Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Snowy Owl

Snow Owls are active during the daytime, from dawn to dusk
They have a direct, strong, and steady flight with deliberate,
powerful downstrokes and quick upstrokes. They make short flights,
close to the ground, from perch to perch, and usually perches 
on the ground or a low post. During hot weather,
they can thermoregulate by panting and spreading their wings. 
Snowy Owls are very aggressive when defending their nest. 

The snowy owl is a patient hunter that perches and waits to 
identify its prey before soaring off in pursuit. Snowy owls 
have keen eyesight and great hearing, which can help 
them find prey that is invisible under thick vegetation 
or snow cover. The owls deftly snatch their quarry with 
their sharp talons.

A snowy owl's preferred meal is lemmings—many lemmings. 
An adult may eat more than 1,600 lemmings a year, 
or three to five every day. The birds supplement their 
diet with rabbits, rodents, birds, and fish.
These magnificent owls sometimes remain year-round 
in their northern breeding grounds, but they are 
frequent migrants to Canada, the northern United States, 
Europe, and Asia.