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As soon as Terri Morris saw a post about the snowy owl sighting, the Springfield native and avid nature photographer made a plan to head to Buck Creek early the next morning. Morris was quickly able to spot the owl, she said.
“I was the only one out there with it,” Morris said.
News traveled fast and, soon enough, owl enthusiasts from the greater Dayton and Columbus areas flocked to the park to catch a glimpse of the bird. Overacker estimates at least 40 people saw the owl during its stint in Springfield.
According to eBird, an online database of bird observations, snowy owls are typically seen in states that sit farther north — upstate New York, coastal Michigan and North and South Dakota. Snowy owl sightings in Ohio are rare, but, this year, an unusual amount of snowy owls have made an appearance in the Buckeye State.
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Early this month, Cleveland Metroparks reported a record number of snowy owl sightings, including sightings of at least 10 different snowy owls on the breakwall outside of downtown Cleveland.
These snowy owls’ southern appearances stem from an irruption — a sudden increase in the animal’s population in areas they are not typically found. The population boom came from an increase in the owl’s food supply, Overacker said. For these owls, that primarily means lemmings, small rodents found in or near the Arctic.
If there is enough food supply, a snowy owl can raise up to eight young, but, when winter comes, Overacker explained, there are too many owls on the tundra, forcing some birds to move south.
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“Especially the young owls are forced to move because older owls have established territories and force them out,” Overacker said. “When this happens, lots of snowy owls move farther south.”
Springfield’s snowy owl hadn’t been seen in recent days, but Overacker said several birders were still out searching Buck Creek for the owl’s trademark white plumage.
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