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Snowy Owl Return Season
"Owls are mysterious creatures. They're vigilant and they hold the power to see what others cannot. This makes them a symbol of wisdom and mystery."
~ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling, 1997
Whooo … whoooo …! This delicately shaded tartan is a stunning homage to the snowy owl, mirroring both its plumage and the bright and shadowy hues of its Arctic tundra home. These majestic avian predators are marvels of evolutionary adaptation, their dense, feathered bodies built to endure the harshest winter temperatures. Unlike most owls, snowy owls are diurnal, hunting in the dazzling Arctic daylight with eyes sharp enough to spot prey from great distances. Their white plumage not only serves as perfect camouflage against the snow but also makes them one of the rare creatures that blend seamlessly into the icy landscape.
Migratory by nature, they sometimes travel thousands of miles south in winter, an unpredictable movement known by many names—incursion, irruption, invasion, great flight, nomadism, vagrant migration, and wandering. These journeys occasionally bring them into more temperate regions, delighting birdwatchers lucky enough to witness their visit. By March or April, they take to the skies once more, returning to their Arctic breeding grounds.
One remarkable journey occurred in the winter of 2014, when at least nine snowy owls, caught in a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, found refuge aboard a ship. They remained on board until reaching the shores of Spain, France, and eventually the Netherlands—a truly extraordinary voyage for these Arctic wanderers! 🖤 🤍 🖤 ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ 🦉🦉🦉
By designer Carol A.L. Martin, this is a tartan representation of the beautiful Snowy Owl. This design reflects the designer's love of birds, snow and Northern Canada.
The snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a large, white owl, native to Arctic regions in North America and Eurasia. Younger snowy owls start with darker plumage, which turns lighter as they get older. Males are almost all white, while females have more flecks of gray plumage.
Snowy owls nest in the Arctic tundra of the northernmost stretches of Alaska, Canada, and Eurasia, though they have been reported as far south as the American states of Texas, Georgia, the American Gulf states, southernmost Russia, and northern China. They are attracted to open areas like coastal dunes and prairies that appear somewhat similar to tundra.
In North America, very large numbers of Snowy Owls migrate south of their breeding grounds during Arctic winters to southern Canada and the northern U.S. (though remain in the Arctic). This is often referred to as an incursion, irruption, invasion, great flight, nomadism, vagrant migration, and wandering. By Mar or Apr, Snowy Owls begin to move north, back to Arctic tundra. Occasionally, large scale movements of owls occur (which some scientists believe are linked to the lemming population, their major food) though this phenomenon is still not well understood. During the irruption migration of winter 2013/2014 from the Great Lakes to the northeast U.S., at least nine Snowy Owls boarded a ship during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Apparently, the owls stayed on board until arriving off the coast of Spain, France and eventually the Netherlands.
Although owls in general have figured in favorite works of literature, such as Archimedes, Merlyn's familiar in T.H. White's The Once and Future King, Master Glimfeather in C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair, and 'Owl,' from A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh, the snowy owl has more recently risen to literary character owl royalty as Hedwig, Harry Potter's pet owl.
For a fairly recent video capture of a snowy owl flying towards a traffic camera, click the snowy owl!