A snowy owl sits on a chimney in Biddeford Pool. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

As we begin the new year, though it has felt like a pretty below-average year for snow accumulation so far here in southern Maine, it has turned out to be an above-average year for Snowies. Yes, Snowy Owls are coming south!

This is always a fun and exciting time for birders and owl aficionados as we get an opportunity to see one of the most charismatic and endearing animals. Because these can lead to human-wildlife conflicts, I wanted to use this column to talk about why there are so many owls around and share some recommendations on how you can see them in the most ethical way.

A good place to start is with a reminder of what the catalyst is for Snowy Owls coming to Maine. We typically only see them following a year of high reproductive success in the Arctic, where they nest. When food is abundant (they primarily eat lemmings and voles), then it is easy for the parents to find that food and keep their chicks fed. Females will actually lay more eggs in years of abundance, with some nests having up to 10 eggs in a clutch. That’s remarkable to think about as compared to our Great Horned Owls (the closest relative that nests in Maine); these big owls rarely have more than two or three chicks, so that is a lot of mouths to feed!

Now imagine you go from two Snowy Owls (the parents) feeding on the tundra, to a dozen (assuming all the chicks fledge) in that same area. Then multiply across the population! There is too much competition and often the young birds are the ones that will wander south in search of food. For a long time, it was thought that these birds coming south were in poor health and starving, but more recent work involving tagging and translocating birds (moving them away from unsafe areas like airports) has shown the majority of these birds are healthy.

The fun word associated with these types of movements is called an irruption. Instead of a typical migration, where an animal moves from one location to another, it temporarily expands its normal range. We can think of it as going from point A, a summer range, to point B, a winter range, but when a resource (typically food) is scarce, it needs to go to point C (in this case, Maine) before returning to its normal A to B movements.

In an October 2024 column, I wrote about some of my “winter predictions” based on a number of inquiries coming in. Unsurprisingly some of them were about Snowy Owls. The only knowledge I had at that time was from Denver Holt of the Owl Research Institute, who had reported from Alaska earlier in the summer that there was no nesting of Snowy Owls on their study site. My optimistic ending was: “the Arctic is a huge space and perhaps owls farther east – those that would be more likely to come to Maine in the winter – experienced a different summer. Time will tell.” Now, time has told and we are indeed seeing an above-average winter for them, with sightings primarily along the coast.

This is also shaping up to be a big winter for Barred Owl sightings in Maine. Barred Owls are a resident species and probably the most abundant owl in the state (everyone says Great Horned is, but that just doesn’t seem right to me.) We occasionally see these boom years where Barred Owls are detected with much higher frequency in the winter. It remains to be told if these are more local birds following a productive summer, or if this is an irruption like we see with Snowy Owls. Anecdotally, I can say I’m just seeing more while out birding. However, the sadder sign is the number of deceased owls I’m seeing along the side of the road. The gray-brown barred lump on the side of the road is unmistakable once you know what to look for, and these owls are unfortunately hit often as they are looking for an easy meal in the form of a rodent along the edge of, or crossing, a road. Not that you would, but . . . don’t toss food out of your car window! That attracts rodents which attract owls. The Center for Wildlife, an animal rehabilitation facility in York, posted on Dec. 3 that it had admitted 53 owls since the beginning of November.

I’ll also mention that observatories to our west are reporting a big movement of Boreal Owls, which is, in Maine, one of the rarest owls, seen here only every few years. It’s also one I still haven’t seen. So if you find one roosting in your backyard, please call me!

With owl encounters being likely this winter, I want to wrap up with a few tips on how to find them and then how to view them in the best way so as not to harm the bird. First, finding them: habitat is key. Snowy Owls tend to favor flat open areas with lots of food around, so in Maine that tends to be along the coast where they catch lots of sea ducks. Barred Owls occur in most mixed forests, often roosting in or around hemlocks; I always listen for other birds, which may be giving upset alarm calls because of the sleeping predator nearby.

Next, viewing: Camouflage is an owl’s primary defense. Owls typically want to sit perfectly still to blend in as much as possible. The problem is that many people think this means they can get closer to the bird and then end up flushing it, causing it to burn up valuable calories in the process. The simplest recommendation I can make is if your presence is changing the animal’s behavior in any way, you are too close. The first sign will be the owl looking your way. If an owl turns its head to look at you or in your direction, or if you have made eye contact, then that is your sign to start backing up. Please don’t flush a bird just so you can get a photo of it flying!

Not only is there an influx of Barred and Snowy Owls right now, the nesting season for Great Horned Owls is going to start very soon. Listen for their duetting hoots at night as the male and female alternate, or overlap, hoots, claiming territory and preparing to start a family. Good luck out there owling this winter and please remember to put the bird’s wellbeing first. Reporting sightings to projects like Cornell’s eBird.org is a great way to help us keep track of boom years like this.

Have you got a nature or wildlife question of your own? It doesn’t have to be about birds! Email questions to ask@maineaudubon.org and visit www.maineaudubon.org to learn more about birding, native plants, and programs and events focusing on Maine wildlife and habitat. Doug and other naturalists lead free bird walks on Thursday mornings starting at 8 am, at Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm Audubon Sanctuary in Falmouth.