"Snowies" have been
seen in south-central United States
JANE GEORGE
Snowy owls have become the new
Canadian “snow birds” this winter, migrating south of the border in great
numbers, and some of the birds, called ookpiks in Inuktitut, have gone as far
south as the state of Missouri where their presence on power poles, hay bales
and fences has attracted a lot of attention.
In Missouri—more than 3,800
kilometres south of north Baffin, where many snowy owls nest and breed—the big
owls, which can weigh up to more than six pounds and have a wingspan of nearly
five feet, find a varied diet: they may eat rabbits, squirrels and other
rodents, mink and muskrats, and waterfowl and other birds, which they find
“usually by sitting on a fence post or from other vantage point and looking and
listening for prey,” the Missouri Department of Conservation said in a recent
update on snowy owls.
No comments:
Post a Comment