The Garden State could see an explosion of Arctic-dwelling snowy owls this year as a result of a strong breeding season and an abundance of prey, researchers say.

After receiving reports of a snowy owl sighting at Island Beach State Park, researchers with Project SNOWstorm, including New Jersey Audubon Society staff, were stationed at the park early Wednesday with the aim of capturing and banding one of these owls, New Jersey Audubon Society said in a news release.

"By 7:55 a.m., one was trapped in a net, quickly banded, fitted with a transmitter, nicknamed 'Island Beach' and released back into the wild," the conservation group said.

The group said New Jersey typically only gets a handful of snowy owls each winter -- or none at all -- but indicators show conditions are right for the birds to travel much further south than usual.

"These birds are like little gifts from nature, and no matter whether it's your first or your fiftieth, you always get goosebumps when you're fortunate enough to encounter a snowy owl," said David La Puma, director of New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory.

Project SNOWstorm is a national, all-volunteer snowy owl research and conservation organization which began in 2013 following an unprecedented surge in snowy owls in the United States, including as far south as Florida, New Jersey Audubon Society said.

Project researchers say the great southward movement appears to occur every four years and coincides with the regional population explosion of lemmings -- the preferred prey of snowy owls.

"Owls feeding on abundant prey tend to breed more effectively and produce more offspring, which then compete for winter home ranges, driving more of them south in search of new territory," the conservation group said.

The snowy owl dubbed "Island Beach" was caught by Mike Lanzone, president and CEO of Cellular Tracking Technologies, a key partner of the project which donated the transmitter.

Researchers said "Island Beach" is a heavy snowy owl, which is fortunate as the transmitter weighs about 40 grams, about as much as seven U.S. quarters, and must weigh less than 3 percent of the bird's weight to ensure it doesn't negatively affect the owl.

The group, however, has concerns with how "remarkably approachable, especially young birds early in the winter" can be.

"Because they are often so naive around humans, it's easy for birders, photographers and the general public to approach them too closely," the group said.

"What is an exciting encounter for one person can be compounded by many people over time, leading to harassment of the bird and eventually putting the bird in dangerous situations," La Puma said. "The bird may be chased into New Jersey traffic - something snowies don't understand - subject to undue stress when it should be resting and conserving energy, or increasingly attacked by other raptors like an eagle or peregrine falcon, or mobbed by crows."

New Jersey Audobon is currently raising money for transmitters as each one costs about $3,000. The goal is to install 15 transmitters nationally, and two in New Jersey.

Meredith Martin of New Jersey Audubon holds the Snowy Owl while transmitter is being attached.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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