{"id":6044,"date":"2016-05-24T08:07:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T12:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=6044"},"modified":"2020-09-16T10:45:25","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T14:45:25","slug":"project-snowstorm-seizes-the-moment-to-take-a-closer-look-at-snowy-owls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/project-snowstorm-seizes-the-moment-to-take-a-closer-look-at-snowy-owls\/","title":{"rendered":"Project SNOWstorm Seizes the Moment to Take a Closer Look at Snowy Owls"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-embed legacy-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio alignright\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube embed HXwrB216bgE\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HXwrB216bgE?feature=oembed\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption>Follow the journey of Baltimore, a young male Snowy Owl, in the two years since Project SNOWstorm fitted the bird with a GPS transmitter. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The massive Snowy Owl irruption of 2013\u20132014 (the biggest in decades) captivated birders and nonbirders alike with unexpected glimpses of an avian superstar with hypnotic golden eyes. But that winter\u2019s phenomenon was also an opportunity for science to learn about the lifestyle and biology of an arctic species we really know very little about.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE May 24, 2016:<\/strong> The GPS transmitters that Project SNOWstorm deployed in 2014 gathered precise locations for dozens of owls. A National Public Radio team used those coordinates <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2016\/05\/24\/479223874\/we-followed-a-snowy-owl-from-maryland-to-ontario\">to follow one of the owls, a male named Baltimore,<\/a> from his 2014 winter location in Maryland to his 2015 winter location on Amherst Island, Canada. They put together a wonderful short documentary\u2014both charming and amazing in its level of detail about the owl&#8217;s journey (at right). <\/p>\n<p><em>The remainder of this post is the original article from January 2014. Read on for details about how the scientists of Project SNOWstorm laid the groundwork for this farsighted project.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" id=\"hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]--><a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3.png\"  alt=\"New self-paced course: Learn How to Identify Bird Songs, Click to Learn More\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(95627, 'a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3', {}); <\/script><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n<!--<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">\r\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" id=\"hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">-->\r\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\r\n        <!--<a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\"  target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd.png\"  alt=\"Join the Cornell Lab\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\r\n    <\/span>\r\n    <script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script>\r\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n        hbspt.cta.load(95627, '394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd', {});\r\n    <\/script>\r\n<\/span>-->\r\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>The first hint of the massive influx came from birders <a href=\"http:\/\/ebird.org\/content\/ebird\/news\/gotsnowies2013\/\">tracking the growing irruption through eBird<\/a>, a story that was eventually <a href=\"http:\/\/thelede.blogs.nytimes.com\/2013\/12\/19\/tracking-the-snowy-owl-migration-in-real-time\/\">picked up in the <em>New York Times<\/em><\/a> and elsewhere. Soon after, the irruption was so clearly exceptional that naturalist and Pulitzer-nominated author Scott Weidensaul and colleagues saw it as a chance to learn even more using the newest methods in tracking, and DNA and feather analysis. Weidensaul and approximately two dozen researchers and supporters have come together almost serendipitously to form <a href=\"http:\/\/www.projectsnowstorm.org\/\">Project SNOWstorm<\/a>. The scientists are attaching GPS transmitters to some of the birds, giving all of us the equivalent of a high-tech \u201cride-along\u201d with our arctic visitors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople are stepping up in a way I\u2019ve never seen before,\u201c says Weidensaul, \u201cWe\u2019re getting help from labs that do DNA blood work, from licensed banders, experts with GPS transmitters, state and federal wildlife vets and pathologists, rehabbers, and website developers, not to mention the vital observation information we get from citizen scientists using eBird.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n              <figure class=\"size-small alignright\">\n                <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1eGXart\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/eBird_SnowyOwlReports_13Jan2014.jpg\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"eBird sightings of Snowy Owls on 13 January 2014\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\n                <figcaption>eBird sightings of Snowy Owls on 13 January 2014.<\/figcaption>\n              <\/figure>\n            <\/div>\n<p>The main swath of eBird Snowy Owl sightings stretches from Wisconsin east to New England, through the Northeast, and down the Atlantic Coast. At least one bird has reportedly turned up in Florida\u2014a long haul from its usual arctic stamping grounds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n              <figure class=\"size-small alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SOwl-male-Hancock11-3-0-13.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SOwl-male-Hancock11-3-0-13.jpg 643w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SOwl-male-Hancock11-3-0-13-480x472.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption>A Snowy Owl, likely a male judging from its pale coloring, \u00a0in Syracuse, NY. <em>Photo by Kevin McGowan<\/em>.<\/figcaption>\n              <\/figure>\n            <\/div>\n<p>When a likely candidate is located, licensed banders capture the bird to collect a blood sample, take measurements, note the condition of the bird, and take a tiny snippet of feather for analysis, in addition to banding it. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.projectsnowstorm.org\/sampling-snowies\/\">DNA and feather tests can reveal a lot<\/a> about the condition of the bird and even what toxins it was exposed to here and in the arctic. Then they give the owl its own little backpack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are special solar-powered GPS transmitters made by <a href=\"http:\/\/celltracktech.com\/\">Cellular Tracking Technologies<\/a>,\u201d Weidensaul explains. \u201cThey record the bird\u2019s location and are programmed to send a data point every 30 minutes via cell phone towers. The packs weigh less than 40 grams [1.4 oz], which is fine for a bird as big as the Snowy Owl. It doesn\u2019t interfere in any way with flight and we\u2019re making sure to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.projectsnowstorm.org\/frequently-asked-questions-answered\/\">tag only healthy birds<\/a>.