Interesting post about tracking of the 6 tagged snowy owls in PA (pertinent language in bold). Was worried this might be OT for this listserv, but justified it, thinking some of these could come through our state. E.g., "Amishtown" (not in article) was relocated to Lancaster for safety, and was still there yesterday. Interesting: one owl in Rochester NY flew to the Georgian Bay, then back again. One tagged in Maassachusetts "flew through six states in as many days, moving mostly west." Linda -----Original Message----- From: Scott Weidensaul <[log in to unmask]> To: PABIRDS <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Fri, Mar 28, 2014 9:42 am Subject: [PABIRDS] SNOWstorm update I've been reminded that, while we've been posting updates about Project SNOWstorm and our snowy owl research every couple of days on the project website (www.projectsnowstorm.org), I haven't been updating the PABIRDS community very well. I'm sorry for that -- this project spans eight states from Minnesota to Massachusetts, and riding herd on it has been time-consuming and distracting. I'd encourage everyone to check out the website, because this is an incredibly exciting time. We tagged 22 snowy owls this winter with GPS/GSM transmitters (made here in PA by Cellular Tracking Technologies in Somerset), including six in Pennsylvania. One was hit and killed by a plane in Philadelphia in January, but the other five owls are still being tracked, and four of them have started north. There are interactive maps for all the owls on the website, updated every three days (with a three-day delay for their safety). Amishtown, a young male relocated from the Philadelphia airport to Lancaster County in February, is now on the south shore of Lake Ontario. Erie, whose transmitter was sponsored by PSO, has moved from Lake Erie up into the "thumb" of Michigan, while Millcreek, banded the same night as Erie at the Erie airport in January, remains on the dwindling ice on Lake Erie itself. Wiconisco, a male banded at the State College airport in January, relocated to Perry County and tagged earlier this month in Dauphin County, has migrated north to western New York, while Womelsdorf, a young male tagged March 3 in Berks County (and whose transmitter was sponsored by DCNR), followed much the same route through Buffalo and out onto the ice of eastern Lake Erie. Other owls are doing even more amazing things. One bird tagged in the Rochester, NY, area just did a 571-mile trip up into Georgian Bay and all the way back again, while a snowy owl tagged in Massachusetts flew through six states in as many days, moving mostly west. You can sign up on the website for email alerts every time we post an update. The next few weeks ought to be really interesting, as these birds head back toward the Arctic. Don't miss the fun. Scott Weidensaul Schuylkill Haven, PA ______________________________________________________________________ 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]