Snow, freezing rain, sub-zero temperatures and high winds all contributed to making the winter of 2013-14 on of the most miserable in years. Of course, for those who enjoy ice fishing and ice skating, there are few complaints.

No matter where one stands on the weather issue, one thing every outdoors enthusiast can agree on is the winter has produced what could well be a spectacular once-in-a-lifetime experience. This winter has seen the biggest invasion of snowy owls in decades, with the first birds arriving in early December and the numbers peaking in the thousands - if not tens of thousands - by mid-January.In some areas observers photographed flocks that ranged from dozens to hundreds, although the migration - which is called an irruption south from Newfoundland to Minnesota failed to produce such numbers regionally. Still, these big birds were found in pairs and small flocks - often at the most unexpected time - this winter by hunters, trappers and cross-country skiers.As the magnitude of the irruption became clear, a number of veteran owl researchers started mobilizing a response, and Project SNOWstorm - with SNOW the code banders and birders use for SNowy OWl was born. Project SNOWstorm is an unprecedented research program that will gather information about these mysterious raptors using telemetry, banding, toxicology screening, DNA analysis and more.Project SNOWstorm was organized by Dave Brinker, wildlife biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources; naturalist and author Scott Weidensaul, a Schuylkill County native who directs the owl migration research program for the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art in Pennsylvania; and Norman Smith of Massachusetts Audubon, who has been studying snowy owls for more than 30 years at Boston's Logan Airport."Early on, I picked up the phone and called Scott and had some discussion of how big the irruption appeared to be and the opportunity staring us in the face," Brinker said. "Our conversation ended with 'we must be crazy or possessed because we both already have too much to do,' but this looks like a once in a lifetime opportunity, so let's go for it."From that point, momentum behind the project began to build, and emergency funding through a private foundation allowed an early purchase of a few solar-powered GPS-GSM transmitters from the Somerset-based Cellular Tracking Technologies. These transmitters were outfitted on the first owls of Project SNOWstorm in mid-to-late December on Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland, and the Buena Vista Grasslands in Portage County, Wisconsin.Other transmitters were later deployed in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New York and Wisconsin, tracking owls in habitats that include Atlantic coastal beaches, urban areas, farmland and prairie, and Great Lakes shoreline. Researchers behind Project SNOWstorm are hopeful that this irruption will not only produce useful information about the behavior of snowy owls, but will ultimately better inform conservation efforts."Even though snowy owl irruptions have been documented for almost 200 years, very little is known about how these owls live their lives when they're down here in the south," Weidensaul said. "Our goal is to squeeze as much information from this event as possible."We'll do that by tracking up to two dozen owls to study their movements, their habitat use, their hunting behavior, but also by testing blood and tissue for contaminants, analyzing stable isotopes in their feathers to learn where they're coming from, comparing their DNA to look at the genetic structure of the populations. Snowies that are found dead will be studied to learn more about the threats they face and a great deal more."In the end, what we learn will not only shed a lot of light on a mysterious bird, but also give us the tools we need to better protect it in a fast-changing world. Response has been staggering and humbling, and something I never expected it in a million years."According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there had been reports of snowy owls from at least 33 counties, some for the first time in history. A team of ornithologists is working to document and study this phenomenon in a collaboration of researchers from Project Owlnet and Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art.It is believed this invasion is probably due to high numbers of snowy owl fledglings produced in nests in northern Canada and Greenland, where they react well to the abundance of rodents. Snowy owls have been observed particularly in open habitats like fields, shorelines, roadsides, and airports.More are being reported in counties with wide open spaces, but it is suspected that others may be overlooked for lack of observers. Most perch on high points in open fields, shores, ice, or along roadsides.Snowy owls do not see many people so they can appear tame or naïve, however, this should not be taken as an invitation to get close. This can cause them to waste precious time and energy escaping your advances rather than hunting and resting during the cold weather when they need a lot of energy.Snowy owl sightings can be submitted by email at

snowyowlphotos13@gmail.com or through the Project SNOWstorm (www.projectsnowstorm.org) website.Photographs, especially of owls with spread wings and tails, are needed to help determine the sex and age of the birds, and the date, explicit location information is important.