Snowy Owl Fact Sheet
By Nick Kerle
The snowy owl has captivated people for centuries, making appearances in 30,000-year-old cave paintings in Europe and more recently in books and movies. It’s one of the few birds that even non-bird watchers will get excited about. For those living in the Northern United States and Canada, look out for them on light poles, hay bales, and rooftops as they survey a wide, flat area for small prey.
They are characterized by their large size and thick, white feathers that keep them warm even in negative temperatures. Its feathers blend in with the snow during the harsh daylight, and its silent wing flaps help it sneak up on unsuspecting prey. Though illusive by nature, these owls are getting harder to find as their populations decrease over the years.
Some of the current threats to the Snowy Owl include:
Varied prey availability
Planes, cars, and powerlines
Environmental changes
DID YOU KNOW…
The city of Utqiagvik in Alaska is named after the snowy owl, Utqiagvik meaning “place where snowy owls are hunted” in Inupiaq
Unlike most owls, snowy owls are diurnal, meaning they hunt during the day
A snowy owl may eat up to 1600 lemmings in a year
Harry Potter’s owl, Hedwig, is a snowy owl!
SCIENTIFIC AND COMMON NAMES
Bubo Scandiacus – Snowy Owl; Known as anipa and anipaq in Yupik; ukpik in Inupiaq
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The snowy owl is the only Alaska owl species with features that easily distinguish females and males. For one, female owls are much larger than males, most likely due to their need to keep eggs warm in the frigid Arctic. Females are also white with dark brown spots while males are pure white. They both have a dense layer of down close to the skin and around their feet, which keeps the heat in when it’s cold. With this setup they can maintain a body heat of around 100 Fahrenheit during temperatures in the high negatives.
Snowy owls are the heaviest North American owl weighing in at around 4 pounds- other species coming in at about a pound or more lighter. They are between 22 and 27 inches tall and have a wingspan of about 5 feet. Despite their large wingspan, they are quiet fliers thanks to their flight feathers having fringed edges.
Unlike many other Alaska owls, snowy owls lack ear-tufts, and instead have smooth, round heads. They have bright yellow, forward-facing eyes that do not move in their sockets. Like other owls, they twist their head 270 degrees when they need to look around. Even though they mostly hunt during the day, their eyes can take in way more light than the human eye can, and they are more than capable of hunting at night.
RANGE
Snowy owls are hard to study because they occupy huge ranges, and they can be found all over North America depending on where the food is most abundant. Some spend winter in the Arctic while others may hang around the Great Lakes or New England. They prefer wide open spaces like tundras, plains, and coastlines, which means no trees for prey to hide in. They’ll often use a high point like a hill, building, or telephone pole to survey a wide-open space for prey.
In the summer, snowy owls tend to move far up north, above and around the arctic tundra. They’ll spend most of their days somewhere high up watching for prey. If an area has a lot of prey, they’ll set up a nest until the supply is scarce. When it’s time to breed, they’ll move towards the arctic coasts of Alaska and Canada just before winter.
Watch an NPR reporter follow a snowy owl named Baltimore, using data collected from Project Snowstorm, a massive study of snowy owl migration patterns...
THREATS/CONCERNS
In 2017, the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) declared snowy owls as a vulnerable species, meaning their population has decreased in recent years. Though snowy owls are hard to monitor due to their large and varied range, it does seem like their numbers have steadily dropped over the years.
Scientists believe that this is mainly due to prey availability, as the population tends to rise and fall with prey populations. When prey is especially scarce in the winter, they will fly further south into the lower 48, which often leads to starvation and eventually death. Additionally, snowy owls have been observed being killed by planes, vehicles, and powerlines.
There are a number of factors that influence prey availability, increased competition from predators being one. Climate change may also play a role because of the impact it has had on snowmelt, which can affect the onset of spring.
LIFE HISTORY
Snowy owls breed between May and September. They nest right on the tundra, and prefer slight, windswept areas that are high-up, dry, and snow-free. Their nests look like large mounds on an otherwise flat terrain. The female snowy owl builds the nest by pressing her body into the ground to create a dimple, which takes a few days. The owls may reuse the nest site for many years.
When male snowy owls court female snowy owls, the male owl flies into the air with deep, slow wingbeats before descending to a potential mate. He’ll often bring a lemming as an offering, landing near the female and awaiting her approval. After a successful first date, the female will lay her eggs and begin incubating for the next 32-33 days. Laying continues during the brooding period leading to chicks of different ages.
Snowy owl chicks are white at birth, and over the course of about a week and half they’ll triple their weight and turn very dark grey. Their bodies are hard at work growing new down feathers that will eventually help them fly. After another week or so, they’ll leave the nest to stretch their legs and run around. Life in the arctic means these chicks have to grow up fast, as the first snow is only a few months away. They’ll spend the next month strutting around before eventually taking their first flight.
When the snowy owl chick’s flight feathers come in, they spend some time hopping around, flapping their wings and practicing flight. They improve a bit each day until eventually lifting off before winter.
Watch as a female snowy owl watches over her hatching owlets...
DIET
Unlike most owls, snowy owls hunt during the day because of continuous daylight in the Arctic. They mainly eat small animals like lemmings and rabbits, but will occasionally switch to small birds like ptarmigan, ducks, and geese. They rely on their keen senses of sight and hearing to locate prey and will often swallow small prey in one gulp. A typical daily meal plan for a snowy owl will be between 3-5 lemmings, their favorite prey.
When prey is scarce, snowy owls may migrate south of their normal range, which is known as irruption. This is common for other northern-wintering bird species, because they share common prey with other bird species as well as small predators like weasels and foxes. During extreme times of scarcity, snowy owls can be seen as far south as Texas and Florida.
Check out this stealthy snowy owl as it silently soars towards an unsuspecting vole...
SNOWY OWL COLORING SHEET
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Information obtained from: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Denali Education Center, Alaska Native Knowledge Network, Project Snowstorm, Owl Research Institute, IUCN
