
Great grey owls and northern hawk owls, two enigmatic species that are typically difficult to find, are now being seen at an unusually high rate in Alberta, with social media and the internet flooded with photos of them over the last few months.
There's a scientific reason behind the sudden surge in sightings, according to STRIX Ecological Consulting biologist Lisa Takats Priestley.
"We are experiencing an invasion of great grey owls and northern hawk owls in central and southern Alberta," said Priestley, who is Birds Canada's coordinator of the Alberta nocturnal owl population survey.
The invasion, known by researchers as an irruption, is a phenomenon that has brought these birds from remote locations to more developed areas in droves.