Comments on: An irruption! Of owls!

An irruption! Of owls!

jessamyn — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:33:32 -0800

"[Irruption] is the term birders use to describe an unusual mass movement of birds into an area. But even that big word fails to capture what happened last winter when thousands of owls descended on northern Minnesota."

The irruption of 2004-5 was big news, with its own symposium and many people reporting the Minnesota trees "dripping with owls" People trekked to the famous Sax Zim Bog to see and photograph some of the 1700+ great gray owls forced south by the mouse crash. People have been speculating that perhaps we are due for another this year.

By: dersins

dersins — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:41:26 -0800

O RLY?

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:42:56 -0800

I bet that's where all the tootsie roll pops are grown.

By: cortex

cortex — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:47:26 -0800

Fact: this is a small owl.

By: DU

DU — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:48:38 -0800

forced south by the mouse crash

By: bondcliff

bondcliff — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:48:52 -0800

Obviously, we need to start hunting them in order to thin out the herds. It's the only way to save them.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:51:00 -0800

ok. funnest to say ever. exclamation: SAX ZIM BOG OWL! SAX ZIM BOG OWL, MAN! advertisement: SEE THE SAX ZIM BOG OWL JAM! accompaniment: THE HOT SAX ZIM BOG OWL RAG.

By: brand-gnu

brand-gnu — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:54:02 -0800

The owls are not what they seem.

By: COBRA!

COBRA! — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:55:18 -0800

I'm going to drive to the outskirts of DUluth and play track 2 of Van Halen to give them the salute they deserve.

By: Greg Nog

Greg Nog — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:55:44 -0800

"This isn't just a rare bird, this is the Brad Pitt of birds, one everyone wants to see," Stiteler said. "Then imagine 5,000 or more Brad Pitts in one area in one winter. Most of us are happy if we see one or two in a year. I'll say! I saw only two Brad Pitts last year (rubbing their abs together to make a baby Brad Pitt), and I counted myself a lucky man.

By: lexicakes

lexicakes — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:58:45 -0800

The owls are not what they seem. I just came here to say that, but you beat me to it.

By: KevinSkomsvold

KevinSkomsvold — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:59:16 -0800

What an amazing story! I spend a large part of my childhood in that area and miss it so much. Now I want to go visit.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:03:24 -0800

My birder friends dragged me to one of the great bird migration spots (Cape May, NJ) to see the hawks last week. It was great, an interesting look at a subculture I knew very little about. The parking lot at the lighthouse was filled with cars bearing out-of-state plates. Neat post.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:09:50 -0800

Owls are strange but awesome birds. Kind of like cuttlefish of the sky.

By: rtha

rtha — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:15:01 -0800

If there's another irruption of Great Greys I may consider going to Duluth. In winter. Birding makes you do wacky things. For instance, about three years ago there was an irruption of Snowy Owls (an Arctic species) as far south as San Francisco. The following year, we went on a bird trip to the Skagit River area north of Seattle, and took a day trip into southern BC, where there had also been a great number of Snowies reported in the irrpuption year. But the year we went? Not so much. We were walking out on some dikes in a freezing rain/snow shower, trying to keep binos and scopes dry, and I finally spotted an owl. It was probably a good half-mile off, looking exactly like the lumps of snow it was perched amongst (except it had eyes). It was an unsatisfying look. When we crossed the border into Canada, the border guys were all "What's the purpose of your trip?" and someone in the van said "We're here to look at owls!" The border guy looked at the falling snow/rain, then at us, and said "You came all the way from San Francisco to look at birds?" Yes, yes we did. And we'd do it again. On preview: Cape May! Haven't been yet, but will go, some year. Also on the list is Veracruz, Mexico, where you can see a million hawks (no kidding) flying overhead during the fall migration.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:18:07 -0800

Owl sightings are a treat for me... they are great, intelligent birds. As a kid, my biology teacher sister had several owls that had been injured and brought to her.. from tiny Saw Whet to a majestic Great Horned Owl (that would sit on the arm of the couch and watch TV with me for hours)...... i miss those birds...!

