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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0366_01CCD9DF.CD8A9E90 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Don MacNeill donmacneill@eastlink.ca =20 January 22, 2012 Bird-Watchers Revel in Unusual Spike in Snowy Owl Sightings By JIM ROBBINS HELENA, Mont. =97 From coast to coast across the northern United States, = a striking number of snowy owls have been swooping onto shorelines and = flying over fields this winter, delighting bird-watchers and stirring = speculation about the cause of the spike.=20 The white, two-foot-tall birds, which live in the Arctic the rest of the = year, are known to fly south in large numbers every few winters in what = is known as an irruption. But this year, the numbers are unusually high, = said Denver Holt, director of the Owl Research Institute in Charlo, = Mont.=20 =93There are so many across the country, everywhere, by the = thousands,=94 Mr. Holt said. =93It=92s unbelievable. They are being seen = from Boston, to the Great Lakes, the Ohio River Valley, Kansas, = Vancouver and Seattle.=94=20 =93One showed up at the airport in Hawaii, and they shot it,=94 he added = in astonishment. =93It=92s the first ever in Hawaii and they shot it!=94 = The owl was killed on Thanksgiving by federal officials who feared that = the bird would interfere with landings and takeoffs.=20 Why so many more of the birds are showing up is largely a mystery, Mr. = Holt said. =93We do know they had a really good breeding year, and there = was plenty of food last year,=94 he said. Instead of no chicks, or one = or two, a single nest will produce five, six, seven or more fledglings = in a good breeding year, he said.=20 The owls=92 Arctic diet is 90 percent lemmings, although the birds, = which are powerful hunters, also eat mice, voles, ducks, hares and even = fish when they migrate south. Some ornithologists speculate that lemming = populations crashed recently after a boom, which could have led to the = push south, but researchers have not confirmed such a decline.=20 The irruption started in late fall and is expected to end by March or = April. In few places are people as excited as in Kansas and Missouri, = where snowy owls are exceedingly rare. Ninety have shown up in Kansas = this winter and 40 in Missouri. Until this year, the highest number = counted in Missouri had been eight.=20 =93It=92s a massive movement,=94 said Mark Robbins, the ornithology = collection manager at the University of Kansas.=20 When five of the birds took up residency at Smithville Lake, near Kansas = City, Mo., it created an =93owl jam,=94 Mr. Robbins said. Thousands of = people have driven there to see them, he said, and hundreds of owl = seekers have shown up at Clinton Lake near Lawrence, Kan.=20 Unlike many owls, the snowy variety are diurnal, or active during the = day, which accounts for some of the hubbub. Their blinding white = coloring, sometimes with brown barring, and piercing yellow eyes are a = magnet for birders and nonbirders alike.=20 Adding to the allure for children, the owls are of the same species as = Hedwig, the faithful companion of the fictional wizard Harry Potter, = which perished defending him in the final book of the series.=20 Geoff LeBaron, director of the Audubon Society=92s Christmas bird count, = said that it was hard to estimate how many snowy owls flew south in this = irruption because the latest data has not been tallied, but that the = overall number was probably a few thousand. Despite the surge, the = society says, snowy owls are thought to have been in decline since 1945. = There is far more data on the scope of this migration than in years = past, thanks to a citizen science project based at Cornell called eBird, = which is run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society. = Bird-watchers around the country call in sightings, which are plotted on = a map that shows precisely where the birds are wintering.=20 =93A lot of people who have never seen one before have rushed out and = seen multiples,=94 said Marshall Iliff, an ornithologist at Cornell and = the project=92s leader. =93And photographers are having a field day.=94=20 Additional hot spots include the mouth of the Columbia River in = Washington State, with 10 to 13 birds; 20 at Lake Andes National = Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota, and 30 in Boundary Bay, near Vancouver = in British Columbia.=20 The owls are even showing up in urban and suburban areas, along = highways, on signs and fence posts, and in other places where people can = more easily spot them. It has been a good snowy owl year at Logan = Airport in Boston, too. Because the airfield looks like tundra, snowy = owls tend to flock there, and they must be trapped and removed.