Friday's Foto

Snowy Owls are circumpolar, Summering North of the arctic circle. Unlike most owl species, they are primarily diurnal, hunting during the day for lemmings, ptarmigan and other birds and mammals. During Winters when prey becomes scarce, they will migrate far South of their normal range in search of food. This is one of those years and large numbers are being seen throughout the country. One was even spotted recently in Bermuda. Cornell's eBird website has a good piece about this phenomenon here. If you do come across one of these magnificent birds, please keep in mind that they are under a lot of stress, remain at a respectful distance, keep your pets leashed (they are known to kill animals that are quite large) and if you find one that is injured notify your local rangers, animal control agency or US Fish and Wildlife.