By: edgeways

edgeways — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:20:20 -0800

Damn, I missed the '04/'05 irruption despite being in Duluth, not sure if I should hope for another one or not this year: to see them yes, but ti seems awfully disruptive for the owls. We are on a major migratory pathway for raptors though and each year if you are in the right spot there is no shortage of cool birds that could claw your eyes out, even had a Gyrfalcon this year which is really rare in this area.

By: EmpressCallipygos

EmpressCallipygos — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:20:42 -0800

I'm sorry, but -- "the mouse crash"? I HAVE to know what that means.

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:20:46 -0800

It's surprising that some many of those links don't have pictures. Also, irruption isn't really that big of a word.

By: RedEmma

RedEmma — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:21:36 -0800

hey now... Duluth in the winter is *awesome*... i insist... AWESOME. (yes, i live here and i'm whipping up my survival enthusiasm. keeps ya warm.)

By: Horace Rumpole

Horace Rumpole — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:29:01 -0800

Neil Stephenson and Walt Disney Pictures present: MOUSE CRASH Coming Summer 2010

By: steef

steef — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:33:51 -0800

The owls are on their way from Gormenghast. Ha ha ha! The ravenous owls!

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:35:57 -0800

Crash just seems to be the word that biologists use to descibe a rapid populaiton decline. So you can mix it with other words -- mouse crash, lemming crash, crab crash -- to make funny combinations. The big deal is that when you have one species pretty much dependent on another for food, the crash of one population really affects the other. So these owls moved south instead of just staying in Canada and dying, but it's still a pretty majur disruption. This whole post idea is courtesy of a couchsurfing biologist who has been staying with me and regaled me with stories of owl irruptions and mouse crashes which is what prompted me to go looking up more information about this event.

By: lazaruslong

lazaruslong — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:42:27 -0800

Fascinating post, and such vivid and fun to say terminology! Thanks, jessamyn.

By: Saxon Kane

Saxon Kane — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:43:22 -0800

The owls are not what they seem. I just came here to say that, but you beat me to it. I just came here to say *that* but you beat me to it!

By: Kronos_to_Earth

Kronos_to_Earth — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:51:44 -0800

I just discovered that there's an irruption of dollar owls every day....

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:54:40 -0800

I'm friendly with Birdchick from the Birdchick blog, and, man, is she into birds. In fact, she did a play about the subject that I reviewed oncet. She's also responsible for the Disapproving Rabbits blog. Also, a few years ago I posted an FPP about a home invasion that was thwarted by samurai sword. That was in her apartment building, and the blogger whose photos I linked to (no longer online, alas) is her husband. Both are friends with Ari Hoptman. This has nothing to do with owls. I just wanted to make a point about how small a town Minneapolis is sometimes.

By: electroboy

electroboy — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:54:44 -0800

This tree is not exactly dripping with owls. More owls!

By: P.o.B.

P.o.B. — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:55:52 -0800

"What's the purpose of your trip?" and someone in the van said "We're here to look at owls!" The border guy looked at the falling snow/rain, then at us, and said "You came all the way from San Francisco to look at birds?" Next time just say "Tooks and smokes!" and he'll wave you on without blinking.

By: malocchio

malocchio — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:58:22 -0800

I have a sudden hunger for owls. * disclaimer - does not actually eat owls. *

By: bondcliff

bondcliff — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:59:18 -0800

Any New Englanders into owls would do well to visit the Vermont Raptor Center, where you can see these and other fine birds that have been rehabilitated after being injured. Cool stuff. Last year at an Audubon preserve near me there was a family of great horned owls who took up residence in a Great Blue Heron's nest. It was quite the draw for birders. We went to the same place for an Owl Prowl last winter but never heard anything. A few days later my wife, who can imitate pretty much any bird, heard one outside our house and had a "conversation" with him for about a half hour. I guess I have no point to this comment other than to say that owls rule.

