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Unless you spend a fair amount of time in the woods you may not have noticed, but northwest Missouri is undergoing a very unusual invasion this winter — an invasion of snowy owls that have flown south from the vast tundras of northern Canada and Alaska.
And as it happens one of the experts who is keeping very close tabs on what birding enthusiasts describe as a historic natural event is from Maryville.
Mark Robbins, who graduated from Maryville High School and whose family operates Robbins Lightning, is currently the collections manager for the Division of Ornithology at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
Robbins said the ongoing "eruption" of snowy owls in northern Missouri and northeastern Kansas is "unprecedented," and that at least 45 of the distinctive birds — colored white with mottled black markings — have been sighted statewide, one as far south as Springfield.
Normally, he said, Missouri records only one or two snowy owl sightings every couple of years.
So what's going on? It turns out that the mostly immature birds, both males and females, are moving south because they were starving in their native habitat.
Snowy owls dine mostly on lemmings, small rodents noted for rapid population booms and equally rapid declines. This winter, across the frozen wastes south of the Arctic Circle, there are very few lemmings to be found. So the owls, especially younger birds who may be less adept at hunting and establishing territories, are winging south.
Many are also dying. By the time the owls reach Nodaway County and other parts of the region, Robbins said, they are often exhausted and half-starved. In addition, the weakened birds, unused to inhabited areas, are flying into cars, power lines and other obstacles. One owl in Kansas City ran into a train.
Local birders like Kirby Goslee of Skidmore are hitting the field in order to observe what could be a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.
Goslee was able to photograph three owls at an irrigation unit near Fortescue, an event that Robbins said would have been unique in any other year. Another group consisting of five owls was observed at Smithville Lake.
Both Goslee and Robbins warn novice birders, or the simply curious, to give snowy owls a wide birth because these refugees from the tundra are under enough stress as it is.
Anyone siting a snowy owl should keep a distance of at least 100 yards, Robbins said. The Missouri Department of Conservation has also issued an advisory warning people to leave the birds alone.
Unless you spend a fair amount of time in the woods you may not have noticed, but northwest Missouri is undergoing a very unusual invasion this winter — an invasion of snowy owls that have flown south from the vast tundras of northern Canada and Alaska.
And as it happens one of the experts who is keeping very close tabs on what birding enthusiasts describe as a historic natural event is from Maryville.
Mark Robbins, who graduated from Maryville High School and whose family operates Robbins Lightning, is currently the collections manager for the Division of Ornithology at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
Robbins said the ongoing "eruption" of snowy owls in northern Missouri and northeastern Kansas is "unprecedented," and that at least 45 of the distinctive birds — colored white with mottled black markings — have been sighted statewide, one as far south as Springfield.
Normally, he said, Missouri records only one or two snowy owl sightings every couple of years.
So what's going on? It turns out that the mostly immature birds, both males and females, are moving south because they were starving in their native habitat.
Snowy owls dine mostly on lemmings, small rodents noted for rapid population booms and equally rapid declines. This winter, across the frozen wastes south of the Arctic Circle, there are very few lemmings to be found. So the owls, especially younger birds who may be less adept at hunting and establishing territories, are winging south.
Many are also dying. By the time the owls reach Nodaway County and other parts of the region, Robbins said, they are often exhausted and half-starved. In addition, the weakened birds, unused to inhabited areas, are flying into cars, power lines and other obstacles. One owl in Kansas City ran into a train.
Local birders like Kirby Goslee of Skidmore are hitting the field in order to observe what could be a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.
Goslee was able to photograph three owls at an irrigation unit near Fortescue, an event that Robbins said would have been unique in any other year. Another group consisting of five owls was observed at Smithville Lake.
Both Goslee and Robbins warn novice birders, or the simply curious, to give snowy owls a wide birth because these refugees from the tundra are under enough stress as it is.
Anyone siting a snowy owl should keep a distance of at least 100 yards, Robbins said. The Missouri Department of Conservation has also issued an advisory warning people to leave the birds alone.
"Some people trying to get a closer view have walked under trees where the owls are resting," said MDC's Bill Graham. "This has flushed the owl from the perch and caused them to use energy they are trying to reserve."
Graham urged anyone who finds a dead snowy owl to contact the nearest MDC office so that the body can be collected and studied.
Robbins has already obtained about a dozen carcasses and is seeking digital photos of live birds. Photos taken from behind are especially valuable, he said, because back markings reveal the owl's age and sex.
Anyone wishing to report an owl siting can email Robbins at mrobbins@ku.edu or call Goslee at (660) 582-1442.
