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Another Norm Smith "Satellite Snowy" Takes Flight

Norm Smith, director of Mass Audubon's Blue Hills Trailside Museum, released a magnificent-looking snowy owl on February 4 at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, on Plum Island. It was a perfect photo opportunity on an unseasonably mild day, enjoyed by birders and reporters alike (the Boston Globe, Newburyport Daily News, and CBS-channel 4 in Boston were represented...see Channel 4's coverage here). However, the real story is the satellite transmitter attached to the owl.

Smith gently caught the young female snowy two days beforehand, on Plum Island, and then transported it back to the Blue Hills where he and his colleagues took the bird's vital signs, noted its height and weight, and outfitted it with a transmitter, secured by a small harness. The diminutive transmitters do not interfere with owls' normal activities, and the harness is designed to fall apart at about the same time the battery dies, after about 18 months.

Click on the map for a larger view

The transmitter will help identify migration routes by emitting periodic signals to the satellite, giving the owl's location, and providing information on its health. Smith has established a collaborative partnership between Blue Hills Trailside Museum, the U.S. Geological Survey's Forest & Rangeland Ecosystem Center, Boise State University, and the Owl Research Institute, in order to share data, and obtain a better schematic of the snowy owls' migratory routes (this map, at left, illustrates the range of a snowy owl in 2005).

Researchers in the west track snowy owls from their breeding grounds in Alaska, while Mass Audubon tracks owls from their wintering grounds at Boston-area locations. According to the data from the transmitters, the snowy owls that "winter" in Massachusetts spend their summers in northern Quebec, and Baffin Island, sometimes above the Arctic Circle. This valuable telemetry data will be used for educational programs at Mass Audubon sanctuaries, and at the Owl Research Institute.

Smith has been studying snowy owls since 1981, and has outfitted a dozen owls with transmitters since 2000. His research is not without cost, however, and it is supported solely by donations, not out of Mass Audubon's operating budget. Each transmitter costs $3,000, which does not include the fees for the satellite service and raw data analysis necessary to process the results. If you are interested in helping Mass Audubon conduct this groundbreaking work, please contact Norm Smith at 617-333-0690, ext. 222, or at nsmith@massaudubon.org, or donate online and specify "Snowy Owl Project" as the project you wish to support. For more information, visit www.massaudubon.org/snowyowlproject.

Snowy Owl Photos ©Ted Clark