Friday Feathered Feature
Showcasing a different bird species each week
Columbia, the snowy owl, looks at the camera with her sharp, yellow eyes. Photo by Monica Hall
You can learn more about her by checking out her first Friday Feathered Feature. https://madisonaudubon.org/fff/2020/1/31/we-named-her-columbia
Scott Weidensaul’s March 1st Project SNOWstorm blog post is titled Zugunruhe to You, Too! https://www.projectsnowstorm.org/posts/zugunruhe-to-you-too/
“Ornithologists use the German term, zugunruhe — which translates to “migratory restlessness” — to describe this kind of growing itch that migrants feel as the seasons change. It’s brought on by hormonal changes triggered by both the bird’s internal circadian rhythms and the changing day length. Often it’s a strong wind from the right direction — southerly, in this case — that prompts an exploratory flight…” Four snowy owls with transmitters in the Dakotas and Saskatchewan exhibited zugunruhe the last week of February. Scott wrote, “There’s been less evidence of zugunruhe in the owls farther east. In Wisconsin, Columbia has been tracing a very distinct movement pattern northeast of Morrisonville, a narrow, 7.5-mile (12-km) long path anchored at one end by the farmland and a sand quarry near Audubon’s Goose Pond Sanctuary, and at the other what must be a highly productive field for hunting just east of a large housing development.”
Columbia did not exhibit any zugunruhe until March 8th. At sunset she said goodbye to her new friends and headed north. She was flying at 30 miles per hour on southerly 12 mile per hour winds when she passed South Leeds. At one location she was clocked at 41 miles per hour.
A path marks Columbia’s northward journey since March 8.
Columbia would make frequent stops, with her first at the French Creek North State Natural Area in southern Marquette County. She then headed over John Muir County Park (this location was on her bucket list), and ended up that morning just south of the Plainfield Tunnel Channel Lakes State Natural Area in Waushara County, 62 miles from her start 12 hours before. She roosted and hunted in irrigated crop fields until 9:00 p.m. on the 10th. Then she headed north and northwest for a 46-mile flight ending up at the George Mead State Wildlife Area, northwest of Stevens Point where she stayed for one day before again moving northwest on a 72 mile flight ending up at a open bog in Sawyer County. Could she be taking a northwest direction to avoid flying over Lake Superior?
Fond du Lac, the snowy owl. Photo by Richard Armstrong
Catching another owl was a partnership effort with Fond du Lac County Audubon Society who took the lead by paying for a new transmitter. Unfortunately no one from the organization was able to join us for the trapping effort. It was amazing to be able to catch three snowy owls. Thanks to Angel Clark, Suzanne Bahls and Scott for their articles on the experience.
The Clark and Bahls family searched for owls on Saturday afternoon and located seven snowy owls!
“On Saturday evening, February 22, 2020, my husband, Pat, informed me we should take our son Ben, to Norton’s Supper Club, on Green Lake, for his 25th birthday. Pat, then mentioned we need to leave a little early to search for snowy owls on the Mackford Prairie. He called his mission, "Operation Snow Storm.” I have never seen a snowy owl in the wild, so I wasn't quite sure what to look for. I thought this was another one of his wild goose chases searching for rare birds with his Madison Audubon buddies. It also makes me nervous when he's driving and looking through binoculars, so I sat in the backseat thinking I would be safer there.
To our surprise we found one!... A female snowy owl was peached on a snowbank. However, she didn't stay on the snowbank for very long. She started to fly south-east and we followed her. It was hard to see her with the naked eye as she flew further and further away… She finally landed again in a snow covered field near a fence line. I also would like to mention, that this is truly like trying to find a needle in a haystack with all the snow and the owl basically being all white. But we did it! And boy, were we proud of ourselves! My husband, Pat, was so excited he called Mark Martin to give him his news report... "Hi, Mark. This is Pat. We spotted a snowy owl south-east on Lake Emily Road," I could hear Mark's voice on the other end. Mark said, "That's great Pat, now find another!" I chuckled to myself. It reminded me of a school child getting a good mark on a paper, and the teacher saying, now do it again on your next paper!