By: HumanComplex

HumanComplex — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:03:33 -0800

I expected to see something more like this.

By: mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey

mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:08:00 -0800

"[Irruption] is the term birders use to describe an unusual mass movement of birds into an area." I thought it was an awesome Eddie Van Halen solo.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:08:05 -0800

Everyone is fond of owls.

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:08:06 -0800

I've still never seen an owl, only heard their merry notes. I'm kind of scared to witness one, to be honest. A friend sent me a photo she took of a barn owl, and the black abysses that were its eyes have me convinced that such animals are nothing less than harvesters of souls.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:13:26 -0800

Any New Englanders into owls would do well to visit the Vermont Raptor Center And then stop by my place for snacks because it's just a few towns over from here. Promise no mouse bones.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:25:36 -0800

Halifax, fall, 1995. I witnessed the most amazing murder ever. It was just a big black cloud of crows, at the very least 5km long, and LOUD. I'm not the least bit bird-averse, but I can't even imagine how terrifying it would have been if they'd landed.

By: Rangeboy

Rangeboy — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:25:48 -0800

I read this as "the term birthers use" and thought, "oh good, they finally found a less obnoxious hobby."

By: chairface

chairface — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:23 -0800

This sounds like a hoot! Can't believe I was the first to say that.

By: The otter lady

The otter lady — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:35:16 -0800

clearly the next Harry Potter has just turned 11 and this is just attempts to get his invite to Hogwarts through.

By: anastasiav

anastasiav — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:39:22 -0800

my favorite owl photo doesn't have an owl in it.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:23:31 -0800

my favorite owl photo doesn't have an owl in it. When the last scene of my life shot before me, I looked back at the footprints in the snow. There was only one set of footprints, and some weird wing-like patterns. I realized that this was right before the end of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned the Great Owl about my dilemma. "That's where I ate you, and after the pleasure of the feast, I flopped back into the snow and waved my wings about. In short, you were delicious."

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:31:19 -0800

"I'm sorry, but -- "the mouse crash"? I HAVE to know what that means." Counsel for Mr. Mouse has refused comment for reasons of national security, Doctor Frankenstoat's objections notwithstanding.

By: dersins

dersins — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:32:26 -0800

In short, you were delicious. And so cold. Forgive me.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:57:04 -0800

The mouse crash was caused by rampant speculation on the Toronto Mouse Exchange. Unscrupulous people were packaging various speculative mouse products into CDOs (Cat Dinner Options) and getting their compatriots in crime to promote those CDOs as a triple-A rated product.

By: ovvl

ovvl — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:02:30 -0800

About that time 5 years ago I surfed upon an album of amazing photographs of a parliament of Great Greys from an irruption near Kanata, Ontario. I didn't bookmark (I was on a friend's computer). I have been searching online for those photos ever since.

By: quin

quin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:08:51 -0800

There is something about the roundness of body and thickness of feathers that makes me want to hug owls whenever I see them; just gather them up into a big sweeping squeeeeeze while squealing "Wheee! Owl Hugging!". Two things on this subject: one: owls are really hard to catch. Like much, much harder than you would think. And two, if you do manage to catch and hug one, it will not like it. On a completely and totally unrelated note, owls have remarkably sharp beaks and talons. Those things are like razors. They also can make this amazingly loud shriek when they are surprised and offended.

By: gingerbeer

gingerbeer — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:09:15 -0800

> I'm friendly with Birdchick from the Birdchick blog, and, man, is she into birds. So jealous! I love Birdchick. Also, owls and irruptions and raptors in general.

By: quin

quin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:17:08 -0800

"I'm sorry, but -- "the mouse crash"? I HAVE to know what that means." I'm pretty certain that this ties into the life cycle of mice and other fast breeding rodents, where, in times of plenty, a single pair of mating mice can exponentially expand the population in an area. Predators move in to feed on this huge surplus of animals, until the conditions change enough to prevent the mice from continuing to maintain such high numbers. At this point you have an excess of predatory animals who are forced to migrate due to the "population crash" or risk starving. If my memory serves, this has become a more common problem since the overall reduction of predatory animal number in the last hundred or so years. But sometimes I just make shit up, so take this all with a grain of salt.

