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Snowy Owl

Bubo scandiacus

Photo by ianmaton
Published on Project Noah
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50.8921, -113.587

Field Notes

Description:

This is one of the largest species of Owl with a wingspan of 49–59 in and on average it is the heaviest Owl in North America weighing 3.5 to 6.6 lb.

Habitat:

Snowy Owls breed in the Arctic Tundra and winter south through Canada.

Notes:

After seeing a Snowy Owl on the 11th of Feb I was lucky enough to find a different bird on the 13th. This Owl was much less heavily barred. I have been informed that we still know very little about aging, sexing and plumage variations of Snowy Owls so I won't make a guess as to whether this is a male or female bird...

Reference Links:

Snowy Owl

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (16)
ianmaton
Thanks for sharing the poem Patty. At one point the Owl swooped down to the snow not more than 20 feet away from me. At this point it was too close and moving too fast to photograph with my 400mm lens but it was an incredible sight!
patty
So nice it made me wonder if someone had written a poem for such a beautiful bird. And, found one =) Snowy Owl Out of the great, green, grove of trees, In the darkness of the night; The snowy owl came sllenty by, A graceful poem in flight. Out of the shadows of the dark, When the day is finished and done; The swift, hurried flight of the owl takes place, Out on its midnight run. Out of the great, green, grove of trees, As fast as any clock can go, The wings beat hard and fast, And rustles the fallen snow. The snowy owl, a prince of a bird, It's dominance reigns supreme; Out of the blackness that covers me, Out of my thoughts and dreams. Out of the great, green, grove of trees, It glides with a mystic wing; Out of the night that swallows it, To see it, would make your heart sing. By David Lessard (In: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/snowy-owl/ )
patty
Amazingly beautiful owl!!!! Wonderful! Thank you for sharing the great picture too ianmaton =)
ianmaton
Thanks for the kind comments. Just to add, In general male birds have more white than females so this may well be male bird and my earlier sighting a female but there are exceptions to this rule so hard to be certain.
Carol Snow Milne 2
This one looks so different and extra white than your other flying owl. Matches snow perfectly!
Braulio Rivas Tapia
Breathtaking capture! U should put it on the mission: Mimetic Animals of the World!
ianmaton
Thanks all. Yes, I've been very lucky with Snowy Owl sightings this week.
Bas
Wow!! Really nice spotting!
felipeche72
Magnifique oiseau, super shoot, félicitation
AshleyT
You must feel so lucky to see such beautiful birds!!

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Birds of the World
Mission
Global Flight
Mission
Raptors of North America
Photographed
PublishedFebruary 14, 2013

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