The magnificent snowy owl is one of the most sought-after birds for birders and photographers in North America. These large, white owls breed in the Arctic but irregularly move south in the winter in search of food. When they do so, they delight observers lucky enough to glimpse them with their stunning plumage and charismatic personalities. Seeing a snowy owl in the wild is an experience like no other for any lover of birds.
What are snowy owls?
Snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus) are large, white owls that breed in the high Arctic. Adults have bright white plumage with variable black barring. Females also have dark spots on their wings. Juveniles are darker overall with more extensive barring. These hardy northern owls have thick feathers and dense, plumose feathering on their legs and feet that act as insulation. This allows them to withstand the bitter cold of the Arctic winter.
Snowy owls are diurnal hunters, meaning they are active during the day. They mainly eat lemmings and other small rodents but will also prey on birds, fish, and even larger animals like hares and foxes. Snowy owls are opportunistic hunters that will eat any prey they can capture.
Where do snowy owls live?
During the breeding season from May to September, snowy owls are found exclusively in the high Arctic tundra. Their breeding range stretches across Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, and Russia.
In winter, snowy owls head south in search of food. However, they are highly nomadic and movements are irregular from year to year. Some winters they may stay put in the Arctic if prey is abundant. Other years, large numbers head south if food is scarce.
Why do snowy owls move south in winter?
Snowy owls are tied intimately to populations of small rodents like lemmings in their Arctic breeding grounds. Lemming populations fluctuate wildly, rising and crashing every 3-5 years. In years when lemmings crash, snowy owls may starve or fail to breed successfully.
This scarcity of food triggers irregular eruptions and mass movements out of the Arctic down into southern Canada and the northern US. The years when snowy owls move south in highest numbers are called “invasions”. The last major snowy owl invasion occurred in the winter of 2013-2014.
Where can I see snowy owls in the Lower 48 states?
During invasion years, snowy owls show up across the northern US from the Great Plains to the Northeast and Great Lakes regions. They rarely make it further south than northern Missouri, Kentucky, and Virginia.
Here are the best places find snowy owls in the Lower 48 states during irruption years:
Great Plains
In the Great Plains states of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota, snowy owls find open rural habitats that resemble the Arctic tundra. They can often be found perched on hay bales, fence posts, or other elevated perches as they scan for prey. The best locations to spot them are:
- Rural areas of northwest and west central Minnesota
- Rural areas of northern Iowa
- The Dakotas east of the Missouri River
- Central Nebraska near the Platte River
Great Lakes Region
Along the Great Lakes in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, snowy owls find home on agricultural lands, open fields, dunes along the lakes, harbors, and ice shelves. The top snowy owl hotspots here are:
- Central Wisconsin from Green Bay to Superior
- Western Michigan from Muskegon to the Upper Peninsula
- Northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana
- Northwest Illinois north of Peoria
- Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island, Ontario
Northeastern States
In the northeastern USA, the best chance to find snowy owls are along the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to Maine. Look for them in coastal habitats like beaches, dunes, marshes, and harbors. Prime locations include:
- Cape May, New Jersey
- Eastern Long Island, New York
- Plum Island and Cape Ann, Massachusetts
- Casco Bay, Maine
They also turn up occasionally at inland locations such as airports, agricultural fields, and reservoirs.
When is the best time to see snowy owls?
The peak months to see snowy owls in the Lower 48 are December, January, and February. However, during irruption years, some owls may arrive as early as late October or November. Lingering birds have been recorded into late March or April.
Mid-winter is typically the best time to find them. Early in the season, the owls are still dispersed and only a few pioneer birds reach the US. By January, more birds have streamed down from Canada and are settling into regular haunts. Late in the season, food resources diminish and surviving owls begin migrating back north.
What causes snowy owl invasions?
As mentioned earlier, crashes in lemming populations trigger snowy owls to vacate the Arctic tundra for southern Canada and the northern US. But why do lemming populations crash so dramatically every few years?
Lemming population cycles are driven largely by predation but are also influenced by food availability, territorial behaviour, stress, and reproductive hormones. These factors interact in complex ways that are not fully understood.
When lemming populations peak, predators like snowy owls produce many young and increase in number. The abundant predators then suppress lemming numbers. Once the lemmings crash, the owl population declines from starvation, which allows lemmings to eventually recover. This boom-and-bust cycle repeats itself every 3-5 years.
Climate change may also be playing a role in increasing the frequency of snowy owl invasions. Warmer temperatures cause more frequent icy rain events that can freeze the tundra and make it harder for lemmings to forage. Declining sea ice from climate change negatively impacts other snowy owl prey like sea ducks. These factors may exacerbate food shortages and lead more often to mass movements out of the Arctic.
How to see snowy owls
Here are some tips for successfully spotting snowy owls during winter:
- Scan open habitats like fields, marshes, dunes, and harbors for large white birds perched on posts, rocks, mounds, or other high points.
- Check the tops of buildings, barns, silos, light poles, and other structures.
- Search airports, which mimic tundra habitat and often host wintering owls.
- Spotting scopes and binoculars are essential gear for viewing distant snowy owls.
- Be extremely cautious if accessing private property or military bases like airports.
- Practice ethical birding by keeping your distance, limiting time viewing owls, and avoiding flushing the owl or provoking reactions.
- Tell fellow birders about your sighting but do not disclose the exact location on public forums.
Above all, be patient and persistent. Snowy owls can be challenging to find, but that makes every sighting all the more rewarding.
Other tips for snowy owl viewing
Here are a few final tips for successfully viewing snowy owls this winter:
- Join local birding groups on Facebook to get recent reports of snowy owl sightings.
- Check eBird for recent submissions to find hotspots near you.
- Look for the owls near dawn or dusk when they are most active hunting.
- Pay attention to weather forecasts. Snowy owls are more active before or after storms.
- Stake out previously known hotspots from past invasions.
Conclusion
Seeing a snowy owl in the wild is an unforgettable experience. During winter invasion years, you stand an excellent chance of observing one of these magnificent Arctic owls in the northern US and southern Canada. Just be sure to view them responsibly and respectfully. This ensures snowy owls and birders can continue enjoying these special encounters for years to come. What are you waiting for? Get out there and start searching! The snowy owl of a lifetime awaits you this winter.