By: mccarty.tim

mccarty.tim — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:32:04 -0800

WE'RE OWL EXTERMINATORS!

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:05:05 -0800

I would hug an owl

By: Demogorgon

Demogorgon — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:05:47 -0800

Apart from the birdwatching aspect of it, the irruption had another cool effect in northern Minnesota. This summer I went camping at Jaye Cooke and there were owl pellets everywhere. Digging through another animal's shit has never been so much fun.

By: anthill

anthill — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:17:26 -0800

During the winter more than 1,000 owls were found dead, most of them great grays ... more than 70 percent had been struck by a vehicle So about 1 in 10 owls that came to Minnesota got crushed by a car. This is why I have no patience for NIMBYs that put on birder hats to protest wind turbines.

By: SpannerX

SpannerX — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:28:13 -0800

"Halifax, fall, 1995. I witnessed the most amazing murder ever. It was just a big black cloud of crows, at the very least 5km long, and LOUD. I'm not the least bit bird-averse, but I can't even imagine how terrifying it would have been if they'd landed." Near Mount St. Vincent?

By: localroger

localroger — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:32:40 -0800

All this reminds me why I am alone tonight. My wife is in Bolivia. Watching birds. Got a text this morning saying she landed safely and her first bird was the Greater Rhea, right outside the airport.

By: ovvl

ovvl — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:19:18 -0800

The next annual International Festival of Owls will be on 5-7 March 2010, in Houston, Minnesota USA.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:39:01 -0800

The NEXT big owl event.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:47:00 -0800

I have seen an owl's claws. Snowy owl that I suppose was trying to catch a rodent, as described in the article, though at the time it seems like it was trying to pick up the Civic. Anyhoo, the talons on that thing were inches long, and the entire claw was nearly as big as my hand. Wingspan was nearly as wide as mine, too. Huge beak. And I have no reason to believe this wasn't a perfectly normal-sized owl. I'm sure there are much, much larger species out there. Suffice to say, you won't find me hugging an owl. I've heard that evisceration is fairly unpleasant.

By: rtha

rtha — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:22:31 -0800

This is why I have no patience for NIMBYs that put on birder hats to protest wind turbines. what It doesn't have to be, and isn't, either/or. Local conservation and wildlife groups have been working with the wind farm people at the Altamont Pass, and some of the older turbines (which are designed in a way that makes them particularly dangerous to birds of prey) have been replaced with a newer model that in addition to killing many fewer birds, is more efficient. Win.

By: Ghidorah

Ghidorah — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:33:27 -0800

Seeing an owl changed my life, or at least my perception of it. It remains the only owl I've ever seen outside of captivity. Nice fall, day, didn't want to go back to my dorm, lingered as long as I could, called everyone, no one around, then I run into an aquaintance. We talk for a while, and finally, I give up and head back to my dorm. I take the long path, by the Slough (what we called the body of water that used to be river like, then was blocked to build more of the campus). As I'm walking up the hill, I turn, just at the right moment to see an owl swoop down from one branch to another. I stood there, just watching it, for about five minutes. That's when I realized, had I done a single thing differently that day, say, getting a lunch in the cafeteria versus grabbing a sandwich, or waking up even ten minutes later/earlier, I wouldn't have seen the owl. I spent a couple days paranoid about the absurd importance of every single choice I make. Of course, had I not seen the owl, I wouldn't be writing this.

By: anthill

anthill — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:04:25 -0800

Sorry for the off-topic derail, all. rtha, I'm all for birders working with car drivers, window manufacturers, pet owners, and wind turbine developers to reduce bird fatalities. Preserving habitat is even more important. However, the "wind turbines kill birds therefore they should not be built in my backyard" meme is pernicious and widespread. I believe it is misguided. A Danish study concluded that cars, cats, and windows together killed 3700 times more birds than wind turbines. I'll stop derailing. Seriously though... an owl irrupting to Minnesota had a 1 in 10 chance of being smeared over a highway. That's really sad.

