The invasion is being led by large numbers of great gray owls, one of the ?holy grails? of American birders. Although small numbers of great grays exist in areas of northern Minnesota, they are predominantly found in the boreal forests of Alaska and Canada. The Minnesota Ornithologists? Union (MOU) received its first sighting of a great gray on August 17. Since then, more than 1,700 great gray owls have been documented in Minnesota. Sightings have also been reported in Portage County, Wisconsin and as far south as the small town of Madrid, near near Ames, Iowa.

The unprecedented numbers of owls, coupled with good accessible roads and viewing areas has prompted the small invasion of birders into the region, all eager to view and photograph the rare owls. At Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge near McGregor, Minn, the incredible owl incursion has meant a huge increase in the number of refuge visitors ?During a normal winter we might have 3-4 visitors a day, primarily for cross country skiing," said Rice Lake NWR Manager Mary Stefanski. "Since the owls have shown up, it's not uncommon to have 30 or more visitors a day, all wanting to see owls,? Stefanski said. ?We only clear snow from two miles of refuge roads in the winter, but visitors are still able to see half-dozen owls from the road. That isn?t too bad,? she added.

Great gray owl sightings started last May at Agassiz NWR in northwest Minnesota. Seven great grays were observed on the refuge from May through August which is very unusual for Agassiz, according to Refuge Biologist Gary Huschle. ?Since October we have had one or two great gray sightings along the main travel route, County Road 7, every month. There have been a couple great grays just off the Refuge that have been observed fairly consistently for the past two months.?

Published stories in Twin Cities? newspapers report birders have descended on northern Minnesota owl viewing areas from as far away as Florida, Texas, California and even England. In a Feb. 13 article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, MOU President Mark Alt, said the owl invasion is unprecedented in intensity and scale. ?During the last owl invasion in 2000 it was considered big news if birders saw a handful of great gray owls in a day. Now, we know of someone who saw 214 great grays in a day,? Alt said.

Ground zero for spotting great gray owls in northern Minnesota is the Sax-Zim Bog, about 45 minutes north-northeast of Duluth in St. Louis County. Concentrations of great gray owls can be seen there and along the North Shore of Lake Superior between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minn. For more information about the owl invasion, including viewing hot spots, visit the Minnesota Ornithologists? Union web site: http://biosci.cbs.umn.edu/~mou/index.html