Second Chance For a Snowy Owl

A 3,112-acre happy hunting ground for Owl!




Presque Isle State Park is a mighty nice hunk of habitat for a snowy owl. Comprised of marsh, dune, and Lake Erie shore, it undoubtedly looks a whole lot more like home to an Arctic owl than do the unbroken forests of West Virginia and southeast Ohio, described by Project SNOWstorm co-founder Scott Weidensaul as "hostile territory."

This map

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Snowy Owl: Flying on a Prayer (And Creance)

Creance: Fr. A light cord attached to a hawk's leash to prevent its escape during flight training.

Have you learned a lot from the Vienna, WV, snowy owl? I sure have. Following this one bird from November 27 to January 20, tracing his movements and the fall and rise of his fortunes, has been a deeply absorbing exercise. From the moment I saw him, I felt a calling to find out all I could about

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Snowy Owl Update: Healing Fast!

It's hard to believe that the snowy owl captured near the Grand Central Mall in Vienna, WV on Dec. 21 has been in rehab now for almost four weeks. On January 10, our family was invited to visit him in his private quarters at the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia in Morgantown, WV, about a three hour drive from us. For obvious reasons, wild birds being rehabilitated for release are not on

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The Snow-Owl's Drift

So I ask again: Is it asking too much of the human
imagination to think that a snowy owl that experiences pain on flying knows
it’s in deep trouble? If the answer to that is no, then this: Is it not
possible for an owl in trouble to deliberately make its way to a place where
humans couldn’t fail to find it, and wait for help? If the anecdotes cited
in my last post are to be believed, this

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Can a Snowy Owl Ask for Help?

Let’s consider the journey of this young, naïve owl from the
Arctic Circle to Parkersburg/Vienna, West Virginia. What can he know of humans? What can he know of power lines,
highways, fast-food restaurants and speeding cars? He may not have even seen a tree
before he started his journey. He’s a blank slate. For whatever reason, he ends
up sitting on signs at the intersection of I-77 and

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