Winter Use of a Highly Diverse Suite of Habitats by Irruptive Snowy Owls

Bubo scandiacus (Snowy Owl) is an irregular winter visitor in the northeastern US and southeastern Canada, where winter irruptions occur roughly every 4 years with varying intensity. The consecutive winters of 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 saw unusually large irruptions of Snowy Owls across eastern North American states and provinces and the Great Lakes region. We tracked 34 individuals equipped with high spatial-and temporal-resolution GPS-GSM transmitters and obtained data that documented in detail the diverse suite of habitats used by irruptive Snowy Owls overwintering and migrating through the region, from heavily urbanized city centers to open agricultural areas, as well as ice floes drifting on the Great Lakes or concentrating along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.