My Mom walked right up to this Snowy Owl with her little point and shoot, clicking until he thought for sure he would get scared and fly away before she got too close. My Mom actually lost her nerve before the owl!!

We super rarely see these guys except maybe flying overhead between the south and the Artic. I figure he was probably so exhausted from flying that he just didn't bother flying away but a bird expert told me that they so rarely see man up North that they often have little fear. Probably a combination of exhaustion and "meh, I could take her."

Definitely a once in a lifetime shot for her.

That is quite spectacular!

You know, it seems the larger predatory birds have a smug 'tude. My dad and I passed a hawk on a golf course, probably within 10 ft of it, and the hawk hardly registered our existence. Shortly after that he took flight and buzzed a guy on the nearby green, flew at head height and almost clipped the guys head with its wing.

Wow, what a shot!

Incredibly beautiful bird.

That owl is just begging to perch on my falconry glove that I don't have yet.

Hey, its Hedwig from Harry Potter!

Beautiful!!

Awesome!

I like how he's looking backwards. Probably trying to help CV find a falconry glove.

Beautiful picture! Beautiful bird!

Wow, that's a beautiful shot Andrew.

Wow, that's really a gorgeous bird. How far south do they migrate?

Great picture! Thanks for sharing.

Great pic.

Rick, they don't migrate.

Apparently they can, but it's not a regular or even common thing. The funny part is that if they reach PEI, that would be considered a southward migration. They really need to schedule their vacations better. Our beaches have no hotties on them at all this time of year.

Taken from National Geographic site.
"Though snowy owls usually remain in the Arctic all year, they sometimes migrate south into Canada, the northern United States, Europe and Asia."

I also learned they eat up to five lemmings a day. Poor guys don't die enough by leaping over cliffs???

I wouldn't call shifting a bit South Migrating, not to mention I have seen them around here any time of the year which was why I said they don't migrate. I guess I could be seeing them on their migrations; today is a good day I learned something new.

amazing!

The word is out on the bird watching boards that this is an "irruptive year" for Snowy Owls. Meaning that they will be observed further from the Arctic than normal. These events normally last for one season and won't be repeated for some time. No one is really sure why the irruptions occur. We had Pine Siskins 2 years back for the entire winter. Never saw one around here before or since.