Snowy Owl

The snowy owl is a large species of owls found in the tundra of Alaska, Canada, Europe and Asia. They are the largest owl species, by weight, in North America and slightly smaller then the Eurasian eagle owls that are found through out much of Europe and Asia.

Snowy owls are white with varying amounts of black mixed in. Males are typically mostly white while females and young birds have more of a black and white mottling. The bird in the top photo appears to be a young bird while the one in the photo above is probably a mature male.

Snowy owls have thick feathers that completely their body including their feet and toes. This provides insulation that allows them to survive on their territory in the tundra year round. Unlike most species of owls snowies are primarily diurnal, active during the daytime. They eat rodents, primarily lemmings, and some birds, such as ptarmigan.

Occasionally during the winter there is a shortage of prey. This can be due to a crash in the prey base or a very successful year of raising young which increases the population. When this happens snowies may migrate south in search of food. Typically these are young birds who do not yet have an established teritory. Here in Minnesota we see snowy invasions every three to five years. When they come south the most common place that we see them is at the airport. The airport is similar to their natural habitat on the tundra. It is large and flat and usually has a good amount of rodents for the owls to hunt. As you can see by the above photo the planes do not seem to bother them much.