=20 =93We=92ve removed 21 so far this year, and the average is six,=94 said = Norman Smith, who works for the Massachusetts Audubon Society and traps = the birds. The most ever trapped was 43 in 1986, Mr. Smith said, =93but = the year=92s not over.=94=20 Mr. Holt, who has journeyed to the Arctic tundra to study snowy owls and = their food and nesting habits for the last 20 years and is one of = world=92s leading experts on the bird, said he had seen no evidence that = the owls, most of them young, are stressed. =93They are not all here = starving to death,=94 he said. =93The birds appear to be in good = physical condition.=94=20 But Mr. Robbins said he had seen some evidence to the contrary. Of five = dead birds he examined =97 three hit by cars, one hit by a train and one = that was electrocuted =97 there was =93no question=94 that =93some of = these birds are starving to death,=94 he said, probably because they = have been unable to find enough food.=20 Whatever the causes of the irruption, owl watchers are making the most = of what they suspect may be a unique opportunity.=20 Mr. Holt suggests that the draw of the snowy owls may be partly a = fascination with the birds=92 coloring. =93White wolves, polar bears, = white whales, white buffalo =97 there is something about white plumage = that signifies innocence or purity,=94 he said. =93People don=92t flock = to see any other animal the way they do white ones.=94=20 ------=_NextPart_000_0366_01CCD9DF.CD8A9E90 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dwindows-1252" = http-equiv=3DContent-Type> <META name=3DGENERATOR content=3D"MSHTML 8.00.6001.19170"> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial>Don MacNeill<BR><A=20 href=3D"mailto:donmacneill@eastlink.ca">donmacneill@eastlink.ca</A></FONT= ></DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><IMG id=3DmastheadLogo alt=3D"The New York Times"=20 src=3D"http://i1.nyt.com/images/misc/nytlogo379x64.gif" width=3D379=20 height=3D64><BR> <BR> <DIV class=3Dtimestamp>January 22, 2012</DIV> <H1>Bird-Watchers Revel in Unusual Spike in Snowy Owl Sightings</H1> <H6 class=3Dbyline>By <A class=3Dmeta-per title=3D"More Articles by Jim = Robbins"=20 href=3D"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/jim_= robbins/index.html?inline=3Dnyt-per"=20 rel=3Dauthor>JIM ROBBINS</A></H6> <DIV id=3DarticleBody> <P>HELENA, Mont. =97 From coast to coast across the northern United = States, a=20 striking number of snowy owls have been swooping onto shorelines and = flying over=20 fields this winter, delighting bird-watchers and stirring speculation = about the=20 cause of the spike. </P> <P>The white, two-foot-tall birds, which live in the Arctic the rest of = the=20 year, are known to fly south in large numbers every few winters in what = is known=20 as an irruption. But this year, the numbers are unusually high, said = Denver=20 Holt, director of the <A title=3D"Official site."=20 href=3D"http://www.owlinstitute.org/">Owl Research Institute</A> in = Charlo, Mont.=20 </P> <P>=93There are so many across the country, everywhere, by the = thousands,=94 Mr.=20 Holt said. =93It=92s unbelievable. They are being seen from Boston, to = the Great=20 Lakes, the Ohio River Valley, Kansas, Vancouver and Seattle.=94 </P> <P>=93One showed up at the airport in Hawaii, and they shot it,=94 he = added in=20 astonishment. =93It=92s the first ever in Hawaii and they shot it!=94 = </P> <P>The owl was killed on Thanksgiving by federal officials who feared = that the=20 bird would interfere with landings and takeoffs. </P> <P>Why so many more of the birds are showing up is largely a mystery, = Mr. Holt=20 said. =93We do know they had a really good breeding year, and there was = plenty of=20 food last year,=94 he said. Instead of no chicks, or one or two, a = single nest=20 will produce five, six, seven or more fledglings in a good breeding = year, he=20 said. </P> <P>The owls=92 Arctic diet is 90 percent lemmings, although the birds, = which are=20 powerful hunters, also eat mice, voles, ducks, hares and even fish when = they=20 migrate south. Some ornithologists speculate that lemming populations = crashed=20 recently after a boom, which could have led to the push south, but = researchers=20 have not confirmed such a decline. </P> <P>The irruption started in late fall and is expected to end by March or = April.