Snowy owls love Logan Airport. Here’s how one man helps keep them and planes safe
By Jordyn Jagolinzer
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BOSTON (WBZ) — East Boston is notably home to Logan Airport, but what fliers may not see from above are the snowy owls being rescued by Norman Smith.
“Since 1981, I’ve been going out to Logan Airport and capturing and relocating snowy owls,” said Smith, a raptor specialist for Mass Audubon.
From the runway to the wild, Smith has released more than 900 snowy owls rescued from Logan. His mission is to not just to protect the birds, but the planes.
“Birds certainly are a threat to aircrafts,” he said.
Logan Airport has the largest known concentration of snowy owls in the northeast. While the tarmac may seem like an unusual place for them, Smith says it actually reminds them of home.
“It looks very much like the Arctic tundra,” he explained. “It’s short, very short, mowed grass like it is in the Arctic. It’s surrounded on three side by water, so there’s plenty of food on the airport.”
From rescue to rehabilitation
The Arctic travelers end up at the airport during the harsh winters and some get hurt along the way.
“The female was a bird that came from Logan and was sitting on a snow melter and melted all her feathers,” explained Smith while showing WBZ-TV a snowy owl that now resides at Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton.
Once the birds are rehabilitated, the ones unable to be released are available for locals to see up close at the Mass Audubon property.
“Seeing they can’t be released again, we bring them and put them on exhibit at the museum so people can see them close up and personable and they can be ambassadors for the owl species,” he added.
“Snowy Owls of Logan Airport”
Smith’s work is now getting national attention. A film about his work called the “Snowy Owls of Logan Airport” recently won the Audience Choice Award at the American Conversation Film Festival.
“You wonder how many people’s lives you’ve actually changed or stimulated,” said Smith. “It’s been an incredible experience to learn about these birds and see what they do, where they go, and how long they might live.”
His life’s work is now a model for both public safety and conservation.
“Together we can better understand, appreciate and care for the world in which we live,” he said.
Smith’s research has shown that many snowy owls captured and relocated are in great shape. In 2000, with a gift from a donor, he and his team were able to put satellite transmitters on the wintering owls for the first time to track their movements. It proved that the owls wintering in Massachusetts make it back to the Arctic.
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