Tracking Snowy Owls South of the Tundra

by Rebecca McCabe, PhD

Hosted by HLFM director Pierce Rafferty

In this recorded illustrated talk, presented virtually February 25, 2024, Rebecca McCabe as she shares her journey from an undecided first-generation college student to a research biologist at the first refuge for birds of prey. Rebecca will highlight some of her doctoral research studying wintering snowy owls and give an update on what she and the rest of the team at Project SNOWstorm have been learning over the past decade.

Rebecca received her B.S. in Environmental Biology at Millersville University (2013), and then earned her M.S. in Biology at East Stroudsburg University (2016) studying the nesting behavior of broad-winged hawks in Pennsylvania. In 2021, Rebecca received her PhD from McGill University (Canada) where she studied snowy owls during the winter period. Rebecca joined the staff full time at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in May 2021, serving as one of the Sanctuary’s biologists. She continues researching broad-winged hawks and snowy owls and is involved in the Sanctuary’s long-term American kestrel project. She also assists with other various aspects of conservation science, including the trainee program, advising undergraduate and graduate students and science-education outreach.

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