Just wanted to acknowledge and say thank you to Dennis, Wayne and Mike
Mints for all of their great information on Snowy Owls lately.

Over the years, there has been so much written about this species that is
just not based on known facts. Much of it gets passed down as the truth
when it really isn't. So thanks for the wake-up call guys.

I also think this really shows the tremendous value of Tweeters, where we
can all learn from such experienced people and get our facts straight.
Thanks to Dan Victor too.

Incidentally, Denver Holt and others are publishing a definitive new
article on sexing young Snowys in the December issue of Raptor Research.
That should also help.

Regarding irruptions of Red-tails, I am not aware that this has ever been
documented here in the past. Certainly numbers vary at migration points
from year to year but as far as irruptions go, I have not seen it here in
WA. I do know that there are late migrant Red-tails still filtering down
into western WA into late November.

One time, I took this rickety little overnight train from Thompson to
Churchill, Manitoba, in October. At dawn, I was surprised to see several
Red-tails still hunting right at treeline where the boreal forest hit the
tundra. For some reason they had not left that area even though it was
bitterly cold. Food related I thought at the time.

And most migration banding stations (e.g. Duluth and Cape May) famously get
lots of late migrant Red-tails.

Hope this helps...

Bud Anderson
Falcon Research Group
Box 248
Bow, WA 98232
(360) 757-1911
falconresearch at gmail.com
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