Atlantic Wildlife Institute releases snowy owl in time for Artic migration

The Atlantic Wildlife Institute has released one of the snowy owls admitted to its facility this winter back into the wilderness, after more than a hundred days of recovery and rehabilitation.

Director of wildlife care at the institute, Pam Novak, says the female owl was originally spotted by a birder in the Baie-Verte area of New Brunswick, who noticed the animal appeared to be struggling.

“It was getting tangled up in some alder bushes not able to get flight from there,” says Novak, “and one of the birders we’re familiar with that is always around these areas looking for birds happened to see her.”

The rescued owl was brought back to the institute in November in poor shape, and desperately in need of care.

“When we got her she had no fight left in her,” says Novak, “she was getting quite lethargic and was very underweight.”

But, after months of recuperation, the snowy owl was finally released back into the wilderness this week – and just in time for spring migration.

“Usually this is when we’re seeing birds come to our area, but [snowy owls] want to leave our area,” says Novak, “they want to head back up to their breeding grounds in the Arctic, so that’s why you have to time it appropriately.”

She says that this was a busier than usual snowy owl season for the AWI, and that nine were admitted between November and January.

And as they prepare to release more of the birds, she also emphasizes the importance of keeping your distance from these animals when spotted in the wild.

“You have something like a snowy owl, it’s hard to not want to go and observe and watch, but these birds can really get harassed quite easily,” says Novak. “And that’s why sometimes that’s their demise – that they’re getting over-watched when they first arrive in the province."