Madison Audubon Society is collaborating with Project SNOWstorm, a national Snowy Owl research program, to tag a local Snowy Owl with a state-of-the-art GPS transmitter as part of an ongoing project studying the birds. Snowy owls are the largest owl in the world by weight, and are known for their striking white and brown-barred plumage.
Three individual Snowy Owls have made the area around Goose Pond Sanctuary near Arlington, WI their chosen winter home this year. The owls have attracted hundreds of bird watchers and nature enthusiasts to the area with spotting scopes and binoculars in hand. Last year, half a dozen owls were sighted around the Sanctuary between January and April.
This year's owls arrived in mid-December and have been sighted consistently in the area since. Snowy owls aren't usually seen in such high numbers this far south; however, the past two years have been extraordinary "irruption" years - the term birders and scientists use to describe unpredictably high numbers of snowy owls in areas where they are not usually seen. Recent research suggests irruptions are caused by high birth rates due to a marked increase in food supply, which counters the previous belief that a lack of food drives the owls south. There is still a lot that is unknown about this natural phenomenon. Project SNOWstorm and Madison Audubon hope that by tagging a local Snowy Owl, the data can contribute to more knowledge about the birds and ultimately help us to conserve them.
The transmitter, which weighs about as much as seven U.S. quarters, will be attached to the bird with a backpack-like harness made out of low-friction Teflon. Madison Audubon's Goose Pond Sanctuary staff will work with Gene Jacobs, director of the Linwood Springs Research Station and local raptor handling expert, to capture and tag the owl. The transmitter is solar powered and communicates with cell phone towers to relay almost-real time data about the bird's precise location and altitude to Project SNOWstorm. Once the transmitter is attached, curious birders and citizen scientists can look up the data online. To protect the bird, a three-day delay is put on the release of data to the public.
Madison Audubon is a local chapter of the nationwide and widely-recognized Audubon Society, and has been a part of bird and habitat conservation in Wisconsin since 1935. Executive Director Dr. Matthew Reetz is especially excited about the Snowy Owl project, as it allows local citizens to engage with nature and gives them the opportunity to fund a groundbreaking scientific study. "Snowy Owls are just one of those birds that capture the fascination of both birders and non-birders," Reetz says. "They're simply incredible, and their irruption in Wisconsin has afforded us an amazing opportunity to learn more. What's even more special is that it's not just a lone scientist or a big agency that is studying them, it's each of us - all of us get to be involved in conserving one of the world's most spectacular birds."
Madison Audubon is currently working to fund the transmitter, which costs approximately $3000, via a crowd-funded campaign. Interested donors can visit igg.me/at/owltogethernow to support the project, or call the Madison Audubon office directly at (608) 255-2473. Madison Audubon Sanctuary staff also maintain an email list for owl enthusiasts and send updates about the birds on a weekly basis. For more information about Madison Audubon and the Snowy Owl project, visit madisonaudubon.org/snowy-owls.
