SNOWY OWL Nyctea scandiaca

Snowy owls live mainly in areas of tundra and marshes in the arctic regions and are rare vagrants to this country. The last known pair nested on the island of Fetlar in the Shetland Islands in 1975 and they are occasionally sighted there.

The feathers of the snowy owl are mainly white to help them blend into their snowy background. Both sexes have very distinctive yellow eyes and feathered feet. The females, which are slightly larger than the male, have more grey-brown speckling which gives them camouflage while sitting on the nest site on the ground. The males can often be pure white.

As they are one of the larger species of owl, they are able to catch prey up to the size of an arctic hare. Their main prey species however are rodents, such as lemmings, and birds such as ducks and gulls. They will also eat frogs, worms and insects.Snowy owls nest on a rough scraped out area on the ground, using little or no nesting material. They lay between 4 to 8 white eggs once a year around mid-May, which are incubated for around 32 days by the female. During this time, the male will bring her food so that she does not have to leave the eggs or chicks unattended. Because they next on the ground, snowy owl nests are open to predation from arctic foxes, skunks and gulls. If the nest is approached by a predator, the female will perform a “distraction display”, pretending to have a broken wing, in order to lure the predator away from the nest. One or both of the birds flop to the ground on their belly and flap around clumsily with outstretched wings to make the predator target them instead of the nest. The “injured” bird then takes the predator by surprise by suddenly jumping up and attacking it, thus scaring it away!The young snowy owls fledge after 43-50 days.

We presently have an eight year old female who came from Edinburgh Zoo and a two year old male from Camperdown Wildlife Park in Dundee. They share their enclosure with Arnie and Solo the arctic foxes and defends their territory and food very decisively!