The subject has probably been beaten to death at this time!

However, I've been traveling for the past month and have just returned to hear about these guys and their visit to the BB dykes.

Does anyone know:
1. If they are still there?
2. How long they have been there?
3. How long they are likely to remain?

Is it unusual for such a large flock to visit the lower mainland?

DM

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Doug McLennan

1. yes
2. couple of months at least
3. who knows

A group of owls is called a parliament. It is unusual to see a large number of owls together. According to the April 2012 of BirdWatching magazine B. Bay has the largest number of owls. Ocean Shores WA had up to 13 owls, Polson Montana had 14 or 15 owls, South Dakota had at least 20 owls in Dec. It also says ebird collected 4,250 reports of snowies.

I've heard that they are here because this is considered a "flight year" I understand that to mean that there is a shortage of food in their usual habitat, and their search takes them far from their normal ranges.

Please correct me if I an wrong.

Deborah
Malahat, B.C.

You are correct.

I have been there a few times this winter with last weekend being the latest. They are becoming fewer each time I visit. Last weekend there was no more than about a dozen that I could see. Many of them are farther off the pathway / dyke and considering I won't walk out to disturb them I didn't do so well on the photography side. I imagine one day in the very near future they will all be gone for another 4 years. It was a blessing to see them.

Patrick

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http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2143615080106616284IsbcTU?vhost=pets
http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0098009/photos/69636843@N05/7192581328/
http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0098009/photos/69636843@N05/6624077419/

Patrick