Long-eared owls flock to Chicago in unusual irruption

Laura Pearson Chicago Tribune

An atypically high number of long-eared owls have swooped into Chicago this winter, their presence recorded by birders in birding databases and everyday residents on social media. According to various recent Facebook reports, a couple of fluffy, long-eared owls were spotted preening in Lincoln Park. Another darted in front of a delivery truck in Cicero. One sat on a barren tree branch outside of a Kohl's on Elston Avenue.

Skilled local photographers have captured these majestic, medium-sized birds on film: The distinctive patterning on their feathers, their orange facial discs and long ear tufts (not actual ears) make them look perpetually surprised.

A sudden upsurge of a single animal species in one area is called an "irruption." But what causes such a phenomenon, and how do long-eared owls adapt to city life? 

Pardon the irruption

It's not entirely clear where these long-eared owls flew in from, but Cornell Lab of Ornithology range maps show them breeding in the northern half of Wisconsin, northern Michigan, Minnesota and throughout Canada.

"Owls are irruptive migrants, meaning that where they show up and how many individuals are spotted during the winter can be somewhat unpredictable," says Stephanie Beilke, a conservation science associate with Great Lakes Audubon who studies, among other things, avian responses to urbanization and migratory stopovers. "Not much is currently known about what triggers an irruption, but it could be related to food availability and changes in population sizes."

Read more

Trapping And Tracking The Mysterious Snowy Owl

Posted: March 11, 2014

This winter's unexpected arctic bird invasion has given owl researchers a rare opportunity. They're fitting a few of the errant owls with GPS backpacks to track their return to the Arctic.

This is Hungerford, a large female snowy owl. Last summer she was just a hatchling — a gray ball of fuzz in the middle of the Arctic tundra. In the fall, newly equipped with adult plumage, she flew thousands of miles south until she reached the coast of Maryland. And this winter, she became an important part of an unprecedented research project.

'Something Huge Is Going On'

Snowy owls are among the largest birds in North America, but scientists know very little about their behavior. The owls spend most of their days far from humans, hunting rodents and birds in the flat expanses of the Arctic Circle. In the winter, the owls move south, but they don't usually reach the United States. Most years, only a few are spotted in the northernmost states — a rare treat for birders. But this winter was different.

Continued

Snowy Owls Make Mysterious Migration

By Wynne Parry, LiveScience Contributor | December 06, 2013 03:57pm ET

The visitors from the Arctic have shown up as far south as North Carolina, on the island of Bermuda and in unusually large numbers in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes. Yesterday (Dec. 5), 15 were counted at Logan Airport in Boston.

For reasons no one understands, snowy owl sightings are spiking in eastern North America this winter.

"Maybe this is starting to shape up to be an irruption year," said Denver Holt, founder of the Owl Research Institute in Montana. 'Irruption' refers to the unpredictable migrations the birds make.

Read on

Unusual bird expected to make Colchester appearance

FLOCKS of stunning birds are poised to appear in north Essex this winter.

Waxwings occasionally migrate from Scandinavia when a successful breeding season means their local berry supply is exhausted and do not winter every year.

But experts at the Essex Wildlife Trust are hopeful for an irruption this year, where the birds arrive in large numbers, and there has already been some sightings at Abbotts Hall Farm, Great Wigborough, and Fingringhoe Wick nature reserves, and also further south in Maldon and South Woodham Ferrers.

Slightly smaller than a starling Waxwings have a mix of colours with a prominent pinky crest from which it gets its nickname pink punk. It is reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. The wax refers to the red endings on the feather tips which help identify the age and sex of the bird.

Regular updates of Waxwing sightings will be given by Essex Wildlife Trust on their website.

The trust wants to collate records about Waxwing sightings in Essex this winter and people are asked to email details of their sightings and any photographs to records@essexwt.org.uk.

The email subject should be Waxwing and include your name, an accurate location including a postcode and if possible six-figure grid reference, who saw them, when, and how many birds were recorded.

http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/10096617.Unusual_bird_expected_to_make_Colchester_appearance/

A warning for backyard bird watchers

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va.  -- A migratory bird in the finch family is a cause for concern for backyard bird watchers in West Virginia.

Called pine siskins, the bird is flocking in large numbers in the state, meaning they could transmit salmonellosis to other species. The last time such an unusually large migration occurred, bird kills were reported throughout West Virginia from salmonellosis.

An unusually high migration of a species is called an "irruption."

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources' wildlife section advises that backyard feeders be cleaned every two weeks and rinsed with a 10 percent bleach solution. The feeder should be thoroughly dried before refilling.

The cleaning is especially recommended for feeders containing thistle seed, a food favored by pine siskins

Read on:  http://wvgazette.com/News/201211200024