Winter owls

I'm curious if anyone has a forecast for owls this winter. 
I've already encountered Snowys (a bit early for ND by about a week)
So wondering if it will be good year

Thanks

wdg wrote:I'm curious if anyone has a forecast for owls this winter. 
I've already encountered Snowys (a bit early for ND by about a week)
So wondering if it will be good year

Thanks

My favourite topic.  It's hard to predict snowy owls.  The people with the best idea would be the researchers who do their surveys up north.  Their reports usually don't get published until much later in the season, if at all.  Trick is to find those websites or Facebook pages and see if there are any tidbits revealed. 

I checked the eBird maps and see nothing unusual so far.  2015 was a big year for snowy owls, even in October. We've had at least 3+ good years for snowy owl movement.  In eastern Ontario we always get our share of snowy owls just about every winter.  And they always seem to show up at the same locations.  Eagleson and Fallowfield and westward is pretty much a good area year after year.  Same for the St.-Isidore area, aka east of Casselman.  Everyone knows where that is.

Last winter was an irruption year for great gray owls and boreal owls.  These two species tend to irrupt at the same time which is usually every four years and sometimes five. It's been every 4 years since at least 2000.  Northern hawk owls were also expected to move with the two aforementioned species.  But people noticed there were not many reports last winter of northern hawk owls.

This coming winter is the winter following an irruption winter.  The winters preceding and following an irruption winter may see a small influx of these boreal birds.  We will see. 

I noticed one particular banding station catching a number of long-eared owls.  Not even sure if it means anything, if at all. 

Many years ago, owl forecasts were included in the annual Finch Forecasts.  They stopped doing that a number of years ago.  The reason was that owls were hard to predict and they don't do as many small rodent surveys as they have in the past. However, past Finch Forecasts have left many clues.  Just go back and re-read them and see when certain species of owls were forecasted based on the seed supply in certain areas and this affects certain rodent populations that feed on such seeds.  There are other factors too.

One owl species you can always count on to migrate in October is the Northern Saw-whet Owl. They are true migrators, meaning they are known to migrate southward annually regardless of whether there is food up north or not.  However studies have shown that the numbers migrating southward depends on the number of young fledged that year.  Some saw-whets stay in their breeding areas. Northern Saw-whet Owls are so predictable as to when they move that banding stations specifically set up during the month of October to catch and band them.

PS. I see some recent changes being implemented to ebird.  You will no longer be able to see reports of Northern Hawk Owls or Great Gray Owls.  These species will be shown in a general 400km radius. Only researchers who work on studying these birds will have access to the data. This came into effect starting in October 2017. However, all previous sightings for past years are also blacked out. Ridiculous and unnecessary censorship.

Snowy owls, boreal owls and northern saw-whet owls are still OK to report.  It may be that snowy owls are usually skittish and will fly away when approached unless you feed them. Saw-whet owls and Boreal owls are both difficult to find.  They also tend to move from roost site to roost site so not easy to re-find them from day to day.  Great Gray Owls and Northern Hawk Owls on the otherhand are easy to approach and can be seen during daylight hours.  If they are fed, they tend to stick to a certain spot making them very easy to see daily.

I'm sure that is the reason these two owl species have been blocked from being published to eBirds with a location less than a 400km radius from the actual sighting.  You still report them but the sighting is only being shown as a blotchy rectangle covering about a radius of 400km.  You can see that in effect right now by searching for Great Gray Owl on the eBird map for October 2017.  Or any sighting from past years too.  eBird has blacked them all out.  That is kind of extreme and heavy handed.  I can see them blocking current sightings but not ones in the past.  The sharing of info is mostly a one way thing now with eBird.  You give and you get. From now on it will only be one way. Hey, feel free to help us but we are not here to help you. But thanks for the info anyway.  Citizen science and sharing of data.  eBird has decided what is best for us all. 

