I've heard this story in rumor but here's an official report: The first Snowy Owl recorded in ever in Hawaii was shot at the Honolulu Airport by a USDA official. From the article: Dan Meisenzahl told Civil Beat, "USDA officials “really are the unsung heros. Nobody hears about those guys until something like this happens. It’s just a real shame. They do an outstanding job and unfortunately they were put in a position where there were no easy answers. I can’t tell you with what a heavy heart this happened.”
Apparently, using Google for info on how to deal with snowy owls was too much of an effort for the USDA to go through.
In other news, we've had a snowy owl hanging out at the Minnesota Twins stadium and remarkably...no one has shot it yet. It's a pretty cool video staff got from the various cams around the stadium.
If you are interested in owls that are not snowy owls...there are great horned owls in New York! OMG!
In non owl news the Whooping Cranes have had a rough migration and will finish it via truck rather than ultra light.
Orioles are not birds that one typically associate with being seed eaters but this Altimira oriole at Bentsen Rio Grande State Park certainly seemed to dig them. Most of us think of orioles as nectar, fruit and jelly feeder birds but I've seen them sample seed and suet when Baltimore orioles arrive up in Minnesota and Wisconsin in early spring during a cold snap. This bird had ample 
During my South Texas break, we stopped at 
