Driving by a field of prairie grass, you pass a large white bird sitting on a fencepost. If it weren’t on the post, it would be easy to miss against the snow. It swivels its head back over a shoulder, 270 degrees and stares with yellow eyes. This is not a bird you usually see. What is it doing here?
Winter migration is often associated with birds leaving the Calgary area to overwinter in warmer southern habitats. But what is warmer is relative, and if you are a northern bird species, like the Snowy owl, warmer might just be Calgary!
Snowy owls spend their spring and summer months in the Arctic Tundra, where they work as a pair to rear chicks. The female has increased spots and bars in her feathering for camouflage while she incubates the eggs in a ground-nest (called a scrape). The male is distinctly whiter and weighs less than the female (a common trend in raptors). He helps his mate by bringing her food (often lemmings). They work together to feed the chicks. By the end of the summer their focus becomes gaining enough weight and energy to migrate south.
Snowy owls arrive as early as October near Calgary but can be in and around our city from November to March or April. During this time, they hunt a variety of prey including small mammals and birds.
Snowy owls are diurnal, meaning they are most active during the day. This makes sense given that a summer day within the Arctic circle can be a full twenty-four hours.
Snowy owls are the heaviest owls in North America, weighing on average about four pounds. This is because they require extra layers of feathers and fat stores to survive the lower temperatures.
Owls arrive at our centre for a variety of reasons, some of which include vehicle collisions (often while chasing prey across a road), flying into barbed-wire fencing, encounters with off-leash pets, or the ingestion poisoned prey. Use of rodenticide often impacts animals beyond the targeted species. Please consider humane ecosystem-friendly alternatives and reduce dangers for a hungry owl!
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