However, this doesn't stop people from sharing locations via Facebook, Flickr and other means. Last winter there were likely hundreds of birders and photographers that visited a special Northern Hawk Owl near Quebec City. Most shared by word of mouth and via social media including Flickr, etc.  There were also a lot of eBird reports.

As for the censoring of eBird sightings for sensitive species, I understand that Europeans have been asking for that for years. That may be due to issues with people hunting or catching certain birds (for trade or other reasons).  I can see why they would block sightings for those reasons.

Here is the long list of sensitive species (which includes Barn Owl, Spotted Owl, Great Gray Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Golden-winged Laughing thrush, Yellow-breasted Racquet-tail, Philippine Cockatoo, Orange-bellied Parrot and a lot more)  whose exact location will not be published to eBird starting in October 2017 (and apparently, retroactively as well).  

http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/a ... ?b_id=1928


You'll see in the above list, that Gyrfalcon and two more falcons are also included as these falcons are rare, highly valued and some people try to catch them for use in falconry.

PS.  Cornell has been providing Snowy Owl alerts for the past 3 years.  As soon as someone reports a Snowy Owl sighting to eBird, whether the sighting is confirmed or not, they alert everyone about it.  This is only for Snowy Owls in the USA.  I imagine they will continue to do this since Snowy Owls are not on the banned list of species.  

Here is the link.
http://ebird.org/ebird/alert/summary?sid=SN40647&sortBy=obsDt

In case you don't already know, the 2017-2018 Finch Forecast can be found here:
2017-2018 Finch Forecast

Look at the White Spruce photo at the bottom of the page.  Funny thing is I was playing golf mid-September up in Gatineau, Quebec in a foursome and one fella remarked how the spruce trees on the course were full of cones and that he had not seen them with so many cones in a long time. It's a bumper crop this year.

Older Finch Forecasts can be found on Larry Neily's website.  You can see back then they included owl forecasts as well.
Past Finch Forecasts

Here in Interior Alaska, and around Denali, we had a boom in vole populations following a normal snowy winter. Consequently we experienced a huge uptick in owls and sightings. Short-eared owls and hawkowls were in abundance. Great nesting success. Over the last four decades I averaged about one hawkowl sighting per year but already this year I have seen 14, with super photo opps. We recently had a freeze/thaw with the snow turning to ice locally. This will impact the voles and where the owls go is probably anyone's guess. How owls learn of irruptions in rodent populations is a fascinating mystery.

I doubt our owls go to the east coast area but who knows?

Thanks much for all the information.
The Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs, Redpolls are here in numbers larger than I've seen in years.
Hoping the Snowys will follow suit - there have just been a couple here and there although this is the time that they move around a lot in the state.
Not sure about the vole population, but in my yard the gophers are doing great...

tom walker wrote:Here in Interior Alaska, and around Denali, we had a boom in vole populations following a normal snowy winter. Consequently we experienced a huge uptick in owls and sightings. Short-eared owls and hawkowls were in abundance. Great nesting success. Over the last four decades I averaged about one hawkowl sighting per year but already this year I have seen 14, with super photo opps. We recently had a freeze/thaw with the snow turning to ice locally. This will impact the voles and where the owls go is probably anyone's guess. How owls learn of irruptions in rodent populations is a fascinating mystery.

I doubt our owls go to the east coast area but who knows?

Interesting info.  I really do not understand the northern hawk owl much.  I read that research on this species is difficult due to the low density. Not sure how much research has been done on this owl or if any are banded or otherwise tracked like they are doing now with snowy owls using transmitters attached to them. I assume the ones that come down here (eastern Ontario, Canada) in the winter months come from northern Quebec or Northern Ontario where they are known to breed. 

