It Could Be Another Good Winter To See Snowy Owls

Snowy Owls have recently been observed on Mackinac Island, in St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, and Cheboygan and on the Mackinac Bridge.  It is still the first week of December but these beautiful arctic visitors are appearing throughout the Midwest in relatively large numbers.  If they continue to arrive at this rate, we may be able to enjoy watching them in the Straits area all winter long.

A few days ago a Snowy Owl was observed sitting at the base of the cannon located near the entrance of the Colonial Michilimackinac parking

The snowy owl by the entrance of Colonial Michilimackinac. Courtesy Troy Allaire.

lot. It had been there for most of the day and cars entering the lot were passing within a few feet of it. Concern grew that it may have been injured, perhaps by a passing vehicle on the Mackinac Bridge which crosses over the parking lot.

Mackinac State Historic Parks Curator of Natural History Jeff Dykehouse, who has state and federal bird banding permits, captured the owl to see if it was injured. It had no obvious injuries so an aluminum numbered band was put on its leg. According to the Bird Banding Lab with the U.S. Geological Survey, bird banding is a universal and indispensable technique for studying the movement, survival and behavior of birds. Over 1.2 million birds are banded, and more than 87,000 encounters with banded birds are reported annually.

Curator of Natural History Jeff Dykehouse with the snowy owl he banded.

According to Dykehouse, this owl is most likely an immature bird, as is the case with most Snowy Owls in this area at this time of the year. After the owl was shown to some of the other park staff members, it was released inside Colonial Michilimackinac and eventually flew up to the roof of a building.