Snowy Owl— Photo: Winfried Wisniewski/Foto Natura/Minden Pictures

Across much of the northern part of the country Snowy Owls are being seen in record numbers. Stories about this Snowy Owl invasion have been broadcast on NPR (National Public Radio) and have appeared in many newspapers. Since one of our leaders, Denver Holt, is one of the top Snowy Owl experts in the world, we decided to offer two Snowy Owl Weekend tours, January 28-February 1 and February 4-8, to offer an opportunity to see these magnificent birds and to learn about their lives.

The focus of this short trip is the Snowy Owl, but there will be an opportunity to see other winter birds as well, such as Prairie Falcon, Gyrfalcon, Bald and Golden eagles, Bohemian Waxwing, and finches, including redpolls. Western Montana has the largest roost of Rough-legged Hawks in the world.

The marvelous scenery in Western Montana is an added attraction. We can’t imagine a better place to look for Snowy Owls and to learn about their lives.

The itinerary for these short trips is as follows:

Day 1:  Fly into Missoula and transfer to the Doubletree by Hilton. Meet at 6:30 PM for dinner.

Days 2, 3, and 4: All day looking for Snowy Owls and other winter birds. The nights of Days 2, 3, and 4 will be spent at the Ninepipes Lodge in Charlo. On Day 5 you will be transferred back to the Missoula airport by 10 AM.

The fee for this Snowy Owl Weekend is $1230 per person in double occupancy. The single supplement will be $168. Each trip will be limited to 14 participants. Leaders will be Denver Holt and Megan Fylling.

To sign up for one of these trips, please contact Greg Lopez at the VENT office. Call 800-328-VENT (8368) or 512-328-5221, or email greg@ventbird.com.

For more information about Snowy Owls and Denver Holt:

NPR January 2012

New York Times May 2011

National Geographic Magazine

The Owl Research Institute