\u201d (Snowy Owls typically weigh 4\u20135 pounds and can top out at more than 6 pounds.)<\/p>\n<p>The goal is to tag 20 to 25 owls with these transmitters. As of this writing two owls have been tagged with several more expected to be outfitted this week. Those first two have been up and running since the end of December. SNOWstorm is tracking an owl in Wisconsin dubbed \u201cBuena Vista\u201d and another called \u201cAssateague\u201d for the island of the same name off the coast of Maryland\u2014although that bird has since traveled up the New Jersey coast. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.projectsnowstorm.org\/tracking-snowy-owls\/\">Animations of their tracking data<\/a> make it clear the two birds have much different hunting strategies.<\/p>\n<p>This video from Project SNOWstorm shows the level of detail that Buena Vista&#8217;s transmitter has been able to send to the researchers about where the owl spent its time:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed legacy-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio alignright\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube embed s6Aw5frAhts\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/s6Aw5frAhts?feature=oembed\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe Wisconsin bird is hanging around within a one-mile radius of where it was tagged, in prairie and marsh,\u201d says Weidensaul. \u201cThe data are so precise that we can see the even spacing of dots where the owl has been perching and recognize them as specific telephone poles when we zoom in on Google Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n              <figure class=\"size-small alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Mike-and-snowy.jpg\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption>Mike Lanzone of Cellular Tracking Technologies with &#8220;Assateague.&#8221; <em>Photo by Scott Weidensaul<\/em>.<\/figcaption>\n              <\/figure>\n            <\/div>\n<p>Assateague is a rolling stone. He\u2019s been zigzagging all over the place, resting by day and traveling or hunting by night. He\u2019s apparently been snagging sleeping waterfowl offshore that are literally sitting ducks for this large raptor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe never, ever put up real-time data showing the birds\u2019 locations,\u201d Weidensaul says. \u201cAs much as we know people want to see these owls, we don\u2019t want to be responsible for a deluge of onlookers that could disturb the birds or unintentionally cause harm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The technology has some limitations. Because the transmitter is powered by sunlight, the lack of it means no data is phoned in. The Wisconsin bird \u201cwent dark\u201d after a long stretch of cloudy weather and the project is hoping for a sunny spell to get the pack powered up again. Now both Assateague and Buena Vista have moved into \u201cdead zones\u201d lacking sufficient cell coverage. But no data will be lost. Weidensaul says the units can acquire and store up to 100,000 GPS locations without cellular coverage. If and when the owl comes back into cellular range, each transmitter will phone in with all its accumulated data. However, cost is a limiting factor. Each transmitter pack costs about $3,000.<\/p>\n<p>So what happens to all the information gathered by SNOWstorm? Weidensaul admits the project is still a \u201cwork in progress\u201d but he\u2019d like to see the website become a central portal for the scientific findings tied to this irruption. This winter\u2019s Snowy Owls are already debunking some commonly held notions about why they came here.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone assumes that Snowy Owls come south because of a shortage of food in the Arctic,&#8221; Weidensaul said, &#8220;But the opposite is true. This summer there were plenty of lemmings, the birds gorged themselves, and had such a successful breeding season that we&#8217;re seeing the results of that bumper crop. We know from banding work by people like Norman Smith in Massachusetts, who has been studying Snowy Owls for the past 30 years at Logan Airport, that most of them are healthy, and that the majority of them do make it back to the Arctic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We may never see another Snowy Owl irruption this big again, but some owls always appear in southern Canada provinces and northern U.S. states. And if an owl with a functioning backpack comes back south in coming years, its transmitter will have some unbelievably good GPS data to send in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink of what we could learn about where they\u2019ve been, where they stopped, how long it took them to get there, and so on,\u201d Weidensaul says. \u201cThis is big, this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>How you can help<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebird.org\/\">Submit Snowy Owl sightings<\/a>\u00a0to eBird<\/li>\n<li>Find out more about\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.projectsnowstorm.org\">Project SNOWstorm<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.projectsnowstorm.org\/contribute-photos\/\">Send in your Snowy Owl photos<\/a> that show spread wings or tails\u2014this will help scientists determine the age and gender of the birds<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.indiegogo.com\/projects\/project-snowstorm\">Donate to the project\u2019s IndieGoGo fundraiser<\/a>\u00a0to help them put transmitters on more owls<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>For more about Snowy Owls, check out:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/2014\/07\/21\/banding-snowy-owl-chicks-with-researcher-denver-holt\/\">Banding Snowy Owl Chicks With Researcher Denver Holt<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/2014\/07\/24\/a-live-visit-to-the-snowy-owl-nest-on-our-live-cam\/\">A Live Visit to the Snowy Owl Nest on Our Live Cam<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/page.aspx?pid=2692\">A Season of Snowy Owls<\/a>, in the Spring 2014 <em>Living Bird<\/em> magazine.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/2015\/01\/16\/a-snowy-owl-sequel\/\">A Snowy Owl Sequel?<\/a>, January 2015 blog post<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The massive Snowy Owl irruption of 2013\u20132014 (the biggest in decades) captivated birders and nonbirders alike with unexpected glimpses of an avian superstar with hypnotic golden eyes. But that winter\u2019s<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/project-snowstorm-seizes-the-moment-to-take-a-closer-look-at-snowy-owls\/\" title=\"ReadProject SNOWstorm Seizes the Moment to Take a Closer Look at Snowy Owls\">&#8230; Read more 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