The second spotting was on a telephone pole on the corner of Hickory Road, and Highway A. It was another female snowy owl. We were all in complete awe of this magnificent creature. It seemed as if this particular bird enjoyed the attention and wanted us to take her picture. We took many pictures with our mere camera phones. Then she must have spotted something edible on the ground across Highway A. It took off, swooped down just when there was an oncoming car! I thought my husband was going to jump out of his seat! He screamed, "Oh no, don't get hit by that car!" It did not. The owl made it safely to the other side, and came back to where it was originally peached. However, that seemed like it was very dangerous for the bird. Now I can see that these magnificent creatures need safer places to be. Better places for them to perch and find food.
...From this experience, I have a whole new appreciation for these volunteers and scientists. Now, future generations will be able to experience what we did! Thank you, Project SnowStorm for all your hard work and dedication!”
-Sincerely, Angel Clark
Nine people met on Sunday (February 23) afternoon in Green Lake County east of Lake Maria to catch as many snowy owls as possible. Volunteers included Richard Armstrong, J D Arnston, Mark and Pat Clark from Madison Audubon, Jeff and Suzanne Bahls, and Rick Vant Hoff from the Horicon Marsh Bird Club, and Gene Jacobs and Brad Zinda from Linwood Springs.
“My snowy owl obsession started about thirteen years ago when I went on a “first date” with Jeff Bahls. He took me to see one on highway 49 at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. Every winter since, I have looked forward to their visits in our neck of the woods. When Jeff and I got married a few years back, we had a small, simple ceremony with our kids and celebrated afterwards with a snowy owl cake! Therefore, a few weeks ago, when Mark Martin contacted Jeff about locating a Snowy Owl to be tagged for tracking, thoughts of actually getting to see one up close was like a dream!
Jeff and I headed over to where we had seen one earlier... off a lightly traveled county road. When we got there, it had relocated to the other side of the road and further away. Gene thought it was still close enough, so he set the trap near the road and we watched… and waited. This owl did not budge. We watched him cough up a pellet and we thought, well, he must be hungry now... Mark Martin, who had been watching with us decided to take a little drive around and see if there were any other Snowies in the area. He found one sitting on a pole on the next road over. We could actually see it from where we were sitting. The problem was the road the second owl was on is a busy road. Mark talked to the landowner and got permission to set a trap on the ground away from the road. It was decided to take a chance on the second owl.
We picked up our trap and drove over to the second location. Brad took the trap and set it within sight of the second owl. We watched and waited again. About ten minutes later, the owl hopped off the pole and flew to the trap. She landed on top of it and then hopped off. She did not get tangled in the fishing line that was used to trap her. She sat a few feet from the trap and looked at it for a few minutes, then walked back to it and jumped on it a couple times, but still did not get tangled in the line. She then flew off about a hundred yards. Our hearts sank. Brad walked to the trap and re-adjusted the fishing line, and came back to the truck. We watched and waited again... Several minutes later she took off flying toward the trap and finally got snagged in the line. Jeff and Brad jumped out of the truck and ran to the trap and went right to work untangling the owl. We got her!
We assisted Gene Jacobs and Brad Zinda in any way we could. During those few hours we caught three adult female Snowy Owls. Two were measured, banded and released back where they were caught. The third snowy was processed and Gene attached a GPS transmitter so Project SNOWstorm biologists can track her movements. It was amazing to witness first-hand the wings, beaks and talons of these gorgeous birds, and to see and work with the people from Madison Audubon and Linwood Springs Research Station. Reflecting on the events of that night still seems like a dream. It was an experience I will dream about for many years to come.”
-Suzanne Bahls
Fond du Lac stayed close to where she was released until March 7 when she moved a few miles north, just south of Green Lake. Her last cell phone was from that area on March 10th. We look forward to seeing her migration northward.
Find more information on the capture and release of three snowy owls at the Project SnowStorm on Scott’s blog post titled Fond du lac, and the Owl-fecta.
