Birds

Snowy Owl Mania!

December 5, 2013 by Corey 5 Comments

As we might have already mentioned here on 10,000 Birds, this year is shaping up to be a historic year in terms of a Snowy Owl irruption. And because birders are often bloggers, the amount of material that has already been published regarding this invasion of big, white owls from the north is pretty impressive. Not only are there a host of blog posts simply featuring images of Snowy Owls but there are quite a few out there that tackle a whole host of different issues related to Snowy Owls. Truly, it is a banner year for fans of Bubo scandiacus!

So, what is going on with Snowy Owls in the birding blog world? Here is a pretty big sample but this is only the tip of the iceberg – feel free to leave links in the comments to any Snowy Owl bird blog content that you find!

Sharon Stiteler, AKA Birdchick, has a post up about the issues that overeager people can cause with Snowy Owls.

Twan Leenders has a post up at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute that also reminds birders to give Snowy Owls some space.

Not all interactions between humans and Snowy Owls are bad. John Haas has a post about what happens when a Snowy Owl can’t make it on its own and is helped by some kind humans.

We here at 10,000 Birds shared some photos and video that shows that Snowy Owls can be stressed by more than just humans.

One of the most interesting posts during this Snowy Owl irruption has to be from At the Speed of a Plant, which features a series of photos of Snowy Owl footprints, wingprints, and the remains of a meal. You should really check this post out.

Another inventive post, or, rather, series of posts, is the Tumblr of pictures of things that are NOT Snowy Owls.

At the Nemesis Bird Tim Shrekengost featured Snowy Owls digiscoped with his iPhone 5.

The Stokes checked out some Snowy Owls in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Not to be outdone, Indiana Dunes Birding has a report on the Snowy Owls in the Hoosier State.

And Nate couldn’t let North Carolina lag behind – he wrote up his long round trip to pick up North Carolina’s first Snowy Owl in thirteen years!

Rick Wright reminded everyone of big Snowy Owl flights of the past and how stressing the birds was hardly an issue because people were too busy shooting them! He also reminds us to look for other owls too.

Don Freiday took a similar historical perspective as to just how many Snowy Owls used to show up.

David Ringer, writing here at 10,000 Birds, explored where, exactly, Snowy Owls belong taxonomically speaking.

Finally, the guys at Nemesis Bird are trying to keep track of all the Snowy Owl sightings in the mid-Atlantic region. Now that is a difficult task this year!

Remember,share your additional Snowy Owl blog post finds in the comments – I’m sure there are many, many, many more out there!

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Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.