Have you been seeing an interesting-looking bird in the Dillingham area? Welcome to Field Notes. I’m Rob MacDonald, a Wildlife Biologist with the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.

People have been seeing Northern Hawk Owls almost daily since last October. Most sightings have occurred on the power lines near the airport road turnoff, Wood River Road, Aleknagik Lake Road, and Kanakanak Road. I have also received calls from people seeing Northern Hawk Owls near their yards as well.

It appears we have 4 separate Northern Hawk Owls using the area based upon the timing and locations of observations being reported. This abundance of Northern Hawk Owls could be related to recent high microtine populations.

Last October, I received a call regarding a dead Northern Hawk Owl along the road near the airport turnoff. I drove down to collect this bird and to my amazement, the bird was banded.

Banded birds play an important role in studies and research designed to learn more about bird life histories. This Northern Hawk Owl was banded at Bittern Lake, Alberta, Canada last February and we recovered it last October. Bittern Lake is about 30 miles south of Edmonton. So, it appears the bird may have traveled about 1,980 miles over land from Bittern Lake to Dillingham in about 8 months!

Northen Hawk Owls are classified as non-migratory and when one is banded it is rare to get band return information. This banded bird has generated a lot of interest with raptor biologists in Alaska and Canada as little is known of this species’ movements. Occasionally it will appear in regions south of its breeding range but not much is known in regards to birds traveling north.

In Armstrong’s Birds of Alaska, Northern Hawk Owls are listed as rare to uncommon in southwest Alaska. This means that they occur but are not seen very often. We have obviously found them to be very common since October.

Of all known movements of Northern Hawk Owls from band recoveries in North America, the distances have ranged from 12 to 161 miles. In Europe, a Northern Hawk Owl traveled 1,116 miles. Our Dillingham bird moved about 1,980 miles. Dillingham can now boast the longest known movement of a Northern Hawk Owl in North America and potentially the world. So keep your eyes in the sky and if you see anything unusual, please let your local wildlife biologists know. For Field Notes, I’m Rob MacDonald.