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Snowy Owl - N Uist (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MarkHows
- Start date
MarkHows
Mostly Mammals
I did not get to see the owl despite my long trip due to a goose shoot held on the site just before my arrival. The owl has not been seen since despite lots of birders looking for it since sunday afternoon.
Just thought I would let you know in case anyone was planning a trip
Mark
Just thought I would let you know in case anyone was planning a trip
Mark
Michael Frankis
conehead
Sounds bad. I hope it hasn't been shot, but I fear the worst. About the same size as a goose, tame and conspicuous, and lots of these shooting parties, the participants will just blaze away at anything and everything.
I hope the police are investigating.
Michael
I hope the police are investigating.
Michael
Grousemore
Senior Member
Thanks for letting people know,Mark and commiserations on not managing to see the Owl.
promisingplayer
Active member
The snowy owl is such a beautiful bird. My boyfriend Les and I unexpectdly came across a snowy owl while bird watching at Fort Stevens State Park in Astoria, Oregon in mid-February, 2002. It was amazing!! The snowy owl wasn't even on the birdlist that we had for that area! We watched it for about half an hour. Actually, he was watching us, too! When he flew away, he looked so majestic. Les was truly amazed as it was the first owl he had seen.
Good luck in finding the snowy owl. I hope he's still around.
Kate
Good luck in finding the snowy owl. I hope he's still around.
Kate
Michael Frankis
conehead
Yep, there's no lemmings in Britain, and lemmings comprise something like 80% of their normal prey. There also isn't really any suitable habitat, even the Cairngorm plateau is only marginally arctic.
One pair did breed on Fetlar (Shetland) for a few years (I think about 1968-75). Several times, they were helped out by the warden, as quite often the weather was so bad (fog/rain) for a week or more at a go, that they couldn't hunt and the young would have starved without the warden bringing dead rabbits and GBB Gull chicks to the nest. Just goes to show, that without help, they would have failed, proving the habitat was not really suitable for them.
Michael
One pair did breed on Fetlar (Shetland) for a few years (I think about 1968-75). Several times, they were helped out by the warden, as quite often the weather was so bad (fog/rain) for a week or more at a go, that they couldn't hunt and the young would have starved without the warden bringing dead rabbits and GBB Gull chicks to the nest. Just goes to show, that without help, they would have failed, proving the habitat was not really suitable for them.
Michael
Edward
Umimmak
No lemmings in Iceland either Michael which explains why Snowy Owls, despite the abundance of suitable habitat, only breed occasionally here, although it's possible that some are present here all year. A friend of mine observed a Snowy Owl at a former breeding site last summer prey mainly on Pink-footed Geese goslings and also Long-tailed Duck.
It remains very high on my most wanted list in Iceland, ridiculous that I still haven't seen one. Good luck Mark.
E
It remains very high on my most wanted list in Iceland, ridiculous that I still haven't seen one. Good luck Mark.
E