We hope that the owls enjoyed their visits to southern Wisconsin. We also wish them safe travels to the land of the midnight sun and hope they return to southern Wisconsin next winter for another vacation.
Thanks to everyone who donated funds for the transmitters, to Gene and Brad from Linwood Springs for trapping and processing the owls, and to the volunteers who reported sightings, assisted with locating owls, taking photographs, trapping, and processing the birds. We hope you follow their journey north.
Written by Mark Martin and Sue Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary resident managers, and Graham Steinhauer, land steward
Meet Arlington. Photo by David Rihn
This winter is shaping up to be a great snowy owl irruption year. Ryan Brady with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources estimated there are at least 225 snowy owls in Wisconsin this winter. In a typical year, Wisconsin sees a couple dozen snowy owls, so finding ourselves in a snowy flurry is just delightful!
Snowy owls are among the two or three species at greatest and most immediate risk from climate change, yet we know relatively little about their ecology during migration, and why they're here in human-dominated landscapes (read more about the snowies at Goose Pond in our December 15, 2017 FFF post). We’re honored to work with Project SNOWstorm again this winter to study snowy owls in a really cool way: using a backpack transmitter.
Project SNOWstorm tracks migrations and movements of snowy owls across North America. Photo from projectstowstorm.org
Project SNOWstorm began its work in the 2013-14 irruption and in the first four years they and partners have tagged 48 owls in 10 states, including Wisconsin. In fact, early in the project's history they worked with a snowy named “Goose Pond” (aka “Goose”), a clue as to its residence that winter. Goose was caught by conservation biologist Gene Jacobs at the Central Wisconsin Airport south of Wausau. Madison Audubon donors sponsored Goose to be outfitted with a Project SNOWstorm transmitter, and the bird was released south of Goose Pond at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station. (Relocation away from airports is a common and useful practice to protect both parties.)
Through data collected by Goose’s and other snowies’ transmitters, Project SNOWstorm has documented little-known and surprising aspects of snowy owl ecology and behavior, traced their migrations in unprecedented detail, and delved into their health and the risks they face from environmental toxins like mercury. Project SNOWstorm has also partnered with federal wildlife agencies and airports to find better ways to keep airplanes and owls safely apart. They published a paper in 2017 showing trends in the habitats used by tagged owls.
With this winter’s snowy owl irruption, Project SNOWstorm was once again looking for owls in Wisconsin on which to place transmitters. With three owls around Goose Pond Sanctuary, Madison Audubon Society stepped up and volunteered to help trap owls and raise $3,000 to cover the cost of a transmitter. If you want to help with the cost of that transmitter, please donate today!
The process was quite the rollercoaster.
A snowy owl perches in the late afternoon sun. Photo by Lester Doyle
On December 13, Goose Pond staff saw two snowy owls within two minutes from the Kampen Road residence. As a result, an owl trapping plan was quickly developed for the next day with Gene Jacobs and Tom Meyer who are both federally licensed bird banders. (Gene specializes in banding owls and banded 490 saw whets and 20 long-eared owls this fall at Linwood Springs Research Center. Tom and Rick Hill are the lead bird banders at Cedar Grove Ornithological Station where they banded over 800 raptors this fall alone!)
On December 14, the snowy search crews assembled. We received a phone call tip that a snowy owl was seen near Goose Pond’s Sue Ames Prairie just before the banders and volunteers arrived. However, after 90 minutes of extensive searching, attendees were disappointed to find not a single owl, snowy or otherwise. We were skunked. Goosed. Snowied.
But, owl trappers are a persistent group and Gene, Tom, and Rick, along with more volunteers tried again on January 4. Hopes were again high. One owl had been seen the night before along Highways 51 and K and another was seen near Highway K and Goose Pond Road.
