car roof in a parking lot, a roadside sign, a pickup truck and a bridge railing.

Snowy Owls spend their summers above the Arctic Circle hunting lemmings and other rodents in the 24 hours of daylight. They also eat ptarmigan and waterfowl. 

Their usual wintering range is Atlantic Canada, New England, northern New York, and the Great Lakes region. During the unusual winter of 2013-14, Snowy Owls were seen in such locations as the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and Little Talbot Island near Jacksonville, Florida. There was even one report in Hawaii!

We'll have to wait to see if the Snowy Owls visit our region again. In 2013-14, they were seen at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, Fogelsville along Route 100, Van Buren Road in Palmer Township, Township Line Road in Lower Nazareth, Williams Township, Queen City Airport in Allentown, Commerce City Boulevard in Bethlehem and near the Peterbilt truck stop at the Route 863 exit of Interstate 78.

Wintering birds favor locations that mimic the Arctic tundra: open and treeless areas. Because they often sit on the ground while hunting, they like rolling terrain whether they can find a spot from which to survey the surrounding area. They also need an ample source of prey such as mice or other rodents.

Snowy Owls are large white birds with varying amounts of black and brown markings on the body and wings. On females, the markings can be quite dense. Males tend to become whiter with age. The owls have smooth heads and no ear tufts. The dense feathering on their legs makes the bird seem wider at the base.

In years when lemming populations boom, the owls can raise two or three times their normal number of young. 

E-bird reports that it's difficult to understand the precise reason Snowy Owls are seen further south than normal. These uncommon sightings—known as irruptions—are a welcome sight for birders but maybe not for the owls.

"Common reasons for these southern 'irruptions' can include shortages of food further north in core wintering areas, or an excess of young birds that are driven from the better northern wintering areas to sub-par locations further south," E-bird says.

One cautionary note: Although the birds are being seen further south and sooner than usual, that doesn't necessarily mean a rerun of the 2013-14 winter, E-bird says.

TV tip: Program on owls scheduled for February 18

"Nature," the popular PBS program, plans to run an hourlong documentary on "Owl Power" in the coming week.

The program will examine how owls hunt, how their acute vision and hearing work, and how they fly so silently. It also will look at how their amazing abilities have influenced the development of aircraft, submarines and hearing aids.

WHYY, the Philadelphia-based PBS station, will telecast "Owl Power" on Wednesday, February 18, at 8 p.m. Check your cable system for the channel.

Snowy Owls venture as far south as Florida

Snowy Owls have been seen in the northern United States in previous winters, but the migration this year has brought the owls further south and in greater numbers than before. Here is a brief rundown on some of the sightings for this winter:

• Sandy Hook and Stone Harbor, both in New Jersey (watch a You Tube video on the Stone Harbor incident from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology).
• Ocracoke Airport and Hatteras Island, both on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
• Logan Airport outside Boston and on Cape Cod's Chatham Lighthouse.
• Jones Beach in New York, as well as central parts of the state.
• Clinton Lake, Kansas.
• Harrisonburg, Virginia.
• Port Mahon in Delaware.

Little Talbot Island in Florida/Florida Times-Union

On January 22, one perched on a ledge outside the building housing The Washington Post. 

Three Snowy Owls were reported in Union City, Oklahoma, just west of Oklahoma City. They were even reported on Little Talbot Island, a small undeveloped barrier island near Jacksonville, Florida.

The news media has been reporting that a Snowy Owl was seen this year in Hawaii as part of the current migration. We've been unable to verify this. There was a sighting at Kono sometime in 2012. Get the details here. The Honolulu Star Advertiser, the state's largest newspaper, makes no mention of any Snowy Owl sightings this winter.

Moreover there have been sightings the northern United States in previous years, including 2012. However, this is the largest migration and the farthest south in a long time.

How to find a Snowy Owl

Kevin McGowan, a biologist and ornithologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has these suggestions on how to spot a Snowy Owl. His tips were published on January 22 in the National Geographic Daily News.

Snowy Owl

Find open spaces. They prefer open ground because they're not used to seeing trees in their normal breeding habitat in the Arctic tundra regions. They rarely perch on trees. Instead, look for airport fields, farmlands and pastures, or coastal dunes.

Use eBird, a real-time online bird map. You can create a map specific for Snowy Owls, then limit your data range to January 2013 (to pick up early arrivals), then zoom on your location to see if Snowy Owls have been reported there.

Don't limit your gaze to the ground. You might see a Snowy Owl perching on fence posts, hay bales, barns or utility poles.


The eBird site also has some calls this season's Snowy Owl migration "one of the most dramatic national history spectacles in the Northeast and it is a story that continues to unfold."

Take advantage of this rare opportunity that may come once in a lifetime. Get out there and watch!

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owls are very large white owls with varying amounts of black and brown markings on the body and wings. On females, the markings can be quite dense. Males tend to be whiter with age. Snowy Owls have smooth heads and and no ear tufts. The body is bulky, with dense feathering on the legs, which makes the bird look wider at the base.

Their thick feathers for insulation make them the heaviest of North America's owls. Also notable are their yellow eyes.

Snowy Owls spend their summers above the Arctic Circle hunting lemmings and other rodents, ptarmigan and waterfowl in the 24-hour daylight. In years when lemming populations boom, the owls can raise double or triple the number of young. In winter, they may be found along shorelines of lakes or the ocean, as well as on farm fields or airport fields. Snowy Owls like open and treeless areas. Because they often sit on the ground while hunting, they like rolling terrain where they can find a spot to survey the surrounding area.

The female Snowy Owl builds a nest by scraping out a shallow hollow on the bare ground and shaping it by pressing her body into the depression. It may take a few days to form the nest. She may use the same one for a few years. Clutch size is three to 11 eggs usually in one brood per year.

Early this winter, Snowy Owls arrived in great numbers in Atlantic Canada, the northeastern United States and the Great Lakes region, with several found as far south as North Carolina. Even non-birders are finding these sights fascinating.

Biologists and ornithologists have seen this pattern of periodic arrivals for centuries but there are still many questions.

Snowy Owls have cyclic populations due to changes in number of prey. Snowy Owls may even skip a breeding season if food is scarce. Many "first-winter" or immature owls have been noted this winter, which leads scientists who believe that high breeding is a major factor. As there are more Snowy Owls seen in eastern states, it is believed that breeding season in the eastern Arctic this past summer was excellent.

Enjoy this winter's "invasion" and observe the owls from a safe distance.