Got Snowies–2013!
The map below shows the current (as of 3 December) point map for Nov-Dec 2013 (link to live map). Note how the invasion is restricted to the Great Lakes and the Northeast, but also with birds already reaching North Carolina and Bermuda! Some intrepid birders have racked up impressive totals, such as 12 along the New Hampshire coast 30 November or 8 around Boston on 3 December.
By contrast, look at the map below for Nov-Dec 2011. The invasion was much broader in scope in 2011, and the total for the Northeast is already much higher this year (we’re just a few days into December). Read more about the 2011 invasion.
Snowy Owls breed widely across the Arctic and move widely in search of resources suitable for breeding. These invasions tend to be driven by very good summer resources (lemmings primarily) in certain regions of the Arctic that lead to high breeding success. Many of the owls that move south are hatch-year birds (indicative of the high breeding success).
Even at this early stage, one might hypothesize that this year’s invasion originates from Snowy Owls in the eastern Arctic or Greenland, while the 2011-2012 one may have originated from the central or western Arctic. Making these direct connections is always difficult, but often patterns seen in eBird can lend insight into how birds are moving and where they may have originated. It’ll be interesting to see what happens as the winter progresses. Will the Snowy Owl movement continue? Will it gain strength in the West? Will other owl species move as well?
The eBird signal for the 2011 invasion was helped along by a couple individuals who helped compile records from people who saw Snowy Owls but did not use eBird. We would welcome similar efforts this year. In 2011 a proxy eBird account was established to collect Snowy Owl records, taking care to submit as Incidental observations and incomplete checklists, while at the same time plotting the birds accurately and giving observer attribution in the species comments.
Please also see our article on reporting sensitive species.