I wonder if our correspondent meant to say that his experiences (feeding
Snowy Owls in Iowa) took place two winters ago, not last winter. A quick
perusal of published records shows hardly any Snowy Owls in Iowa in the
winter of 2012-2013, by contrast to the preceding year. I also wonder why
he's writing to the Ohio and Pennsylvania listserves and apparently not to
the one for his own state.

Regardless - I'm all in favor of people following their hearts, but good
intentions will take you only so far. From the Pennsylvania list, here's a
comment from Scott Weidensaul, a passionate conservationist and an expert
on birds of prey. For me the clincher is his point that training wild owls
to associate humans with food is going to lead to trouble. This link should
take you to the relevant post:

http://birding.aba.org/message.php?mesid=584287&MLID=PA01&MLNM=Pennsylvania

If you teach a Snowy Owl to approach humans for food, chances are it will
be shot before long. These are nomadic birds, wandering widely at all
seasons; even if you're seeing one in a relatively remote area, the bird
isn't going to stay there. It will encounter other humans who aren't as
well-intentioned as you are. Something to think about. I know we all have
the best of intentions regarding these birds, but sometimes the best thing
we can give them is some space.

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, Ohio

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