The Royal Saskatchewan Museum and University of Regina are recruiting citizen scientists for their owl research.

The research focuses on great horned owls and this year they had asked for Saskatchewan residents to report sightings of the owl.  Now they need to fill some of the gaps.

Dr. Ryan Fisher at RSM says they have had more than 500 responses and reports of owls in 298 townships across the province.  Based on the public reports, Fisher said they are looking to fill in gaps in western Saskatchewan – between the Great Sand Hills and North Battleford – and areas northeast and south of Regina.

He says their research is focused on learning where owls have recently expanded their range in the agricultural region of the province and what features of the landscape have allowed them to be so successful.

They caught and attached transmitters to ten owls in southwest Saskatchewan which has provided insight into what they thought about the owls.  They discovered the owls are spending a lot of time on the ground, but also making use of human-structures like power poles and old buildings for their nightly hunting activities. They also found these owls ranging as far as three kilometres from their nest to hunt.

Basically, if you see a great horned owl, they want to know. Reports so far have come from as far north as Prince Albert, to as far south as the US border, and sites along the Alberta and Manitoba borders. Many of these owl reports are in farmyards and in cities.