=20 In few places are people as excited as in Kansas and Missouri, where = snowy owls=20 are exceedingly rare. Ninety have shown up in Kansas this winter and 40 = in=20 Missouri. Until this year, the highest number counted in Missouri had = been=20 eight. </P> <P>=93It=92s a massive movement,=94 said Mark Robbins, the ornithology = collection=20 manager at the University of Kansas. </P> <P>When five of the birds took up residency at Smithville Lake, near = Kansas=20 City, Mo., it created an =93owl jam,=94 Mr. Robbins said. Thousands of = people have=20 driven there to see them, he said, and hundreds of owl seekers have = shown up at=20 Clinton Lake near Lawrence, Kan. </P> <P>Unlike many owls, the snowy variety are diurnal, or active during the = day,=20 which accounts for some of the hubbub. Their blinding white coloring, = sometimes=20 with brown barring, and piercing yellow eyes are a magnet for birders = and=20 nonbirders alike. </P> <P>Adding to the allure for children, the owls are of the same species = as=20 Hedwig, the faithful companion of the fictional wizard <A = class=3Dmeta-classifier=20 title=3D"Recent and archival news about Harry Potter."=20 href=3D"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/complete_cove= rage/harry_potter/index.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier">Harry=20 Potter</A>, which perished defending him in the final book of the = series. </P> <P>Geoff LeBaron, director of the Audubon Society=92s Christmas bird = count, said=20 that it was hard to estimate how many snowy owls flew south in this = irruption=20 because the latest data has not been tallied, but that the overall = number was=20 probably a few thousand. Despite the surge, the society says, snowy owls = are=20 thought to have been in decline since 1945. </P> <P>There is far more data on the scope of this migration than in years = past,=20 thanks to a citizen science project based at Cornell called <A=20 title=3D"The project=92s Web site" = href=3D"http://ebird.org/content/ebird/">eBird</A>,=20 which is run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society.=20 Bird-watchers around the country call in sightings, which are plotted on = a map=20 that shows precisely where the birds are wintering. </P> <P>=93A lot of people who have never seen one before have rushed out and = seen=20 multiples,=94 said Marshall Iliff, an ornithologist at Cornell and the = project=92s=20 leader. =93And photographers are having a field day.=94 </P> <P>Additional hot spots include the mouth of the Columbia River in = Washington=20 State, with 10 to 13 birds; 20 at Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge in = South=20 Dakota, and 30 in Boundary Bay, near Vancouver in British Columbia. </P> <P>The owls are even showing up in urban and suburban areas, along = highways, on=20 signs and fence posts, and in other places where people can more easily = spot=20 them. It has been a good snowy owl year at Logan Airport in Boston, too. = Because=20 the airfield looks like tundra, snowy owls tend to flock there, and they = must be=20 trapped and removed. </P> <P>=93We=92ve removed 21 so far this year, and the average is six,=94 = said Norman=20 Smith, who works for the <A title=3D"The society=92s Web site"=20 href=3D"http://www.massaudubon.org/">Massachusetts Audubon Society</A> = and traps=20 the birds. The most ever trapped was 43 in 1986, Mr. Smith said, =93but = the year=92s=20 not over.=94 </P> <P>Mr. Holt, who has journeyed to the Arctic tundra to study snowy owls = and=20 their food and nesting habits for the last 20 years and is one of = world=92s=20 leading experts on the bird, said he had seen no evidence that the owls, = most of=20 them young, are stressed. =93They are not all here starving to death,=94 = he said.=20 =93The birds appear to be in good physical condition.=94 </P> <P>But Mr. Robbins said he had seen some evidence to the contrary. Of = five dead=20 birds he examined =97 three hit by cars, one hit by a train and one that = was=20 electrocuted =97 there was =93no question=94 that =93some of these birds = are starving to=20 death,=94 he said, probably because they have been unable to find enough = food.=20 </P> <P>Whatever the causes of the irruption, owl watchers are making the = most of=20 what they suspect may be a unique opportunity. </P> <P>Mr. Holt suggests that the draw of the snowy owls may be partly a = fascination=20 with the birds=92 coloring. =93White wolves, polar bears, white whales, = white=20 buffalo =97 there is something about white plumage that signifies = innocence or=20 purity,=94 he said. =93People don=92t flock to see any other animal the = way they do=20 white ones.=94 </P> <DIV><BR></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_0366_01CCD9DF.CD8A9E90--
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