Bubo scandiacus

It is November. For most people that means the Thanksgiving (or Christmas is you are too excited to wait, like me!) decorations are coming out, stores are getting ready for the annual shopping frenzy and the weather here in central Washington is getting colder and less predictable.

For me, however, November means one thing: migration. Last year I got the exciting chance to see an amazing animal that had embarked on a migratory adventure from the arctic tundra, the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus for you science nuts.) Ever since I laid eyes on these owls I have been completely obsessed. I have been counting down the days since September and secretly planning what weekends I plan on embarking to Damon Point to scope out our winter visitors.

This year is different. My yearning for observing the owls has been satisfied and is now a desire to know everything there is to know about them. Since I am only a lowly biology senior the only thing I can really do is watch them in the field (from a safe distance. I am all about respecting their space!) and collect what little samples I am legally allowed to collect. In my case those samples come in the form of pellets. Last year I was lucky enough to find one pellet, but by the time I had found it the rain and mist from the ocean had already disintegrated it pretty good. This year I am determined to do some major collecting and dissecting! I want to know what brings these owls to Damon Point every year and a good start to finding out is figuring out what they eat!

Back at home on the tundra snowy owls mainly feed on lemmings, which are small rodents native to tundra biomes. This is a little off track, but every time I see, hear or write the word "lemmings" I think of that old computer game where you desperately try to get a group of lemmings to safety. Does anyone remember that game? It was one of my favorites. Back on topic. One of the main theories about why the owls migrate is food shortage. Normal irruptions of snowy owls are said to happen every six to seven years when there is a shortage of lemmings or other small rodents. I got the chance to talk to a naturalist last year during one of my visits and he told me that the owls come to Damon Point every year, but not in irruptive numbers like there have been the past two years. Something makes them stop at this location and set up camp until Spring, so maybe the food is good? That's what I'd like to find out. I will collect the pellets, dissect them and based off of the bone contents figure out whether they are favoring rodents or shore birds!

Another theory is population. Some biologists theorize that an overcrowded habitat causes juveniles to be driven out of the tundra during the harsh winter months. This is most likely due to the fact that the conditions are hard enough without having to compete for food, so the older owls will force the younger ones away thus ensuring themselves enough meals. This theory is interesting because during my visit last year 90% of the owls I observed were juveniles, and only a handful were adult females and males. It kind of makes me want to do some sort of statistics to see if we can accept that as a hypothesis!

I am pretty sure I will get odd looks while I am crawling on all fours down by logs looking for pellets, but I embrace the looks of utter confusion. Its all for science!