Snowy Owls—Super Owls - animal behavior - Brief Article

Ranger Rick, Jan, 1999 by Claire Miller

Flap . . . flap . . . a silent snowy owl cruises through a winter sky in Canada. Snowy owls are the heaviest, most powerful owls in all of North America. And some winters, they may fly to places near YOU!

Snowy owls really are super. They can swoop down and grab their prey with the sharp talons on their feet. They'll even snatch ducks right out of a pond. And they can catch large birds, such as great blue herons. They're so strong that they can kill arctic hares that weigh more than they do. (That's BIG prey for birds their size.) And when snowies are nesting, watch out--they'll attack even wolves or humans that get close to their eggs or babies! Snowies live in the coldest lands all around the top of the world, and they hunt in all kinds of weather. Their thick layers of feathers keep them warm, even when the temperature is 40 degrees below zero.

Follow the Food

Snowy owls hunt for small mammals in wide-open places of Canada. If food gets scarce in winter, they fly farther south.

LEMMINGS FOR LUNCH Snowy owls eat lemmings (mouse-like creatures) more than anything else. An owl can eat as many as 1,600 of them in one year. Usually there are plenty of lemmings running around. But in some winters, the lemmings die off in lots of places. Then the birds can't find enough to eat. Other times, ice storms make it hard for the owls to find prey. Either way, the birds fly south in search of better hunting grounds.

SNOWY VISITORS Every year snowy owls visit some of the northern states. (See map on page 37.) But when lots of the owls can't find lemmings, many more of them fly even farther south. Wherever they fly to, they look for flat places with few trees--just like their hunting grounds in Canada. Farm fields and airports are great, and even beaches are good places for the owls to hunt. Most winters, snowy owls turn up at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. People there are glad about that. The birds hunt mostly for rats, and they know that they should stay away from planes. They also scare off (or eat) the ducks and gulls that might otherwise fly into the planes' paths.

Joshua Smith knows just how to hold this powerful owl. He grabs its feet and keeps its beak away from his face. The bird was captured by his dad, who studies owls at Logan Airport.

These snowy owl chicks are different sizes because they hatched two days apart. Their eyes usually open when they are five days old.

Mom's feathers are as warm and soft as a down quilt in the icy-cold weather.

Snuggling Snowies

HOW MANY BABIES? It's spring now, and the snowy owls have flown north to the frosty Arctic. Sometimes there are plenty of lemmings to eat up there. That's when a snowy owl female lays as many as a dozen eggs. But when there aren't many lemmings around, she may lay no eggs at all. Once Mama Owl is on the nest, she doesn't hunt for food. The air is too cold to leave her eggs or chicks uncovered for very long. So her hard-working mate does all of the hunting for his family for at least two months (until the chicks leave the nest). You're not likely to see young snowies unless you are in the Arctic during the summer. But check the map--does it show that the owls may sometimes come to your area? If so, be on the lookout for these big, ghostly visitors from the Far North.

Nesting areas in North America

Where snowies can be found in North America after nesting