Snowy owl electrocuted mid-flight by Saint John power lines

A large snowy owl was found dead with blackscorchmarks on its wing in a Saint John ditch last weekend.

Theowl was found at the foot of a power pole on LochLomondRoad.

Researchers suspect the unlucky predator was electrocuted mid-flight.

"It would have had to make contact with twolinesand it was probablyin flight," said Andrew Sullivan,thezoologicalpreparator at theNew BrunswickMuseumarchives in Saint John.

"Normally, if it was flying through a forest, the occasional twig hitting its wings wouldn't be a big deal. But making just slight contact with two lines would have completed the circuit."

Arguably the largest owls found in New Brunswick, challenged only by the great horned owl, snowy owls areelusiveduring the winter but not uncommon.

"These are coming from the Arctic Circle, where they breed," Sullivan said. "And they'll also spend their winters there if it's good conditions.

"Otherwise if their main foodsource,whichislemmings,iftheir numbers are low they might come south for the winter."

Sullivan said the plumagegrowth and markings indicated theowl was an adultfemale. It appeared to have been at a healthy weight when itdied.

Sullivan said he will examine thebird'sinsides to see what its diet consisted of, and if whether it was indeed a healthy animal at the time of death.

"Her plumage was a bit worn, a bit dirty," Sullivan said. "But it may just be from the habitat she was in."

Weight, stomach contents and the date the migrating owlwas found will be recorded in the days to come.

Snowy owls have a long history of frequenting this province. Sightingshave been recorded at the New Brunswick Museum, which alsokeeps dozens of the birds in its archives. Each one is stuffed and tagged with some of the dates associated with the animals going back decades.

Theelectrocutedowl will be prepared and placed in the archives as well for research and future study, including DNAcomparisons withowls from generations ago.

"You can usespecimens for any number of things," said Sullivan. "Things like feathers and hair can be used for heavy metal analysis and stable isotope analysis, and DNA work.

"When these owls first started being collected people didn't know DNA existed."