Like Harry Potter’s Snowy Owl, Hedwig, who logged thousands of miles delivering mail and packages for him, the Snowy Owls currently visiting in Michigan have traveled thousands of miles from their home in the Arctic.
During the month of December bird watchers from all over Michigan and other states have reported a dramatic increase-or irruption- in the Snowy Owl population in 2011. Snowy Owls are being observed in increasing numbers across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Katie Brashear Koch who is a migratory bird biologist for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, spotted an adult female near Marquette, Michigan, and reported that “there have been sightings of the owls across the Upper Peninsula for the past two weeks, with each day seeming to bring more.”
Multiple Owl Sightings in Michigan in 2011
At least 60 Snowy Owls have been seen in 10 different Lower Michigan counties. Snowy Owls have been sighted in Traverse City, Lake Leelanau, Ludington, Muskegon, Saugatuck, Fennville, Lowell, Richland, and Allegan. Biologists say that these Snow Owl irruptions occur about every five years. The irruption during the winter of 1991-1992 featured more than 100 Snow Owl sightings in over half of Michigan’s 83 counties and the 2011 irruption is considered to be one of the largest in Snowy Owl migration patterns.
Brian Roell, a wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, believes that there may be more sightings of Snow Owls this year because they enjoyed an especially fertile breeding season in the Arctic. The early bitterly cold and snowy winters in Alaska and North Western Canada may also have driven the Snowy Owls further south.
On December 23, 2011, a solitary Snowy Owl stopped for a visit at the Family Fare in Cutlerville, Michigan. The visitor perched on top of the store roof and roosted there for most of the day, providing Christmas shoppers with added holiday cheer. Store manager Dave DeVries said that the Snowy Owl added something unique to the busy Christmas season. “This has added a little bonus today, creating quite a buzz with our customers,” he said.
The Secrets of Snowy Owls
Normally, Snowy Owls live in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in other locations north of the Brooks Range in Alaska. They summer in the far north and in winter they migrate into southern Canada. Some Snowy Owls spend the winters in the Northern Plains and New England, but in the fall of 2011 they have surged across the United States in large numbers. This year they have been spotted in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin where at least 100 were sighted, Kansas, Oregon, and even Hawaii.
Snowy Owl irruptions often coincide with fluctuations of lemming populations in the Arctic. When Arctic lemming populations decrease, Snowy Owls migrate south to find food. When the lemming populations surge, Snowy Owls produce multiple chicks that migrate south when they mature, regardless of lemming numbers According to Biologist Brian Roell, the migratory patterns of Snowy Owls depend on the availability of food, but there are few if any studies tracking how many Snowy Owls travel back and forth from summer and winter habitats.
One of the largest breeds of owls, Snowy Owls take their name from their white coloring. Weighing about four pounds, Snowy Owls are the heaviest owls in North America and they grow to be about 24 inches tall. The males are pure white, while females have dark patches of plumage and the male is slightly smaller than the female. The Snowy Owl’s feet are covered with feathers and they are thickly padded.
Snowy Owls have excellent vision. From high in the sky they silently swoop to earth to capture rodents, and smaller birds. They see equally well at night. They are both nocturnal and diurnal, hunting during the day and at night. In the summertime Arctic, daylight lasts 24 hours so Snowy Owls hunt in the daylight too.
Besides eating rodents, Snowy Owls can also fish or capture a gull or rabbit. They can eat at least three lemmings a day or about 1,600 a year. Biologist Brian Roell says that they depend mainly on small rodents, but they will eat medium sized birds like gulls, ducks, and geese as well. They swallow their food whole or tear it into large pieces to make it easier to eat.
Snowy Owls build their nests on the ground and both the male and female care for the owlets. Both owls will fiercely defend their nest, even from wolves. By the time they are eight weeks old, the owlets are ready to leave the nest. This is a necessary milestone because of the short Arctic summers. If they aren’t ready to care for themselves in two months, the owlets will not survive the cold winter. Many of the migrating Snow Owls are young males looking for new territory.
Since they are birds of open land, Snow Owls tend to perch on high points that overlook open spaces including beaches and airports. They choose a lamp post or rooftop, but seldom perch in a tree. Many of them choose airports to roost. Biologist Brian Roell believes that Snowy Owls enjoy roosting near or at airports “because airports mimic their normal treeless habitat.”
Snowy Owls and People
According to Charles Sindelar, Jr. in A Comparison of Five Snowy Owl Invasions in Wisconsin, Snowy Owls who migrate aren’t necessarily suffering from starvation or disease. Some will die from the rigors of the migration from the Arctic regions and others will fatally encounter electric lines, vehicles and other hazards as they travel. Sometimes Snow Owls create problems for themselves with humans by preying on domestic birds.
Since they come from wild spaces, Snowy Owls have no innate fear of humans and will allow people to get very close to them. Wildlife professionals advise people to give Snowy Owls plenty of space. A good rule of thumb is that if the Snowy Owl is repeatedly looking at you, you are too close! Using your car as a blind is a good option if you want to observe or photograph them. The Federal Migratory Bird Act protects Snowy Owls in the United States and they are the state bird of Quebec.
Pictures of owls on walls of European caves from ancient times illustrate the influence of owls on human culture. In Harry Potter’s wizarding world, Hedwig, Harry’s Snowy Owl, is his pet, companion, and trusted friend- a complicated relationship much like the one between humans and Snowy Owls.