Snowy Owls Invade Ottawa
January 3rd, 2014
We're in the midst of one of the biggest Snowy Owl irruptions in history. Local experts say that hundreds of them are now in southern and eastern Ontario. One even showed up as far south as Florida recently! These arctic owls (which non-birders may recognize as Harry Potter's owl) had a very successfully breeding season in the far north, and all the newly fledged young were eating themselves out of house and home. So, as it happens with many far-northern birds when food is scarce and/or numbers swell, the excess travelled south for the winter. (Snowy Owls will happily stay in the arctic year-round if food is sufficient.) I found this one today in a field off Eagleson Road.
He allowed me just a few shots before he decided I was too close for comfort, and retreated to the top of a telephone pole.
January 3rd, 2014
We're in the midst of one of the biggest Snowy Owl irruptions in history. Local experts say that hundreds of them are now in southern and eastern Ontario. One even showed up as far south as Florida recently! These arctic owls (which non-birders may recognize as Harry Potter's owl) had a very successfully breeding season in the far north, and all the newly fledged young were eating themselves out of house and home. So, as it happens with many far-northern birds when food is scarce and/or numbers swell, the excess travelled south for the winter. (Snowy Owls will happily stay in the arctic year-round if food is sufficient.) I found this one today in a field off Eagleson Road.
He allowed me just a few shots before he decided I was too close for comfort, and retreated to the top of a telephone pole.
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Mike
January 4th, 2014 at 10:26 am
Very nice... certainly an impressive bird, and easy to see why it was used in HP!
dagibbs
January 4th, 2014 at 11:55 am
Nice pictures of a beautiful bird.
Gillian
January 5th, 2014 at 8:36 am
I saw one on Eagleson yesterday, too. He was in a tree relatively close to the road, so I stopped for pictures. Another photographer was taking pictures too, and wouldn't you know it, as soon as I turned around to leave he hopped the fence to get closer. It's people like that who give the rest of us birders and photographers a bad name.
Suzanne
January 5th, 2014 at 11:41 pm
Couldn't agree more. You'd think people would at least respect the boundaries of private property.
xiphia
January 5th, 2014 at 6:16 pm
Beautiful!
Johan Chaves
January 15th, 2014 at 10:02 pm
Beautiful pictures and great bird as well, in my top ten to see if ever get a chance to bird North america.