Snowy Owls: 169 in 59 Counties

Snowy owl at Amish farm in Wayne County.  (Photo by Debbie Hurlbert)

 Jim McCormac's latest tally of snowy owl sightings is: 169 owls in 59 counties.   He talks about how happy birders in Geauga County are with the finding of their first snowy owl, with neighboring counties totaling 47 snowy owls. 


My own "beef" is with Morrow County still having no snowy owl sightings--not quite comparable with Geauga County since Morrow's immediate neighboring counties total only 8 snowy owls.  But still Morrow too stands out as a holdout.

The owls may be on the move now, preparing to go back to northern Canada--probably Quebec.  I read a post today on the "Ohio-birds" mailing list  that said the owls at Wayne County's airport left as of six days ago.   They had been there 18 weeks.  It had been a dependable place to see snowy owls.  I think when they migrate north from points south of Knox County we may have an even better chance to see a snowy owl.

And there are many sightings that may not reach Jim, like one on Route 308 near New Gambier Road on February 1.

Jim also has great information on moths flying in the winter.  I thought I had seen things flying in my headlights on some recent nights.

Now I'm anxious to see moths again as well as snowy owls.