Just to point out, an irruption year for Snowy Owls does not necessarily
mean an irruption year for boreal forest owls such as Great Grays (GGOW) and
Northern Hawks (NHOW). Snowy Owls feed almost exclusively on lemmings in
their arctic tundra habitat where as Great Grays and Northern Hawks feed on
completely different prey, mainly meadow voles. A great example of this was
last years invasion of GGOW and NHOW in the North-central and eastern U.S.
last year, where no more than the average number of Snowies were observed.

Of course, a GGOW and/or NHOW would be a lifer for me, so I am hoping they
irrupt here in the west sometime!

Jeff Kozma
Yakima