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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Snowy Owl at Dulles Airport
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Showing posts 1 - 11 of 11, (reverse)
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 02/06/2006 08:22:18 AM · #1
Did anyone in the area see it? Or better yet get a shot?

These guys aren't supposed to leave the arctic.
 02/06/2006 08:27:47 AM · #2
Snowy Owls are often found outside the arctic, there are lots in Newfoundland.

//www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?pid=1&id=76&cid=7

Edited to add link where you can see their winter range which extends into northern USA.

Message edited by author 2006-02-06 08:29:14.
 02/06/2006 10:07:21 AM · #3
Yeah, we have them around Minnesota, too. I just saw some really nice shots on a local board I read.
 02/06/2006 10:10:04 AM · #4
Several years ago they even made it south into southern Colorado. I saw three in one day. They are so beautiful in the wild.

Message edited by author 2006-02-06 10:11:06.
 02/06/2006 10:16:01 AM · #5
Thanks for the link Karen.

According to that article, on the east coast of the US, they can be present one year and then not for many years.
 02/06/2006 11:06:52 AM · #6
i've only seen one owl in the wild..freaked me out cause i dont like birds. i dont like the way they stare at me with those twitchy eyes. also whenever i'm outside it seems like they are always trying to fly at me, people think i'm crazy when i'm running from a bird.
 02/06/2006 11:17:00 AM · #7
Originally posted by queanbeez:
... people think i'm crazy when i'm running from a bird.

He-he. I can picture that in my head - not you specifically, just a crazy lady running from the birds. ;^)
 02/06/2006 11:24:33 AM · #8
Originally posted by glad2badad:
Originally posted by queanbeez:
... people think i'm crazy when i'm running from a bird.

He-he. I can picture that in my head - not you specifically, just a crazy lady running from the birds. ;^)


Makes me think Alfred Hitchcock.
 02/06/2006 11:47:34 AM · #9
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Did anyone in the area see it? Or better yet get a shot?

These guys aren't supposed to leave the arctic.


I'm fairly close to Dulles, and I saw what I think was a snowy owl the other night. But it was in the Harry Potter movie on TV, lol.

Seriously Colette, where did you hear about a snowy in these parts? Might be worth a little investigation to try to get a chance to shoot one.
02/06/2006 12:01:49 PM · #10
Originally posted by coolhar:
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Did anyone in the area see it? Or better yet get a shot?

These guys aren't supposed to leave the arctic.


I'm fairly close to Dulles, and I saw what I think was a snowy owl the other night. But it was in the Harry Potter movie on TV, lol.

Seriously Colette, where did you hear about a snowy in these parts? Might be worth a little investigation to try to get a chance to shoot one.


CBC news was reporting it. It's not on their website but doing a google search brough up a couple of interesting links. Search on "snowy owl" + dulles

Message edited by author 2006-02-06 12:13:19.
 02/06/2006 12:45:10 PM · #11
This is in fact what is known as an eruption year for the Snowy Owl. Every decade or so, sometimes less, Snowy Owls move south in the winter. It is unclear whether they do so because of lack of food, as some speculate, or if it is because of high survival rates of the hatchlings that then need to look for new territory. They are actually quite nomadic. Normally what you will see are juvenile males (they are darker and more speckled). Very seldom do you see a pure white owl (old adult). This winter in Washington State we have numerous Snowy Owls sightings when in a normal year we may only have 6-10.

As for Dulles it is possible, although that is quite far south for them. Out west there are reports as far south as San Francisco this year.

Here is a shot I took last month on Fir Island in Wahington.



Message edited by author 2006-02-06 12:45:20.
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