Yesterday I joined the area’s birding club for their annual owl prowl – a trip around the rural roads in search of the owls that frequent the area. Last year’s event was held at night and we were able to hear the call of the screech owl. Unfortunately he never came close enough for pictures, but just hearing the sound up close was amazing.

This year, we were lucky enough to spot a snowy owl, off in the distance. The snowy is a large owl, typically up to 28 inches long, with a 60 inch wingspan. An arctic bird, the snowy owl does move south in the winter, and this winter has been noted as a larger than usual migration year, with thousands of these stunning birds being spotted throughout Southern Canada and the United States. Their diet consists mainly of mice and lemmings – up to 12 mice a day and 1,600 lemmings per year!

This was taken from quite a distance, the binoculars made a difference, but he can be seen in the first picture, sitting on the ground.

We also spotted a couple of hawks, and for a time, were observed by a family of deer.

For an update on the entire event visit: http://strathroybirdclub.wordpress.com/

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