Tag Archives: Owls

Snowy Owl FAQs and Information

January 8, 2022: A Snowy Owl on the Flyway.

By Karla Bloem, Executive Director, International Owl Center Owls are a varied group of birds. Some species are normally resident on their territories year-round (like Great Horned Owls and Barred Owls), some species are more or less migratory (like Northern Saw-whet Owls), some are nomadic, wandering around and settling where the food is (like Short-eared Owls), and some are irruptive, where a bunch show up in random years (like Snowy Owls and Great Gray Owls.) Why are Snowy Owls showing

What Bird is This? Snowy Owls on the Flyway!

January 6, 2022: Two snowy owls on the Flyway!

We were beyond thrilled to see Snowy Owls on the Flyway in early January. What are they doing here, so far from their arctic home? We think that their irruptions are linked to food availability and successful breeding. Snowy owls prey heavily on lemmings, a stocky, stump-tailed rodent that might be abundant one year and almost impossible to find the next. A good lemming year is usually an excellent year for snowy owl production, which means a lot of competition

Owls (Strigiformes)

This post was originally published on January 31, 2013. We’ve seen or heard these three owls at our Decorah or Decorah North nests. GHO have also been seen at Great Spirit Bluff. Owls are a large and diverse group of mainly nocturnal birds. Over 200 species are distributed among 27 genera worldwide, ranging in size from the tiny Elf Owl (weighing as little as 31 grams or one ounce) to the massive Blakiston’s Fish Owl (weighing as much as 4.5