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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Mission and Vision Statement
    • Equality and Diversity Policy
    • Annual Report
    • BSBO Board of Directors
    • BSBO Staff
    • BSBO's Visitors' Center >
      • Visit BSBO
      • Anna Macke Mikolajczyk Window On Wildlife
      • John Gallagher Memorial Birding Trail
    • eNews
    • BSBO Videos >
      • BSBO's 20th Anniversary by Deb Neidert
    • BSBO Blogs >
      • Kenn Kaufman's Crane Creek - Magee Birding Blog
      • BSBO Bird Bander's Blog
      • BSBO Education and Outreach Blog
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Support BSBO
    • Donate
    • Join or Renew
    • Sponsor A Mist Net
    • Year-End Appeal
    • Help BSBO while you shop
    • Our Wish List
    • Birds and Business Alliance
  • RESEARCH
    • Peer-Reviewed Publications
    • Passerines >
      • Passerine Research
      • Prothonotary Warbler Research
      • Building Collision Study
      • Oak Openings
    • Project SNOWstorm >
      • About Project SNOWstorm
      • Meet Buckeye
      • Meet Wolverine
    • Northern Saw-whet Owls
    • Research Highlights >
      • Gray-Cheeked Thrush from Colombia, South America
      • BSBO Bird Bander's Blog
    • Past Research >
      • Colonial Wading Birds
      • Ohio Winter Bird Atlas
      • Shorebirds
    • Reports >
      • Navarre Marsh Annual Banding and Survey Data
      • Annual Project Reports
    • Research Volunteer Form
    • Research Volunteer Page
  • EDUCATION
    • Bird Migration Profiles >
      • Cuckoos, Nightjars, Hummingbrids
      • Hawks, Woodpeckers
      • Flycatchers, Vireos
      • Crows, Nuthatches, Creepers
      • Wrens, Gnatcatchers, Kinglets
      • Thrushes, Mimids, Waxwings
      • Finches, Sparrows
      • Blackbirds, Chat, Cardinals
      • Warblers
    • Family Activities >
      • Free Online Resources
    • Young Birders >
      • Ohio Young Birders Club
      • Young Birders Network
      • Youth Birding Camps
    • Teachers >
      • Wetland Investigation Network
      • Songbird Banding and Migration Programs
      • Students Against Balloon Releases
    • Group Programs >
      • Presentations by Request
    • BSBO Bird Knowins
  • Conservation
    • BioBlitzes
    • Bird-safe / Birder-friendly Communities
    • Responsible Wind Energy
    • Conservation Updates
    • Position Statement on Feral and Free-Ranging Cats
    • Habitat Designations
    • Easy Ways for YOU to Support Conservation
    • Breeding Bird Surveys
  • EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
    • Birds at Home
    • Lake Erie Pelagics
    • Highway Clean-up
    • Killdeer Plains Wintering Hawks & Owls Trip
    • Fremont Christmas Bird Count
    • BSBO's Biggest Week In American Birding
  • NW OHIO BIRDING
    • Responsible Owl Viewing
    • Magee Marsh WA Closures
    • Kenn Kaufman's Crane Creek - Magee Birding Blog
    • Local Birding Hotspots
    • Local eBird Tips
    • Regional Bird Checklist
    • Timing of Spring Migration
    • Timing of Fall Migration
    • Timing of Fall Shorebird Migration
    • ABA Code of Birding Ethics
    • Ohio Bird Alpha Codes
    • Birder Calling Cards
    • Birding Ohio
SUPPORT PROJECT SNOWSTORM
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About Project SNOWstorm

From the Project SNOWstorm website:
Project SNOWstorm  was created in the winter of 2013-14 to study the largest invasion of snowy owls in the East in nearly a century. Project SNOWstorm is a unique collaboration of more than 40 scientists, bird-banders and wildlife health professionals, all working as volunteers. This winter, with a second major irruption taking shape (especially in the Midwest), our team is expanding its research into this beautiful and mysterious raptor, using state-of-the-art telemetry, banding, DNA and isotope analysis, toxicology screening and more -- all funded by the public. With cutting-edge tracking technology, we can follow the movements of snowy owls in astounding detail, and potentially for years at a time. But we need your help to quickly raise funds to purchase additional transmitters.Collaborating scientists in Project SNOWstorm are tagging owls throughout the Northeast and Great Lakes with new GPS-GSM transmitters made by Cellular Tracking Technologies of Somerset, PA.

How the Transmitter Works

These solar-powered transmitters record locations in three dimensions (latitude, longitude and altitude) at programmable intervals as short as every 30 seconds, providing unmatched detail on the movements of these birds, 24 hours a day. Unlike conventional transmitters, which report their data via Argos satellites in orbit, GSM transmitters use the cellular phone network. When the bird is out of range of a cell tower, the transmitters can store up to 100,000 locations, then transmit that information — even years later — when the bird flies within cell coverage.

The transmitters weigh about 40 grams — about as much as seven U.S. quarters, and only 1.5-3 percent of the bird’s weight. They are attached with a backpack harness made of low-friction Teflon ribbon that goes over the bird’s wings. Studies of snowy owls wearing conventional satellite transmitters in this fashion have found no evidence that they increase mortality or decrease breeding success (Therrien et al. 2012). Still, we’re careful only to tag snowy owls that are in robust health. As experienced researchers, we assess every owl we catch to make sure it is in good shape, with normal weight and healthy fat stores. Any owl that seems questionable will not be tagged.

BSBO's Role in the Project

Black Swamp Bird Observatory has provided the local staff and expertise to tag owls in this part of the Midwest. The first owl we tagged was "Buckeye." Buckeye was tagged by Mark Shieldcastle from Black Swamp Bird Observatory, and released Feb. 15, 2015, in farmland north of Oak Harbor, OH. Buckeye is part of Project SNOWstorm’s and Wildlife Services’s efforts to learn more about the most effective methods and distances to safely relocate owls from airports. She spent the summer of 2015 on the Boothia Peninsula of northern Nunavut, and the winter of 2015-16 around western Lake Erie. Her transmitter was generously sponsored by Black Swamp Bird Observatory and the Kirtland Bird Club. 

Our second owl was "Wolverine," and he was tagged on January 3, 2020. 

It's an honor to be part of this important study and to play a role in advancing our knowledge and understanding of the behavior and habitat needs of these magnificent birds. 

Meet BUCKEYE
​Read her story, HERE! 

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Meet Wolverine
Read his story, HERE. 

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© 2023 www.bsbo.org 
All rights reserved

The mission of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory is to inspire the appreciation, enjoyment, 
and conservation of birds and their habitats through research, education, and outreach.


We are located at the entrance of the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area
| 13551 W. State Route 2  |  Oak Harbor, Ohio 43449  |  419.898.4070  |