Forming a game plan before scouting for the snowy owls. MAS Photo
Tom and Rick arrived in early afternoon and we immediately headed out. By 1:30 p.m. we found the owl near Goose Pond Road sitting in a large bare field. This particular bird waited patiently in the field for the next several hours until our owl scouts and trappers were assembled into teams and sent off to both keep an eye on the owl we'd already seen, and look for another one. Maddie with team members Matt Reetz and David Rihn, and Sue with team members Monica Hall, Janet Flynn, and Greg Tiedt, parked just off of Hwy K where they could watch the owl's movements, and potentially take off after it if need be. Mark and others searched with Gene for additional owls.
Gene was spot on when he said, “humans are the least patient animal on the planet.” Watching and waiting for a snowy owl to move, you quickly realize just how patient most animals, particularly predators, really are!
I spy with my little eye something that is white. Photo by David Rihn
It wasn't until about 4:30 p.m., just as the shadows lengthened enough to finally cast a pall over his bright feathers, that the owl finally flew to the top of the gravel mound in the quarry. Tom and Rick had already set up a cage holding two starlings as bait. We waited in great suspense until suddenly a University vehicle came down the road by the quarry, and the owl flushed to a nearby fence post. The owl knew the starlings were there, but it was far more cautious after that! For the next 30 minutes, Tom and Rick noted that the owl would land on the ground next to the trap and walk around and around, looking at the starlings, considering what to do.
Gene was summoned to the quarry to help, and he was getting ready to try and trap the owl with a bow net. Right about this time Mark called and reported that he and Brad Zinda, a wildlife student from UW Stevens Point, found another snowy sitting on a utility pole in the front yard of a house nearby. It was nearly 5:00 and getting dark. Since the snowy owl at the quarry was now skittish, Gene decided to try his luck with the snowy Mark and Brad found.
Gene set up a bow net on adjacent University land and backed up his vehicle just enough so that he could still monitor both the owl and the bow net containing a rock pigeon as bait, in nearly complete darkness. After 20 minutes, the owl attempted one quick pass at the pigeon in the bow net and then returned to a pole nearby.
By now it was about 5:35 p.m. and Gene turned on the headlights so he could see the trap. Then, quick as a flash, the owl swooped for the pigeon and Gene hit the remote control that caused the bow net to close. Gene, Stacy Taritas, and Maddie all made a mad dash into the bitter cold to release the owl and rescue the unharmed pigeon. Stacy later mentioned “that night was the experience of a lifetime.”
The bow net was packed up and the crew headed to the Kampen Road residence, owl carefully in tow, where it was learned that the other owl at the quarry had also been captured! The first owl finally went for the starlings and his talons got tangled in the trap for just long enough to allow the volunteers to approach and untangle him (and save the starlings).
"The Boys", with Quarry on the left and Arlington on the right. Photo by Maddie Dumas
Both owls were young males and each was banded. The first owl was the smaller of the two and named "Quarry". The second was given the name “Arlington”, and was fitted with a solar pack transmitter that will send hourly location GPS data through a cell phone tower to “owl central” on the east coast.
By the light of the rising super moon, the owls were both released back into the wild to hunt and enjoy the cold, crisp evening. What a thrill for Maddie and volunteer Gerry Bennicoff who released the owls!
Arlington can be tracked on the Project SNOWstorm website. More info on another Wisconsin snowy owl caught and outfitted with a new backpack is available here. We will also be providing updates on the MAS website about our new friend Arlington. If you would like to visit Goose Pond Sanctuary to see Arlington and Quarry with your own eyes, the best time to search is the last hour of daylight. Respect for wildlife and private property is of the utmost importance, however; please do not approach the animals or trespass to get a closer look!
This, and one other snowy owl died after being struck by passing vehicles on January 12. Photo by Monica Hall
Related and sad news came to us this morning (Jan. 12). Two snowy owls within two miles of the place Arlington and his comrade were released, were killed by vehicles. While we are glad neither was Arlington, it is heartbreaking to see such preventable destruction of life. Please drive slowly and cautiously to help care for our magnificent wildlife!
NOTE: Neither the starlings nor pigeon were harmed in the traps.
Written by Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary Resident Managers, and Maddie Dumas, Goose Pond Sanctuary Land Steward
