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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Snowy Owl Sighting!

Two islanders reported seeing a Snowy Owl in the Twin Beaches area today! These unusual owls, which breed in the far North, move south in search of food (rodents, small waterfowl, marine birds) as the temperatures in the Arctic plummet.

Snowy Owl*
The male is almost pure white, with just a little dark flecking. The female, shown here, has dark barring on its upper parts and breast. If your binoculars are strong enough you may be able to make out the owl's yellow eyes and black bill.

Although the Snowy owl is generally quiet on its wintering grounds, you may hear deep hoots or harsh clicking, and sometimes it makes a loud hammering sound. You can listen here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Owl/sounds

I'd love to know if you see our rare visitor!

*Creative Commons License Photo

4 comments:

Samantha said...

When it comes to owls the snowy owl is hands down my favorite. Such a beautiful bird. I'm planning a trip north this winter and hope to get the chance to get to see and capture one on film ?

elen said...

The sound recording on the link is amazing! Sounds more like a building project in progress than an owl. Hope we get a chance to see him or her. Thanks!

The Island Book Shoppe said...

Samantha - Best of luck capturing this beauty on film!

Elen - You're welcome!

Anonymous said...

i love owls and i think the snowie is the most spectacular . ive only seen one in my life about forty years ago on the mainland by the vancouver airport. lots of owls here on gabe though.