Since you mention there are more than the usual number of northern hawk owls this year where you live, would this be a cause for them to move?  I ask because the large number of snowy owls moving southward for the past several years was due, as some speculate, to too many young birds as opposed to too few.  That they were moving due to too much competition which in reality is a sort of "food shortage".  Like I said, I do not know what makes northern hawk owls move but they have been known to move in sync with boreal owls and great gray owls as seen during irruption winters.  Far as I am aware, those species move only due to food shortage which matches the cyclical population of small mammals up north.  That's why you only see an irruption southward every 4 years only.  Sometimes 5 but predominantly a 4 year cycle.  I will have to read the research papers again written on these owls.

I had no idea that northern hawk owls can be used as a falconry bird.  I wonder how many are actually using a northern hawk owl for this purpose? 

https://www.ontario.ca/page/falconry

A Snowy Owl was observed in Covington Oklahoma yesterday.

One interesting point to remember, common redpolls banded in Fairbanks, Alaska ended up later that year in Quebec. Who knows where hawkowls go. Here is an interesting piece:

https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/ ... night-owl/

tom walker wrote:One interesting point to remember, common redpolls banded in Fairbanks, Alaska ended up later that year in Quebec. Who knows where hawkowls go. Here is an interesting piece:

https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/ ... night-owl/

That is an interesting article.  The person did not elaborate on why he thought the northern hawk owl was hunting at night.  Maybe it was just defending its territory?   Or what time of the year this was at such as during breeding season where pressure for food to feed young may pressure an adult bird to hunt out of its normal hunting habits.  Still, a very nice read.  

Of all the northern hawk owls I have observed over the years here in eastern Ontario and south-western Quebec, most leave to fly back north by the second week in March with few exceptions. 

PS.  One thing I am noticing this fall is that there have been more than the usual number of reported short-eared owl sightings in eastern Ontario to south-western Quebec.  

Amazing but looks to be another good snowy owl winter.  They are actually starting to show up now in eastern Ontario and areas of Quebec in early November.  Someone just shared this link with me which may explain why.

Excerpt: "As many of you are aware, there have already been an unusually large number of snowy owls reported in the Great Plains, Midwest and Northeast, some as far south as Oklahoma and Virginia. It looks like a very exciting winter lies ahead."

Project SnowStorm snowy owl outlook
http://www.projectsnowstorm.org/posts/new-season-report-arctic/


Article from Audubon on possible snowy owl irruption this winter.
http://www.audubon.org/news/hold-your-bins-another-blizzard-snowy-owls-could-be-coming

This looks to be another snowy owl irruption winter. They're showing up now with 5 reported at one location in Hamilton and other snowy owls elsewhere. Not everyone understands snowy owls as these householders blame the birders and photographers for the owl's presence on their property. I must say based on the account, the owl was very persistent. The homeowners thought the snowy owl was going after their chickens when the birds made a raucous. One of the people from the property was photographed with a whip in hand, apparently intended for the owl. It may have been a scare tactic but the owl ended up injured but speculation is that it had flown into a wall.

http://www.telegram.com/news/20171115/s ... -homeowner

This is outstanding!! Can't wait to start photographing.

Just a heads up. The Hamilton area has many snowy owls moving in recently. An email from Ontbirds to use common sense.

"I have a huge favor to ask of everyone. It is no secret that snowy owls are
showing up on eastport drive in large numbers. Last night we had our 3rd
owl hit by a car. The owls are coming over to the lines of photographers
and then hanging out on the road. If everyone could please resist the urge
to photograph them here we could very likely save the lives of many of
these owls. I can only speculate why these birds are flying over to groups
of people when they setup to photograph them but it sounds likely that they
are associating people with food. Without starting up that debate I only
ask that people please do not stop on eastport drive to photograph them for
the owls sake. Thanks"

OntPhoto wrote:Just a heads up.  The Hamilton area has many snowy owls moving in recently.  An email from Ontbirds to use common sense.

