'Mystery' as Owl Migrates in Wrong Direction

A strange owl has mystified scientists after it was found to migrate in a different direction from the other birds of its species.

This creature is a burrowing owl, part of a population that usually migrates from Texas and Oklahoma up to Canada, moving from north to south with the seasons. However, this unique bird was found overwintering near New Johnsonville, Tennessee, having migrated to the southeast rather than the southwest. This marks the first time this species has ever been spotted in Tennessee, according to a new paper in the journal Check List.

Burrowing owls are small, diurnal owls that are unique among such birds in that they live in burrows, which they often either dig themselves or take over from other burrowing animals such as prairie dogs or ground squirrels. These owls are usually small, measuring around 7 to 10 inches from head to feet, and primarily inhabit open landscapes such as grasslands, deserts, and agricultural fields. They prefer areas with low vegetation where they can easily spot prey and with suitable soil for digging burrows.

Some burrowing owls stay in one spot throughout the year, while others migrate from the north in the summer to the south in the winter.

"Burrowing owls are found west of Central Texas and Oklahoma, all the way up into Canada. There is also a non-migratory population in Florida, so you'll occasionally see them in Alabama but never in Tennessee," Scott Rush said in a statement. He is an associate professor in Mississippi State University's Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture and was called in to investigate the owl.

"They live inside burrows created by prairie dogs and other animals," Rush added. "They're declining across the range in part because we're losing some of those historic systems like undisturbed prairie dog colonies as more grasslands are being developed."

This unique owl was found making its winter home hundreds of miles out of its usual range on a former Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) fossil fuel plant in 2020. Researchers from the MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center were called in to investigate. They examined the bird's feathers and pellets, finding that it was a male, and had eaten a collection of various insects, mammals and plants recently. Using this evidence, the researchers were able to take a guess at the bird's home range.

"We have evidence that this bird spends the non-winter season in the western U.S., probably Texas. However, this evidence is based on the chemical composition of its feathers, only. It would be neat to be able to track this bird, using GPS technology, to see where it does go when not in TN, and even how it is using the peninsula where it has been overwintering in TN," Rush told Newsweek via email.

The owl is also thought to have overwintered at this same spot in Tennessee before, meaning that it has taken a preference for this region rather than having merely gotten lost this year.

"A security guard at the site who happened to be an amateur birder came across it. Once I was alerted of its presence, I connected with our natural resources team who had already been working with Dr. Rush studying ospreys and vultures," Liz Hamrick, a terrestrial zoologist with TVA who reached out to Rush, said in the statement.

"My role is to review TVA's actions and ensure potential impacts to common wildlife and rare animals are avoided or minimized, and that includes protecting this owl. We need to make sure we follow all the state and federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Executive Order for Migratory Birds.

"It's been exciting to learn about a whole new species and try to solve a mystery of why on earth this bird is repeatedly selecting to come to this industrial site out of its normal range," Hamrick said.

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Update: 03/15/24 1:37 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Scott Rush.