{"id":14922,"date":"2020-11-16T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=14922"},"modified":"2020-11-17T13:20:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T18:20:22","slug":"take-5-superb-snowy-owls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-superb-snowy-owls\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Superb Snowy Owls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

They’re here! Snowy Owls<\/a> have arrived from their breeding grounds in the Arctic and can be spotted at Plum Island, Duxbury Beach, and other open, treeless areas near the coast through March\u2014if you make the trip to see Snowy Owls this winter, please protect these beautiful raptors by viewing them from a safe and respectful distance<\/a> at public sites and do not approach them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norman Smith<\/a>, the former director of Mass Audubon’s Blue Hills Trailside Museum<\/a>, is keeping busy in his retirement by continuing his Snowy Owl rescue and research efforts: The first report of a Snowy Owl at Logan Airport<\/a> this season came in on November 5, so he hurried down to capture the owl, take some measurements and research notes, and release it at Duxbury Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norman reports that it was a healthy “hatch-year” bird (meaning it was born this past summer), which suggests there was good breeding this year in the region of the Arctic where this particular owl was born. Historically, since he started with the Snowy Owl Project<\/a> in 1981, Norman would capture almost all hatch-year birds, but the past several winters saw predominantly adults arriving in Massachusetts, a poor sign for breeding success. Norman says his colleagues in Greenland reported their best breeding year since 1998 this past summer, while others in Barrow, Alaska, reported no breeding at all, so it can vary dramatically by location due to a number of factors, including climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snowy Owls predominantly feed on rodents called lemmings, so the success of lemming populations affects Snowy Owl populations: when there\u2019s a boom in lemmings, we see a rise in the number of hatch-year owls traveling south. Lemmings are now facing increased pressure from climate change, such as rising temperatures, milder winters, shifting weather patterns, and changes in vegetation, which makes breeding success more difficult. So a decline in hatch-year Snowy Owls can signal climate impacts across entire food chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy these five photos of Snowy Owls from our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors<\/a> photo contest, then visit our website to learn how you can support our work<\/a> to monitor and protect these beautiful birds and where and how to observe Snowy Owls<\/a> yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Snowy
Snowy Owl \u00a9 A. Grigorenko<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Snowy
Snowy Owl \u00a9 Jenny Zhao<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Snowy
Snowy Owl \u00a9 Paul Malenfant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Snowy
Snowy Owl \u00a9 Sara Silverberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Snowy
Snowy Owl \u00a9 Karen Walker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They’re here! Snowy Owls have arrived from their breeding grounds in the Arctic and can be spotted at Plum Island, Duxbury Beach, and other open, treeless areas near the coast through March\u2014if you make the trip to see Snowy Owls this winter, please protect these beautiful raptors by viewing them from a safe and respectful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":14925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158],"tags":[28,137,80,83,84,205,146],"class_list":["post-14922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5","tag-birds","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-photo-contest","tag-photography","tag-snowy-owl-project","tag-snowy-owls"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/11\/3843Paul_Malenfant28380.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-3SG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3167,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/january-2014-snowy-owl-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":14922,"position":0},"title":"January 2014 Snowy Owl Update","author":"Hillary T.","date":"January 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In case you haven't heard, this is the winter of snowy owls. And no one knows this better than Norman Smith, snowy owl expert and sanctuary directory of Mass Audubon's Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton. For more than 30 years, Smith has been trapping snowy owls at Boston's Logan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Project Updates"","block_context":{"text":"Project Updates","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/project-updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.massaudubon.org\/var\/ezdemo_site\/storage\/images\/media\/departments\/lww\/birds\/snowy-owl-quick-guide\/170305-1-eng-US\/snowy-owl-quick-guide.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3016,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/snowy-owl-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":14922,"position":1},"title":"Snowy Owl Update","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"December 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Currently New England is hosting a major incursion of snowy owls, many of which will likely spend the winter in our area. Typically these Arctic visitors tend to appear most frequently near the coast, but the first report this year was inland at Mount Wachusett in Princeton on November 17.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowy Owl copyright David Larson","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/12\/snowyowldavelarson-1024x787.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3043,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/snowy-owls-airports-how-you-can-help\/","url_meta":{"origin":14922,"position":2},"title":"Snowy Owls & Airports: How You Can Help","author":"Hillary T.","date":"December 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There has been a lot of news coverage in regards to snowy owls at airports, highlighting the fact that Norman Smith (of Mass Audubon's Blue Hills Trailside Museum) has been\u00a0safely trapping and releasing snowy owls\u00a0at Boston Logan Airport for more than 30 years. Norman was featured on\u00a0CBS Boston, the\u00a0Today Show,\u00a0NY\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Project Updates"","block_context":{"text":"Project Updates","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/project-updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NormanSmithSnowyOwl","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/12\/NormanSmithSnowyOwl-768x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10464,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/releasing-snowy-owl-no-26\/","url_meta":{"origin":14922,"position":3},"title":"Releasing Snowy Owl no. 26","author":"Hillary T.","date":"February 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"On Monday, January 29, Norman Smith (director at Blue Hills Trailside Museum) carefully captured a snowy owl at Logan Airport (for the safety of the owl and the planes). The next day, he released it on Duxbury Beach. Snowy owls are attracted to Logan because the landscape resembles the Arctic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/01\/NormanwithSnowy600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/01\/NormanwithSnowy600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/01\/NormanwithSnowy600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1264,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/the-return-of-snowy-owls\/","url_meta":{"origin":14922,"position":4},"title":"The Return of Snowy Owls","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"December 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Snowy owl season has officially begun. So far, three of these \"white terrors of the north\" have been spotted in Massachusetts, including one that was banded by Mass Audubon's Norman Smith last year. Will this year by anything like last year's invasion? Let's consider the facts. A Look Back The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/12\/Snowy-Owl_Richard-Johnson_2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8591,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/snowy-owl-release-in-duxbury-video\/","url_meta":{"origin":14922,"position":5},"title":"Snowy Owl Release in Duxbury Video","author":"Hillary T.","date":"January 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Watch Norman Smith of Blue Hills Trailside Museum talk about this snowy owl, which he safely rescued from Logan Airport on Monday, January 23, and released at Duxbury Beach. Norman has been safely rescuing snowy owls from Logan Airport for more than 30 years. This was the 12th snowy owl\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14922"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14936,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14922\/revisions\/14936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}