The same weather that's made it a boom year for ski areas has made things tough for local birds of prey.
Barred Owls have had an especially hard winter this year. (Courtesy Peter Lourie)
It seems like everyone has been talking about what a long winter this has been. Certainly there’s been more snow than usual and definitely not enough sunshine. As you can imagine, long winters can be hard for wildlife too.
Lots of people have been seeing owls out and about in broad daylight this year, for example. That usually means these normally nocturnal birds are having a difficult time finding food. With all the ice and snow, the rodents they typically eat have been harder to access. Indeed, wildlife rehab centers all over New England have been taking in record numbers of barred owls this year.
Many of these winged predators are tourists from Canada — except these birds aren’t shopping. They’re hungry. Apparently, a late spring frost up north caused a huge population crash of red-backed voles, their main prey item.
I recently watched a very bedraggled barred owl stare all day at the ground beneath our bird feeders during a nasty ice storm. At times like that, it’s hard to remember that nature is all about cycles of boom and bust.
Of course, all wild creatures have evolved to weather these upheavals — or else they wouldn’t be here. Believe it or not, up to 85% of barred owl chicks don’t survive their first year. But the ones who do — pass on their well-tested genes to the next generation, so they can have a better shot at surviving tough times.
It’s natural to want to help of course. But in the short term, anyway, it’s helpful to remember the wise words of naturalist Tom Tyning: “These are, after all, professional animals.”
