Project SNOWstorm
In Their Own Words:
Project SNOWstorm launched in 2013 and is now one of the world's largest collaborative research projects focusing on Snowy Owls. They are staffed by a largely volunteer team of scientists, banders, and wildlife veterinarians and funded entirely by tax-deductible donations from the public.
The Work:
One of the most important elements of our research is understanding the winter ecology of snowy owls, using GPS/GSM transmitters that record the bird's location, altitude, and flight speed as frequently as every six seconds. On-board temperature sensors and accelerometers add additional layers of data to help us understand how these birds hunt, migrate, and survive both here on their more southerly wintering grounds and in the Arctic.
In the past 11 years, we've tracked more than 110 Snowy Owls from Alaska and the Dakotas to the Great Lakes, New England, southern Canada, and the mid-Atlantic, including their summers in the Arctic. Our tracking data has documented previously unknown behavior and shed light on poorly understood aspects of the snowy owl's life, both in their temperate wintering areas -- the main focus of our work -- as well as their breeding grounds in the North.
We continue to partner with Cellular Tracking Technologies, which supplies the high-tech, next-gen transmitters we use, and whose engineers and staff have been part of our team from the beginning.
Note from Destination: Wildlife
Of the organizations we work with, Project SNOWstorm manages to do outstanding research with the tiniest, most impossible budget – every dollar is vital. We are proud to say that in 2023, our first year with them, our "Winter Owls and Others" trip was responsible for about 10% of their goal, helping them meet and exceed their total year's fundraising income. Our scheduled 2025 Winter Owls and Others to Benefit Project SNOWstorm has raised 16.6% of its fundraising goal so far.
Learn More about Project SNOWstorm