The Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) and the University of Regina have begun work on a research project involving great horned owls that includes a unique citizen science component. If you see a great horned owl, we want to know. We are interested in sightings outside of cities and south of the tree line in the agricultural zone (grassland and aspen parkland).

"Great horned owls are one of the most common owls in Saskatchewan," Royal Saskatchewan Museum Curator of Vertebrate Zoology Dr. Ryan Fisher said. "Populations of great horned owls in southern Saskatchewan have been increasing in recent years and we are interested in how human modifications to the landscape have allowed this bird to be so successful."

In southern Saskatchewan, great horned owls have shown remarkable adaptability and now occupy and nest in trees that were planted around farmyards, abandoned buildings and other human-made structures. 

In addition, these owls also rely on elevated perches such as power poles, fence lines and planted trees to hunt from.

"This adaptability is what makes these birds really unique, as this is one of only a handful of species that seem to do well in human-modified areas," Dr. Fisher said. "Part of the project revolves around public participation and collaboration in the research, or citizen science - by having people share and contribute to data monitoring and collection."