By: nanojath

nanojath — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:54:35 -0800

I may consider going to Duluth. In winter. Actually we went up to the North Shore around Christmas last year (to take the tyke on the "Polar Express" christmas train excursion), stayed in a cabin about 40 feet from godawful treacherous ice-sheeted granite shoreline, and it was beautiful up there. If you've got a decent streak of stoicism Northern Minnesota in the winter is a fine destination.

By: rtha

rtha — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:45:00 -0800

I hear you, anthill. There's a lot of stupid on both sides. About 50% of redtails in California don't make past their first year of life - most are killed by cars (the remainder are shot, starve, or predated). And there's a stretch of freeway near my house that runs between a landfill and the San Francisco Bay; landfills/dumps are hugely popular with gulls, and there are smooshed gull parts on the freeway there pretty much daily. I have two favorite owl sightings. One took place on the trail up to Hawk Hill, in the Marin Headlands. It was hawk migration season, and that weekend it was also the Fleet Week airshow, and the Hill was jammed with hundreds of people there to see the planes. And there was a spotted owl perched on a branch about 10 feet from the trail that these hundreds of people were going up and down all day. All the folks there specifically for counting migrating hawks were whispering and creeping around and trying not to scare the owl, and everyone else (did I mention there were hundreds of them?) passed by cluelessly and loudly. The owl was entirely unimpressed and not at all frightened. Second favorite owl sighting: the briefest glimpse, at dusk, of a Great Gray Owl gliding from tree to meadow, in Yosemite. Breathtaking.

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:02:29 -0800

jessamyn : And then stop by my place for snacks because it's just a few towns over from here. Promise no mouse bones. It's tragic how the mouse crash has affected us all. Valuable information science professionals are having to forgo protein-and-calcium-rich mouse bones in their snacks. Won't somebody please think of the librarians?

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:30:22 -0800

Persons nearby the owls should pop out and collect pellets. Teachers love that shit, it'll sell.

By: various

various — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 02:15:20 -0800

Nice post. Owls can be creepy.

By: ChuqD

ChuqD — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:10:17 -0800

Ideas mulled at a midsummer owl roundtable Adding the word "owl" makes a lot of phrases 5x better.

By: humannaire

humannaire — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:22:59 -0800

Owls

By: y2karl

y2karl — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:23:49 -0800

In The Providence of A Sparrow, there is an anecdote about watching twenty to forty thousand migratory Vaux swifts flying to roost in a chimney of an elementary school. It began in 1994 and now is an annual event for Portlanders--on the evenings when the swifts are roosting in the chimney, people come by the hundreds to sit and wait to watch the swifts appear, build to a cloud of thousands and then wheel around and about above the chimney and then, in a torrent, spiral down into the chimney for the night. And here, from the community weblog of the Retired Associates of Portland State University', is a post entitled Swifts Leave Chapman School Chimney in October. Here is Portland Audobon Society's Swift Watch site. And here are videos.

By: vronsky

vronsky — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:47:17 -0800

a) I found a dead owl on my porch last winter. Just a baby, about the same size as the one in Cortex's link. At first I thought my cat had killed it but later I mentioned it to a lady I know who is a birder. She said that they can sometimes freeze to death and just drop out of the sky. Poor little owls. b) When I was a kid, in Hong Kong, one of my Dad's friends came by to visit one night and brought presents with him for me and my sisters (very chinese thing to do this, bring gifts to the children of your friends). We were thrilled when he gave us each a baby owl its own bamboo cage. We had to let them go a few months later because they were getting too big, so we took them up to the roof and opened the cages, and they all took off, but my owl kept circling our building for days after, and would sometimes land right on our window at night and look in, as if he was checking in on us.

By: vronsky

vronsky — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:07:45 -0800

owl found