Snowy Owl

Snowy Owls are very large white owls with varying amounts of black and brown markings on the body and wings. On females, the markings can be quite dense. Males tend to be whiter with age. Snowy Owls have smooth heads and and no ear tufts. The body is bulky, with dense feathering on the legs, which makes the bird look wider at the base.

Their thick feathers for insulation make them the heaviest of North America's owls. Also notable are their yellow eyes.

Snowy Owls spend their summers above the Arctic Circle hunting lemmings and other rodents, ptarmigan and waterfowl in the 24-hour daylight. In years when lemming populations boom, the owls can raise double or triple the number of young. In winter, they may be found along shorelines of lakes or the ocean, as well as on farm fields or airport fields. Snowy Owls like open and treeless areas. Because they often sit on the ground while hunting, they like rolling terrain where they can find a spot to survey the surrounding area.

The female Snowy Owl builds a nest by scraping out a shallow hollow on the bare ground and shaping it by pressing her body into the depression. It may take a few days to form the nest. She may use the same one for a few years. Clutch size is three to 11 eggs usually in one brood per year.

Early this winter, Snowy Owls arrived in great numbers in Atlantic Canada, the northeastern United States and the Great Lakes region, with several found as far south as North Carolina. Even non-birders are finding these sights fascinating.

Biologists and ornithologists have seen this pattern of periodic arrivals for centuries but there are still many questions.

Snowy Owls have cyclic populations due to changes in number of prey. Snowy Owls may even skip a breeding season if food is scarce. Many "first-winter" or immature owls have been noted this winter, which leads scientists who believe that high breeding is a major factor. As there are more Snowy Owls seen in eastern states, it is believed that breeding season in the eastern Arctic this past summer was excellent.

Enjoy this winter's "invasion" and observe the owls from a safe distance.