Canadian owls had a rough winter, according to March reporting from the CBC. Multiple experts noticed a rise in support requests, ostensibly because the birds have had trouble hunting.
What's happening?
Owls have just experienced what's known as an irruption year, one in which they're forced to migrate south in search of food due to a lack of it in their usual habitat.
Vole populations dropped dramatically in the Arctic, the CBC reported, prompting the birds to travel. By the time they arrived in more southern locales, they were emaciated.
The problem seems to have been exacerbated this season by particularly heavy snowfall.
"They're starving," Gloria Morissette, a wildlife custodian at Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre in Val Caron, Ontario, told the CBC. "The deep snow is making it harder for the owls to find their prey, the mice and rodents."
The center cared for at least 12 owls this winter, per the outlet. They would normally take in three to four.
Why is this concerning?
This past snowy irruption year highlights the delicate and important balance of the habitat that voles, owls, and humans share.
Vole populations can fluctuate for a number of reasons, but it's worth considering potential environmental factors that could be the root cause of the owls' deficient diet. Conditions such as habitat loss and extreme weather can drive vole numbers down and displace owls south.
Extreme weather events apparently played another prominent role in the case of the starving owls unable to find food.
In an earlier report, climate scientist Richard Rood told the CBC that intense snowstorms fueled by the lake effect are likely to become more common. "They're probably better interpreted as typical of the future rather than extreme compared to the past," he said.
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Definitely 👍 As the Great Lakes get warmer, they charge Arctic air with more heat and moisture, effectively loading up weather patterns with huge amounts of snow to dump on communities — and on the owls' hunting grounds.
Owls are natural pest control agents. Without them, the populations of other small prey species are more likely to get out of hand, unbalancing ecosystems and potentially impacting humans.
At Virginia Tech in the United States, for example, scientists are looking at the potential for shifts in rodent populations to contribute to virus spread. "Climate change can cause population increases or distributional shifts of rodents, altering the epidemiology of hantavirus," researcher Paanwaris Paansri said in a news release. "These fluctuations can lead to more frequent rodent-human interactions and increase the chance of spillover."
Some farmers provide homes for owls specifically to hunt for rodents among their crops, which reduces the need for chemical agents. In these cases, declining owl populations could increase the use of harsh rodenticides.
What's being done?
Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre has been busy rehabilitating owls and releasing them back into the wild in towns like Timmins, about 3.5 hours north.
There's one more Snowy Owl back in the wild this week! 🦉 This majestic bird was released back in the Timmins area...
Posted by Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre on Monday, March 10, 2025
Experts warn people not to approach wild owls. Instead, if you see an owl that hasn't moved within a day, call animal rescue for wildlife support.
"Humans flock to the locations where these owls are trying to hunt, not realizing that these owls are on the verge of starvation," wildlife custodian Jenn Salo told the CBC, "and human presence makes it much more difficult to hunt."
Instead of getting up close and personal with the birds, concerned citizens can help to support wildlife rehabs like Turtle Pond.
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