Hello all,

I received the excellent book, Peterson's Reference Guide to Owls , for Christmas.

Regarding the Northern Hawk Owl:

"Despite assumptions that irrupting owls are starving and food-stressed, of the nearly 150 Hawk Owls banded in Minnesota in 2004-2005 (two-thirds of them adults), most were reported to be healthy and well-fed. Their weights increased through the Winter, suggesting that the owls may have arrived in diminished condition because of prey shortages farther north, but soon made up the difference."

So, of all possible causes of death, food supply was unlikely to be the causal factor.

One opinion,
Dan Reiff