Snowy Owls are favorite winter birds for many birders, and the subject of enlightening research by Project Snowstorm (photo by Paul Konrad).

Snowy Owls are returning to northeastern areas of the United States and southeastern Canada, from the Great Lakes to Long Island, and it’s expected to be a good year for Snowy Owl sightings in that region throughout the winter according to Project Snowstorm. During the past 7 years, cooperating biologists and volunteers have been instrumental in the study of Snowy Owls through satellite tracking of tagged Snowy Owls day to day, year after year. And you can follow their movements, past and present, on the Project Snowstorm website now.

During the past week, Snowy Owls have been reported as far south as near Richmond, Virginia and St. Louis, Missouri! It’s always exciting to see a Snowy Owl, and many of us mark the beginning of winter by the sighting of our first Snowy. But we all wonder where that bird came from and where it will go next. With Project Snowstorm’s satellite-tagged individuals you can get an appreciation for how Snowy Owls behave, where they spend their summers, their migration routes, and how much they travel day to day during the winter period.

A recent article provides a first of season update on the first satellite-tagged Snowy Owls to return to southeast Canada and northeast states from their Arctic summer range (some Snowys stay in the Arctic over winter too). It’s interesting and exciting to refer to the maps that plot the owl’s locations, often a couple times per day, and the quality of the maps allows you to get detailed insights about where the birds have been.

The Project Snowstorm website provides a wealth of information about Snowy Owls, and you can check in on the movements of favorite Snowy Owls, possibly some near you, through the winter until the birds begin heading north in April, at A New Season, and Old Friends Return - Project SNOWstorm

And this just in, 2 more Snowy Owls with transmitters have returned to Wisconsin and Manitoba, although those are just their latest stops. Learn more, including where they spent their summer at Two More Returnees! - Project SNOWstorm