(Photo by Pat Cromie)
Pictured above is me (BarrytheBirder) wearing a new Snowy Owl t-shirt that I recently purchased from Black Maple Trading in Montreal, Quebec.
Photo by Wayne Comerford
The Snowy Owl (23" / 58 cm.) was adopted as Quebec's official bird in 1987.
This the only all-white owl in Canada and females and juveniles are similar, but show more dusky barring than males...old males may be pure white.
The Snowy Owl is large with a rounded head and yellow eyes. They are heavy-bodied and breed on Arctic tundra and winter on grasslands, marshes, coastal beaches, and dunes.
They are active in daylight and darkness, often perching on the ground or close to it on posts, rocks, dunes, ice, hay bales, or even buildings.
They eat primarily small mammals, particularly voles and lemmings on the breeding grounds, but also fish and some birds.
Winter diet includes both mammals and a variety of birds, including waterfowl.
Males defend nests and and young fearlessly, doing a "crippled bird" routine to lure predators away from nests and young.
They will retreat from the nothern-most parts of range in winter.
When lemming populations drop, they may move south into the northern tier of states, wandering in winter as far south as Oklahoma and Virginia, and sometimes to Gulf Coast states.
These birds are fairly common on the breeding grounds, but casual to rare south of the breeding range.
Their population is considered stable because of remoteness from human habitation and disturbance.
Please comment if you wish.
BarrytheBirder
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