Rudyard is now the snowy owl capital of Michigan
RUDYARD— Rudyard Township has been recognized by the state as the best place in Michigan to find the elusive snowy owl.
As of Jan. 20, Rudyard Township in the Eastern Upper Peninsula is officially recognized as the snowy owl capital of the state.
Snowy owls, also called the arctic owl, can be found all across Canada and several parts of the northern United States. They move and migrate throughout the seasons for various reasons, including mating which they only do in the far north tundra.
Right now, during the winter months, the snowy owls are down south.
The migration starts in November, and more continue to travel south in the months of December and January. They will stick around until the seasons change and temperatures start to warm up.
Every year, the National Audubon Society, an organization with the goal of protecting birds and their habitats, takes a survey and bird count of every major region in the state.
Traditionally, Rudyard does experience a large snowy owl population, and an even larger population of other birds, including chickadees and eagles. Although the bird population of Rudyard is diverse, the count finds that more snowy owls come to this area than any other place in the state, and more than most other places throughout the country.
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"We had one of the highest counts in the whole country, definitely the highest in the state," said township supervisor Barry Davis. "We thought, well, we have something unique here, we could be the snowy owl capital."
In 2019, after reporting one of the highest snowy owls counts in the country, despite being a very small area, the township decided to make its love of snowy owls more well known.
The township hopes that people who wish to observe and protect the owls will have a good place to do so, and that the township can benefit from it. Already the area gets some bird watchers because of the large owl and eagle populations, but more bird watching can help support the tourism industry in the area.
"If you're driving around town you might see somebody pulled over to the side of the road standing there and looking up cause they might have seen one," said Davis.
As the township was only recently recognized as the snowy owl capital, the township has not recognized it as a local mascot, but some locals are still happy to get involved and spread the news about the popular local bird.
"It's not much of a local mascot yet, it only just became official," said Davis. "But people are getting involved with it, some local art teachers and students made our snowy owl signs."
Davis said the township gets questions all the time from both locals and visitors on the best places to look for the birds and the best times of day to find them. He suggests looking around the edges of town, closer to wide open spaces and keep an eye on possible perches high up on signs or other structures.
"It's one of those things where if you are aware and looking you'll start to see them around," said Davis. "Once in a while you'll see one in town, but you're more likely to find them in the open spaces. If you look up around town you might see them sitting on poles and signs."
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Rudyard is now the snowy owl capital of Michigan
