During the winter of 2017-2018, we were blessed here in Iowa to have an invasion of Snowy Owls. Although these winter visitors could never be called numerous here, ever handful of years, conditions up north on the arctic tundra and around Hudson Bay, get rough so many young owls head farther south.
It would be hard to say how many owls in total are seen here in the midwest during an invasion…most birds aren’t tagged or marked in anyway so you don’t know if you’re seeing the same bird just moving around or if there are multiple birds in an area. The latter was proven in the Davenport Iowa area when 3 birds were spotted on the same day in different locations, almost simultaneously.
This particular female spent a lot of time around the airport grounds…as many of these owls tend to do, because the property is flat and wide open, much like their native tundra. On this evening, my wife and I spent about 20 minutes in close proximity to the bird…she was at ease the entire time as we stayed in the vehicle and used that more or less as a viewing blind.
I’m sad to report that several months later, this bird was found injured, either from a vehicle strike (there was a terribly busy intersection nearby), or perhaps from an impact with a fence or post…but her wing was injured and became infected before she was picked up. She was ultimately euthanized to end her suffering. Although she had faired well enough through several months here, she unfortunately did not depart for her northern home soon enough.
For the winter season Iowa, over 30 owls were found dead or injured, many from vehicle strikes. That certainly indicates that on invasion years, Iowa can see quite a few snowy owls come in….and unfortunately most are not well equipped to deal with all of the hazards of modern life here.