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Georgia Department of Natural Resources

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. --(Ammoland.com)- When Richard Crossley spoke at this year’s Georgia Ornithological Society meeting, the acclaimed birder and photographer noticed the number of youth in attendance.

Crossley also noticed that each one he asked said their interest in birding began with Georgia’s Youth Birding Competition, said Tim Keyes, who coordinates the annual birdathon.

Now on a nationwide book tour, Crossley is mentioning the Youth Birding Competition as a way to get youth interested in birds. All of which certainly fits the event’s intent, according to Keyes, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources’ Nongame Conservation Section.

“I think it’s giving kids an opportunity to get outside and learn about the natural world in an exciting way that catches their attention,” he said.

It also points participants toward the long-term goal: an interest in conservation, Keyes said.

The 24-hour competition sponsored by DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division, The Environmental Resources Network Inc. (TERN) and other partners returns for its seventh year on April 27-28, 2012. A banquet and awards ceremony will be held April 28 at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center near Mansfield.

Teams register in age divisions varying from kindergarten to high school (participants compete against other teams their age, in four age divisions). Teams can also volunteer to raise money for conservation organizations on a per-bird or lump sum basis.

Some 25 teams from preschool ages to teens and ranging from first-timer birders to veterans saw or heard scores of bird species and raised nearly $1,500 during the 2011 competition.

The deadline to register for the 2012 event is March 31. The competition starts at 5 p.m. Friday, April 27, and ends at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 28. Groups may use as much or as little of that time to count as many birds as possible throughout Georgia.

Although teams may start birding anywhere in the state, they must turn in their checklists at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center by 5 p.m. Saturday. While judges examine and score checklists, participants will be treated to a live animal show followed by an awards banquet packed with prizes.

The Youth Birding Competition also includes a T-shirt Art Contest – enter by March 5 – and nature journal category. Participation in the birding competition is encouraged but not required to submit artwork for the T-shirt Art Contest. Taking part in both is free, aside from the optional cost of overnight lodging.

Competition sponsors include Atlanta Audubon Society and the Georgia Ornithological Society. For more information about registering for the Youth Birding Competition, visit www.georgiawildlife.org/getinvolved or contact Lacy Mitchell at Charlie Elliott Conference Center, (770) 784-3152 or lacy.mitchell@dnr.state.ga.us. Tim Keyes, at (912) 262-3191 or tim.keyes@dnr.state.ga.us, can answer questions about the competition.

For more information on the T-shirt Art Contest, visit www.georgiawildlife.org/YBCTshirtArtContest or contact art contest coordinator Linda May at (706) 557-3226 or linda.may@dnr.state.ga.us.

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Most snowy owls normally live year-round in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other sites north of Alaska’s Brooks Range; a few overwinter in the Northern Plains and New England.

But this fall they are spreading across the United States in great numbers and turning heads. The nearly two-foot-tall, predominantly white owls – Harry Potter’s Hedwig is a snowy – are hard to miss.

Sharp-eyed folks at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington state have reported sightings. Other sightings come from as far east as Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts and as far south as Kansas. Snowy owls have also been spotted in Connecticut, Maine, New York, Vermont, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and North Dakota.

Why do snowy owls sometimes fly south en masse? Snowy owls’ favorite prey is small rodents called lemmings, which are notorious for boom and bust population cycles. Biologists think the owls’ sudden upsurge south from the Arctic occurs when lemmings are in short supply. See a map of snowy owl sightings in the Lower 48, compiled this fall from reports on eBird and state bird listservs. (Check the map again in a few days, and see how sightings have multiplied.)

Snowy Owl, Newburyport, MA, 28 November 2011. Photograph by Ryan Schain.

Unlike many other owls, snowy owls are active in the daytime. They tend to perch at high points overlooking open sites such as beaches and airports. Exhausted from their long flights, some starve if prey is scarce.

Read more about refuge sightings of snowy owls on the Refuge System’s Facebook page. Katie Brashear Koch wrote recently, “We had an adult female at the USFWS Marquette Biological Station in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this morning!”

She took a photo of it perched on a power pole. She added that there have been sightings of the owls across the Upper Peninsula for the past two weeks, with each day seeming to bring more.

See the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for additional information on snowy owls.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usfws, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/usfwshq, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq

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