Maine

This winter’s Snowy Owl invasion has been called “one of the most dramatic natural history spectacles in the Northeast” and it continues to unfold. To take advantage of this irruption, Project SNOWstorm was launched with a goal to better understand, and ultimately conserve, this spectacular visitor from the north. Project SNOWstorm is a collaborative research effort by Project Owlnet, the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art and many independent researchers, agency and organizational partners. Scientists are tagging owls throughout the Northeast and Great Lakes with new GPS-GSM transmitters in an effort to track movements and learn more about the Snowy Owl irruption of 2013-14.

Follow the project:

Visit Project SNOWstorm’s website to learn more about their work and see the surprising results from the first few owls that were tagged.  You can also receive frequent updates on the project by liking their facebook page.

How you can help:

In order to expand their work by including additional transmitters, toxicology screenings of blood and tissue samples, professional necropsies of dead owls, stable isotope and genetic analyses, and much more, Project SNOWstorm needs your help.

Everyone involved in Project SNOWstorm is donating their time and expertise. You can help with a tax-deductible donation, every dollar of which goes directly into the project’s research. Join the indiegogo campaign here: indiegogo.com/projects/project-snowstorm (Just look at those perks!)

If you’ve seen or photographed a snowy owl this winter, you can help them understand the reach of this irruption by taking a moment to log your sighting and upload your photograph of snowy owls with open wings and tails. Photos cna be contributed at: projectsnowstorm.org/contribute-photos/

PLEASE DO NOT FLUSH a perched owl for flight photographs. With patience, especially late in the day, most snowy owls will move on their own. Respect the birds and their space.

By uploading your geo-tagged, dated photographs, snowy owl experts will be able to classify reported owls by age and sex, giving a better sense of where and when each class of snowy owls was found this winter. We also strongly encourage you to submit sightings to eBird.org, where sightings can be used by scientists for questions beyond what can be addressed this year.