A large incursion of snowy owls is by now a matter of record, including
Ohio. Looking back, I recall reports from the following counties, some
of multiple owls (and I'm sure I've left some out): Ashtabula, Franklin,
Hardin, Hancock, Union, Ottawa, Cuyahoga, Wood, Marion, Logan, and
Defiance. No doubt there are others that I've forgotten or didn't hear
about, and probably some none of us on this list heard about.
        Thus far there have been only two counties where owls were widely
refound: Ashtabula (2) and Hardin. In some counties, such as Wood,
multiple owl sightings were eagerly replicated within a day or two, but
were not found thereafter. I think there were a couple of instances
where birders found two owls in Wood Co on the same day---but how far apart?
        Twelve of from Columbus went out on 7 Jan hoping to show participants
one of these striking creatures, and after a long day of finding nothing
at five previously-reported venues, we finally found the Hardin County
individual just before sundown. Whew. Little did we know that within a
few days it would be found dead.
        I spent yesterday afternoon at the OSUM Museum helping with a visit
from a young birder's club. One of the attractions was that very owl,
which OSU-Lima faculty member Jackie Augustine brought in and spent
three hours preparing as a study skin. She easily found that the bird
had starved to death. It had a heavy infestation of parasites, which she
collected and gave to the Entomology folks down the hall.
        What happened to all those other owls reported that were never
reportedly seen again? One compelling theory is that they died, too, but
their corpses were simply not found.
        The young owls that come down are neophytes. They find there aren't any
lemmings around, and there's no tundra, with its untouched flora. By
January, the barren Ohio winter crop fields probably have few rodents,
and our grasslands--where short-eared owls are glad to
winter--apparently don't attract snowies. The places here snowies often
end up---airports, for example, and the industrial areas at Ashtabula
Harbor--are dominated by grass, and attract rats and mice.
        So I'm thinking that most of these snowy owls are going to starve. If
you hear about one--especially if it's reported by someone who's
familiar with snowy owls--and want to see it, don't delay. So why did
the Hardin owl last so long? If you compare its adopted habitat to the
vast winter wastelands of Wood County where owls were reported, Hardin
has at least a lot of woodlots, fencerows, and meadows, with some edge
drama to attract food--not enough evidently, but enough to keep the owl
flying for a couple weeks. Have a look at
http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Wilson/v044n04/p0221-p0226.pdf  to see an
account of a snowy owl "invasion" eighty years ago, when agriculture was
not so "clean" as today...
Bill Whan
Columbus



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