Steinbach Online, written by Darci Wilkinson Thursday, March 13, 2025
https://steinbachonline.com/articles/nature-norm-talks-owls-and-citizen-science
If you’ve ever been curious about the secret lives of owls in Manitoba, Nature Norm has just the event for you.
Norm Gregoire from Shared Legacy is hosting another exciting outing at the Weston Family Tall Grass Prairie Interpretive Centre, where participants will learn all about owls and how everyday people can contribute to science.
“We have 11 different species of owls that call some part of Manitoba home for at least some part of the year,” says Gregoire.
The first part of the walk will focus on these fascinating birds, covering their life cycles, behaviours, and how they adapt to the changing seasons. Then, everyone will head inside the centre to learn more about each owl in detail.
Gregoire says that if you’ve noticed more owls than usual this winter, you’re not alone. It’s due to something called an irruption.
An irruption happens every five years or so, when certain owl species migrate farther south in search of food.
“These owl irruptions happen when there’s a really good breeding season, so there are a lot of youngsters,” Gregoire explains. “What happens is these owls, ones like we have around here, great gray owls or snowy owls or northern hawk owls that are northern birds, they’ll fly farther south into southern Manitoba and even farther south into some of the states below us in search of prey.”
For those who want to do more than just observe, Gregoire is introducing a way for everyone to contribute to scientific research called citizen science.
“I don’t want to say regular citizens but nonscientific folks, people that are just interested in nature and wanting to learn a little bit of how they can actually make a scientific difference they can actually help in a way into the science community. And that there’s some great programs that go hand in hand with birds, bird watching, and data collection of birds.”
One major opportunity is the Nocturnal Owl Survey, run by Birds Canada, which Gregoire himself has been participating in for years.
“You will choose a route in southeastern Manitoba where you will drive in the evening and pretty much, you’re recording data on if you hear an owl. You’re jotting down that data, with a little bit of other data as well.”
That information is then sent to researchers, helping track owl populations over time.
“It’s a way that you know your regular citizen can actually contribute to science in a really, really positive way. It’s super simple to do.”
For scientists, this type of long-term data collection is invaluable.
“You have to remember, scientists, researchers, whoever they are, they’re busy folks and they can’t do this exact route that I’m doing,” he says. “So, by me doing it over time, we’re collecting data and seeing okay there’s been an increase in owls in this area or a decrease, or this is a new sighting for this area and that’s really really import for researchers to learn.”
Even if you’re not joining the survey, you can still keep an eye and ear out for owls in your area.
“I mentioned earlier that we have 11 different species of owl here in Manitoba, 11 out of 19 North American species found in Manitoba,” says Gregoire. “And surprisingly, about one-third of those owl species, including ones like the snowy owl, are actually what we call diurnals. They’re actually more active during the day than at night.”
So where should you be looking?
“If you pay attention while you’re driving, on things like sometimes simple things like hydro poles and open areas, whether they’re fields that can be a favourite spot for snowy owls to sit or on the edges of open meadows where there’s some higher trees. A lot of owls like northern hawk owls or great gray owls will be perched there, so it’s a matter of keeping your eyes open to hear them is of course maybe the easiest thing to do.”
Gregoire promises that this upcoming event will be both informative and engaging, and he encourages anyone curious about nature to come out.
The event is happening on March 15th at 10 AM at the Weston Family Tall Grass Prairie Interpretive Centre. If you’re ready to learn about owls and how you can help conservation efforts, this is an event you won’t want to miss!
Contact Gregoire at info@sharedlegacymb.ca to register or for more information.