Bird watchers across the state are calling this a banner year for viewing snowy owls.
Snowy owls spend most of the year in the tundra of northern Canada and Alaska.
Nate Crane is an avid birder and the owner of Rare Bird Brewpub in Traverse City. He said snowy owls don’t migrate south every year, but when they do it’s called an irruption.
“An irruption year for birds is specifically for birds found in the tundra, such as a snowy owl. When they move down from the tundra, the taiga, or the boreal forest, this is their wintering grounds for food. When the birds decide to pack up and leave due to food shortages it’s called an irruption”.
Crane said there have been several dozen snowy owl sightings around Michigan already this year.
“The traditional best snowy owl areas are in the eastern U.P. near Rudyard is comprised of hay fields and about ten years ago I was up there with a group of birders and in one 360 degree span of a field area we had 13 snowy owls in view at the same time”.
Crane said snowy owls are attracted to wide open areas which mimic the tundra.