"I have a huge favor to ask of everyone. It is no secret that snowy owls are
showing up on eastport drive in large numbers. Last night we had our 3rd
owl hit by a car. The owls are coming over to the lines of photographers
and then hanging out on the road. If everyone could please resist the urge
to photograph them here we could very likely save the lives of many of
these owls. I can only speculate why these birds are flying over to groups
of people when they setup to photograph them but it sounds likely that they
are associating people with food. Without starting up that debate I only
ask that people please do not stop on eastport drive to photograph them for
the owls sake. Thanks"

Well colour me suspicious...gotta be baiting going on here.

Gary Irwin wrote:

OntPhoto wrote:Just a heads up.  The Hamilton area has many snowy owls moving in recently.  An email from Ontbirds to use common sense.

"I have a huge favor to ask of everyone. It is no secret that snowy owls are
showing up on eastport drive in large numbers. Last night we had our 3rd
owl hit by a car. The owls are coming over to the lines of photographers
and then hanging out on the road. If everyone could please resist the urge
to photograph them here we could very likely save the lives of many of
these owls. I can only speculate why these birds are flying over to groups
of people when they setup to photograph them but it sounds likely that they
are associating people with food. Without starting up that debate I only
ask that people please do not stop on eastport drive to photograph them for
the owls sake. Thanks"

Well colour me suspicious...gotta be baiting going on here.

I'm not sure.  The email is vague with not much in the way of details.  The observer(s), did they just see a snowy owl fly toward a line of photographers?  Was the person just driving by?  How did it fly?  Overhead?  How often did it do this?  How many snowy owls did this?  It could be chance.  If the person (or anyone) wanted to see what is happening, all they have to do is watch for an hour or more.  With binoculars they can watch from far away.  For all we know, nothing is happening and it's just some rumour started by someone. 

If someone is going to post something like that to Ontbirds, they should spend more time observing or at the very least provide some proof to back up what they're saying.  As is, it is so vague and general. I have seen posts like this in the past where people have embellished the actual account of what happened.  Of course, if anything untoward did happen, then that would just be plain stupid.

It seems the person is not happy that snowy owls are getting hit by vehicles and seeing photographers standing there he automatically assumes there must be feeding going on.  He's asking people to not take photographs of snowy owls at that location - well, good luck.  Snowy owls will draw a crowd no matter photographer, birder or general public.  People will come and watch. The flying toward a line of photographers needs more explanation.   

I Googled Eastport Drive, Hamilton Ontario and saw what the area looks like.  Fast moving vehicles I assume. I read a subsequent post from the same author that Eastport Drive has a reputation apparently as a 'death-trap' for birds.

BTW, how did anyone get away with using a name like Owlman to post to OntBirds?  The moderator would not approve such a User ID where he always insists on people using their real names. Few people would ever get away with using a name like that to post to OntBirds.  If they did, they would at least have to post their real name or initials in the post.  It's just curious that someone was able to use such a fake name to post to OntBirds.

I read the posts on Ontbirds which appear to be transparent and honest, and will admit to being presumptuous, though it does seem odd to me that yearlings with little exposure to humans would actually be attracted to groups of people...never heard of that before. The few snowy's we get around here during the winter will have nothing to do with humans as long as they're not being baited. But there's no question that busy roadways, cars and owls are a dangerous mix.

OntPhoto wrote:

Gary Irwin wrote:

OntPhoto wrote:Just a heads up.  The Hamilton area has many snowy owls moving in recently.  An email from Ontbirds to use common sense.

"I have a huge favor to ask of everyone. It is no secret that snowy owls are
showing up on eastport drive in large numbers. Last night we had our 3rd
owl hit by a car. The owls are coming over to the lines of photographers
and then hanging out on the road. If everyone could please resist the urge
to photograph them here we could very likely save the lives of many of
these owls. I can only speculate why these birds are flying over to groups
of people when they setup to photograph them but it sounds likely that they
are associating people with food. Without starting up that debate I only
ask that people please do not stop on eastport drive to photograph them for
the owls sake. Thanks"

Well colour me suspicious...gotta be baiting going on here.

