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 ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]