Facts about snowy owls, what they eat, appearance, habitat and more

Massive, handsome and distinctive, snowy owls rank amongst the most charismatic wildlife species in the planet.

As described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the “regal snowy owl is 1 of the few birds that can get even non-birders to occur out for a look.”

The species’ star standing even vaulted it into the cast of characters in the Harry Potter books and motion pictures.

Some of the attractive birds check out Wisconsin every calendar year, element of a seasonal southerly movement for the species. And each so typically a bigger selection of snowies – termed an “irruption” – is observed in Wisconsin and other elements of the decrease 48 states.

Quite a few snowy owl sightings are remaining documented this month across the Badger State. As you continue to keep an eye open up for the white birds, here are some info and recommendations about 1 of the world’s most well-liked wildlife species.

What do snowy owls seem like?

Snowies have a rounded head, yellow eyes and a thick coat of feathers that go over their complete physique, which include their toes.

The feathers are white but accented with several amounts of darkish brown barring.

Male snowies are more barred when they’re youthful and get whiter as they age. Ladies continue to keep some darkish markings all over their life, in accordance to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Even though it can be not generally feasible to establish the sex of a snowy owl by its plumage, the whitest birds — together with the kinds that played Harry Potter’s Hedwig — are just about always males and the most intensely barred kinds are commonly ladies.

How major are snowy owls?

Snowy owls are the heaviest owl in North The united states, with an ordinary pounds of 4 pounds. They are about 23 inches long and have an common wingspan of 52 inches, in accordance to the Sibley Guideline to Birds.

By comparison the terrific-horned owl, the greatest yr-spherical owl in Wisconsin, is 3 lbs ., 22 inches extended and has a 44 inch wingspan.

The snowy’s wingspan ties the wonderful grey owl with the largest of North American owls.

Wherever do snowy owls live?

Snowy owls are predominantly birds of the Arctic and can be found spanning the location from the northernmost sections of the U.S. and Canada to Scandinavia and Russia.

However they invest most of their life in the Arctic, occasionally at minimum some snowy owls vacation south in late fall and wintertime. This motion is termed an “irruption.”

And in quite scarce instances, like a chook noticed regularly near Madison in the summer time of 2022, a snowy owl may well continue to be calendar year-spherical in the southern element of the species’ array.

Where do snowy owls breed?

Snowy owls breed throughout the summertime on the tundra. It is considered the male selects a territory and the feminine picks the specific nest web site, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The female then builds the nest, scraping out a shallow hollow on the bare floor and shaping it by pressing her body into the depression. The nest ordinarily incorporates involving 3 and 11 eggs.

The male hunts and presents food stuff for the female while she is incubating the eggs and caring for the young.

The owls could reuse the nest web site for lots of years.

What is an irruption?

As their name implies, snowy owls are typically a northern species, nesting globally on the treeless tundra over the Arctic Circle.

During a common wintertime, some continue being shut to their breeding areas even though other folks head south into southern Canada and the northern United States. At minimum a few reach Wisconsin each individual 12 months.

Each and every handful of decades, nevertheless, huge numbers move into the point out, an occasion acknowledged as an “irruption.” 1 of the greatest irruptions in current heritage was the wintertime of 2017-18, when 280 snowy owls were documented in Wisconsin.

It truly is not regarded with certainty what triggers an irruption, even though most hypotheses point to either a scarcity or abundance of lemmings, the owl’s primary foods resource on their breeding range. If food is really hard to discover, the imagining goes, the birds need to journey for much better searching. And plentiful prey all over the nesting sites helps produce substantial numbers of owl fledglings (occasionally as numerous as 10 for every nest), resulting in more competitors amid snowies for means in the Arctic and leading far more birds than standard to fly south.

What do snowy owls consume?

Snowy owls primarily try to eat smaller mammals, notably lemmings even though on their nesting grounds in the Arctic. They also prey on ptarmigan and waterfowl.

Snowy owls are a person of the most agile owls, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and in a position to capture birds on the fly.

On the two their breeding and wintering grounds, their diet program can selection extensively to include rodents, rabbits, hares, squirrels, weasels, wading birds, seabirds, ducks, grebes and geese.

When they hunt, they use extraordinary vision and listening to to draw a bead on their prey and then fly, or even operate, to grasp it with their claws. They have been observed downing a lemming headfirst in a single gulp.

What time of year do snowy owls pay a visit to Wisconsin?

Snowy owls commonly begin showing up in Wisconsin in late October or early November, according to Ryan Brady, a conservation biologist with the Office of Pure Assets.

The amount of snowies in Wisconsin builds by way of early wintertime and ordinarily peaks in late December or January.

The birds then get started to depart for their Arctic breeding grounds in late wintertime or early spring. In most a long time, the snowies have remaining Wisconsin by early May well.

What is the populace sizing of snowy owls?

Because snowy owls nest in remote locations, have enormous territories and their seasonal actions are widespread and unpredictable, it is pretty complicated to estimate their population sizing.

Even so, the conservation organization Associates in Flight estimates a world wide breeding inhabitants of 29,000 snowy owls.

The business estimates the species missing 64{95b18eb6fc4f42efd0d92738dfc3fb79fde21da267a711ecdf0381147c27bb86} of its inhabitants from 1976 to 2016. It charges snowy owls 14 out of 20 on the Continental Issue Rating for a species demonstrating steep declines and experiencing main threats. Further, it has positioned snowy owls on their Yellow Watch Record for species that will require continual care and prolonged-time period assessment to reduce further more declines.

The place can I see snowy owls in Wisconsin?

Snowy owls want open areas and habitats very similar to their breeding grounds in the Arctic. In Wisconsin, that signifies the large, white owls are normally noticed alongside lakeshores, on frozen lakes, grasslands and farm fields.

Two snowy owl viewing hotspots are the Oconto harbor and breakwater alongside the shore of Green Bay and the Buena Vista State Wildlife Space in Portage County.

The birds often sit on the floor, wanting and listening for prey. At periods they will also roost on fence posts, utility poles and other elevated spots.

The birds may well be energetic at any time of day or evening.

What are rules for viewing snowy owls?

If you see a snowy owl, be certain to give it place and respect.

The DNR provides this steering:

Do not solution an owl. You are as well near if the bird often appears at you, sits erect with open eyes peering in your path or flushes from its perch.
Do not play audio recordings from smartphones or other units.
Do not feed owls mice or other prey, which may guide to unintended damaging impacts, like habituation to people today, greater likelihood of vehicle collision and ailment.
Decrease the use of flash pictures, especially soon after dark, as this can disrupt an owl’s exercise patterns.
When viewing from a vehicle (proposed), switch off the engine to avoid interfering with the owl’s auditory looking procedure.

For additional on snowy owls in Wisconsin, visit dnr.wi.gov and research for snowy owl.

To track sightings all-around the condition and report your have, stop by the eBird website at ebird.org/wi and click on on Discover to search a customizable map for sightings in Wisconsin.

If you consider a bird is ill or has been wounded, get in touch with a area wildlife rehabilitator. Find a directory organized by county by looking for rehab on the DNR web page.