My interest in snowy owls was piqued back in 2013, when I became acquainted with a raptor bander who was helping the state Department of Environmental Conservation trap and band short-eared owls. He was also trapping and banding snowy owls. In the years that followed, he usually contacted me whenever a snowy owl sighting was reported near me. I’d scout out the bird’s location, give my bander friend the exact location and inform the landowner what we would be up to. In 2014 and 2018, there were a fair number of these fascinating birds in my area, so I got to work often with the bander and got some great photos of snowy owls.
These birds live in the Arctic tundra country and live mainly on lemmings (a stocky, 4-1/2 to 5-inch, vole-like rodent), although they occasionally take larger prey such as rabbits and grouse and will feed on carrion. Lemmings go on high and low population cycles about every four years and when their numbers are low some of the snowy owls (usually juveniles) migrate south into Canada and northern New York state in winter, looking for alternative foods.
The adult female snowy owl ranges in length from 21 to 28 inches, has a 4-1/2- to 6-foot wingspan and is heavily marked with dark spots over her basic white plumage. The adult male is slightly smaller and almost pure white with only a scattering of dark spots. The juveniles resemble the females, often with even darker spots. The legs and feet of a snowy owl are covered with white feathers right down to the black talons. As with other owls, their wing feathers are constructed so as to make no noise when flying. A silent attack on prey is much easier.
The conservation status of the snowy owl is believed to be declining, but it’s hard for scientists to study them due to the owl’s harsh and remote habitat. As usual, man is often the reason for this owl’s struggle, due to our “bad” environmental habits. Word has it that there was a good reproduction rate up north in 2025, so maybe we will be treated to the sight of some of them coming our way soon.
Unfortunately, when snowy owls do come our way they become a problem at airports in the region. The airport environment mirrors their tundra country habitat and thus they are drawn to such places. Airplane strikes by this large bird can cause serious damage and injuries so they are often discouraged from lingering. Snowy owls are attracted to open farm lands for the same reason. They are often seen on the ground but will use telephone poles, buildings, fence posts and seawalls as hunting perches, so that they may watch over large areas of open terrain. Places along the Lake Ontario shoreline, including the Olcott, Wilson and Point Breeze areas, are always key attractions when they show up. The Niagara River area is also a known “visiting” spot for them.
Snowy owls hunt by flying over open areas to locate small prey such as mice and voles, usually by sight but also by sound, even when the ground is covered with a blanket of snow. Here, farm buildings are often key locations due to a larger rodent population. That is why it is important not to use rat poison around these locations.
The snowy owl is a docile bird when it’s here, mainly because these birds do not have a lot of experience with humans and don’t consider them to be a danger. That could change if people push the envelope, trying to get too close to them and thus putting them into flight. That’s bad for the owls, which are trying to conserve energy in harsh winter conditions and may be driven away from a good food source.
An outfit named ProjectSNOWstorm has been putting transmitters on snowy owls since 2013 to better study and track them and thus understand their problems and movements and, hopefully, help reverse their decline.
At present, I do not know of any of these beautiful birds in our area, but I will alert you if I see one and hopefully you will get to see one too. Just be courteous to other birders and the birds and don’t “push” them.
If you spot a snowy owl, give me a jingle!