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Snowy owls' invasion of Chicago is off to a flying start this winter
Topic Started: Dec 15 2011, 12:02 AM (1,176 Views)
Stevie
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Petunia
Dec 15 2011, 01:22 AM
Ah, well. I live in a land of wild elk, and I've yet to see one in person.

where's that?
the meek shall inherit the earth.
not many meek people on message boards.
I'm just here to hone my communication skills,
not looking to convert anyone.
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Petunia
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Stevie
Dec 15 2011, 02:01 AM
Petunia
Dec 15 2011, 01:22 AM
Ah, well. I live in a land of wild elk, and I've yet to see one in person.

where's that?
Well everyone on the board already knows it, so I guess it doesn't matter if I post it. I'm in Kentucky.
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Stevie
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Petunia
Dec 15 2011, 02:32 AM
Stevie
Dec 15 2011, 02:01 AM
Petunia
Dec 15 2011, 01:22 AM
Ah, well. I live in a land of wild elk, and I've yet to see one in person.

where's that?
Well everyone on the board already knows it, so I guess it doesn't matter if I post it. I'm in Kentucky.
ah, driven through a few times, but never really stayed long enough.....
the meek shall inherit the earth.
not many meek people on message boards.
I'm just here to hone my communication skills,
not looking to convert anyone.
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Petunia
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Snowy owls soar south from Arctic in rare mass migration
By Laura Zuckerman | Reuters – 3 hrs ago

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Bird enthusiasts are reporting rising numbers of snowy owls from the Arctic winging into the lower 48 states this winter in a mass southern migration that a leading owl researcher called "unbelievable."

Thousands of the snow-white birds, which stand 2 feet tall with 5-foot wingspans, have been spotted from coast to coast, feeding in farmlands in Idaho, roosting on rooftops in Montana, gliding over golf courses in Missouri and soaring over shorelines in Massachusetts.

A certain number of the iconic owls fly south from their Arctic breeding grounds each winter but rarely do so many venture so far away even amid large-scale, periodic southern migrations known as irruptions.

"What we're seeing now -- it's unbelievable," said Denver Holt, head of the Owl Research Institute in Montana.

"This is the most significant wildlife event in decades," added Holt, who has studied snowy owls in their Arctic tundra ecosystem for two decades.

full story: http://news.yahoo.com/snowy-owls-soar-south-arctic-rare-mass-migration-175336821.html

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epona
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I don't doubt the presence of owls, but I do suspect the reasons why, so I read the article to see. These statements
"likely" "may" and the fact that they don't have hardly any facts on them because they are too darn remote to research in the first place clinched it. They are merely guessing at the reasons.

This combined with the fact that fracking is taking place in Canada big time now which affects the water, would cause a shift in where the food is. Maybe the wacko weather contributes. I cannot comprehend any other reason for rats and other various little critters to leave the safety of non-human woods and to cause the owls to follow. Even if there was a doubling of the population, it shouldn't cause them to come this far! One poor baby went to Hawaii and got killed for it, can't believe they did that in Hawaii of all places.

An especially plentiful supply of lemmings last season likely led to a population boom among owls that resulted in each breeding pair hatching as many as seven offspring. That compares to a typical clutch size of no more than two, Holt said.

Greater competition this year for food in the Far North by the booming bird population may have then driven mostly younger, male owls much farther south than normal.

Research on the animals is scarce because of the remoteness and extreme conditions of the terrain the owls occupy, including northern Russia and Scandinavia, he said.
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