I'm not sure.  The email is vague with not much in the way of details.  The observer(s), did they just see a snowy owl fly toward a line of photographers?  Was the person just driving by?  How did it fly?  Overhead?  How often did it do this?  How many snowy owls did this?  It could be chance.  If the person (or anyone) wanted to see what is happening, all they have to do is watch for an hour or more.  With binoculars they can watch from far away.  For all we know, nothing is happening and it's just some rumour started by someone. 

If someone is going to post something like that to Ontbirds, they should spend more time observing or at the very least provide some proof to back up what they're saying.  As is, it is so vague and general. I have seen posts like this in the past where people have embellished the actual account of what happened.  Of course, if anything untoward did happen, then that would just be plain stupid.

It seems the person is not happy that snowy owls are getting hit by vehicles and seeing photographers standing there he automatically assumes there must be feeding going on.  He's asking people to not take photographs of snowy owls at that location - well, good luck.  Snowy owls will draw a crowd no matter photographer, birder or general public.  People will come and watch. The flying toward a line of photographers needs more explanation.   

I Googled Eastport Drive, Hamilton Ontario and saw what the area looks like.  Fast moving vehicles I assume. I read a subsequent post from the same author that Eastport Drive has a reputation apparently as a 'death-trap' for birds.

BTW, how did anyone get away with using a name like Owlman to post to OntBirds?  The moderator would not approve such a User ID where he always insists on people using their real names. Few people would ever get away with using a name like that to post to OntBirds.  If they did, they would at least have to post their real name or initials in the post.  It's just curious that someone was able to use such a fake name to post to OntBirds.

Owlman is a fine Intuit name of long standing...Is Ontphoto Irish?

Gary Irwin wrote:I read the posts on Ontbirds which appear to be transparent and honest, and will admit to being presumptuous, though it does seem odd to me that yearlings with little exposure to humans would actually be attracted to groups of people...never heard of that before. The few snowy's we get around here during the winter will have nothing to do with humans as long as they're not being baited. But there's no question that busy roadways, cars and owls are a dangerous mix.

What I'm saying is the author of the email should be more specific.  Something along the lines of 'observers watched a snowy owl fly toward a group of photographers and appeared to land close to them.  The owl did this a nunber of times'.  Then there would be no doubt.  I just don't want someone to see a snowy owl flying toward a group of photographers just by chance and then use that to make insinuations.  Yes, snowy owls will usually fly away from people except when they are being baited or fed and once in a blue moon flying towards photographers by chance.  The Ontbirds email serves as both a plead to those who may be doing something untoward or a heads up for others to keep an eye open for any such activity.  While it is legal to feed owls in Ontario, putting an owl's health in danger by doing so will get conservation officers involved, I think.  

Someone reported a Great Gray Owl in an area bordered on the north by Sydenham (and even more northward) and the south by Kingston.  (someone else reported one hit by a vehicle in early November but apparently that one was closer to Thunder Bay, Ontario).

http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/image/166609562/original

While it is not unusual to find a very small number of Great Gray Owls moving southward in the year preceding and following an irruption winter (that would have been winter 2016 to 2017), the odd owl does over-summer or nest down here.  There would have to be more reports to see if anything is happening this winter.

Someone found a boreal owl in the Quebec City area this week.  Lovely photos of the bird out in the open.

As someone who has a strong interest in owls, I hope to one day visit the Sax-Zim Bog area.  What a great location for owls. This fall they have already reported both a northern hawk owl and a great gray owl on the Minnesota Birding ListServ.


PS.  I haven't seen any snowy owls out in the Eagleson, Fallowfield, Rushmore Road area in west end of Ottawa (Kanata, Stittsville) so far.  We get a few there just about every winter.  Some of the corn fields are not even cut yet so not as much flat fields for snowy owls to roost in. I expect owls to show up at that location closer to end of November to mid-December.