Show Notes for Josh Clark Podcast

 This podcast is primarily about Snowy owls and Josh Clark's experiences photographing them in western Washington.  It also includes his experiences selling one of his photos to REI and photographing for REI at Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio.  See Josh’s beautiful Snowy owl photos below.

• Damon Point State Park is a common location for Snowy owls during winter months especially in irruption years. Damon Point is a small, 61-acre, day use only park near Ocean Shores, Washington.
• “In some years, some North American Snowy Owls remain on their breeding grounds year-round, while others migrate in winter to southern Canada and the northern half of the contiguous United States. In the northern plains, New York, and New England, Snowy Owls occur regularly in winter. Elsewhere, such as in the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, and eastern Canada, Snowy Owls are irruptive, appearing only in some winters but not in others.”
• “Male Snowy Owls are barred with dark brown when they’re young and get whiter as they get older. Females keep some dark markings throughout their lives.”
• “Snowy owls are territorial on their breeding areas, and sometimes their wintering areas as well. Some banded Snowy Owls return to the same wintering site year after year.”
• “Unlike most owls, Snowy Owls are diurnal, extremely so. They’ll hunt at all hours during the continuous daylight of an Arctic summer. And they may eat more than 1,600 lemmings in a single year.”
• “Thick feathers for insulation from Arctic cold make Snowy Owls North America’s heaviest owl, typically weighing about 4 pounds—one pound heavier than a Great Horned Owl and twice the weight of a Great Gray Owl (North America’s tallest owl).”
• “Whether the tundra or the Great Plains, an airport field or beach dunes, Snowy Owls like treeless places and wide-open spaces. Because they often sit right on the ground to hunt, they prefer rolling terrain where they can find a vantage to survey the surrounding area. On their wintering grounds they’ll also perch atop a fencepost, hay bale, building, telephone pole, grain elevator—anywhere with a good view.”
• “Snowy Owls mainly eat small mammals, particularly lemmings, which at times on the tundra may be all these birds eat. Sometimes they’ll switch to ptarmigan and waterfowl. Snowy Owls are also one of the most agile owls, able to catch small birds on the fly. On both their breeding and wintering grounds, their diet can range widely to include rodents, rabbits, hares, squirrels, weasels, wading birds, seabirds, ducks, grebes, and geese.”

References:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2015/11/23/8-fascinating-facts-about-snowy-owls

All About Birds:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/search/?q=snowy%20owls

Owl Research Institute: http://www.owlinstitute.org/ 

Arctic Wings: Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  Editor: Stephen Brown, Ph.D  The Mountaineers Books 2006

http://astore.amazon.com/flanaganfotos-20/detail/0898869757

 

Photos by Josh Clark:

 

 

 

 Contact Info: 

        Josh Clark: www.momentsinature.com

                        www.facebook.com/momentsinature.com

       

        Kirby Flanagan:  https://flanaganfotos.com

                                [email protected]

 

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