Party like a princess...

So times are a changing here in the King household. Almost 2 teens live here, and soon to be a bunch of pre-teens to follow. :) Trying to...

Saturday, January 18, 2014

the snowy owl.

my titles are so creative, aren't they?
the snowy owl.

we have a snowy owl that is hanging around here.
it is awesome.
i have never seen such a beautiful creature.
really. it has captivated me.



this picture was taken thru my car window...i was afraid he was going to fly away...and he did as i got closer.

this was friday morning around 8 a.m.
he has been spotted around the neighborhood.
infact. he was first seen on sunday, on our neighbors roof, and then on the baseball field,
but by the time we got home sunday afternoon, he was gone...

matt took this picture today...at 10:30 a.m. when he came home from goose hunting...there he was...
but was gone, when we got home from basketball games at lunchtime...


i feel like our compost pile is now feeding:
a) coyotes
b) bald eagles
and now
c) a snowy owl.

whoo.hoo.

okay. so the kids are playing so nicely, so i thought i would make good use of my time and research my new friend,
the snowy owl.

those of you who know me, know this is COMPLETELY UNTYPICAL of me.
i do not like animals.
not fond of them at all in fact.
sure. i grew up on a farm. now i live on a farm.

and NOW i am researching a snowy owl
another full circle event in my life. :)

some things i found out via the internet...mostly national geographic are:

* these large owls breed on the Arctic tundra, and northern most stretches of Alaska, Canada and Eurasia
* this year (2013/2014) is the largest mass southern migration of the snowy owl ever seen (thousands)...i don't really
know how they know all this?? A snowy owl was seen in Florida, 1st sighting there in decades.
* Females will lay a clutch of 3-11 eggs, clutch size depends on food availability...some years females may not lay
any eggs.
* Parents are territorial and will defend nests against all comers- even WOLVES. :)
* Young owls- especially males, get whiter as they get older. Females are darker, with dusky spotting and never
become totally white.
* Patient hunters. Perches and waits for prey. Keen eyesight and great hearing.
* Carnivore: preferring lemmings, but will supplement diet with: rabbits, rodents, birds and fish. (interesting...
we have seen tons of rabbits around here, until just last week...hmmmmm...)
* Lemming availability may determine the extent of Southern migration. Eat 3-5 lemmings a day, or 7-12 field mice
a day. (Wonder why he's here?) He has found a great place to feast on several different meals of choice here. :)
* Snowy owls, are diurnal- they hunt and are active both day and night. They are most active at dawn and dusk...which
is also interesting...we have always seen the snowy owl at morning or mid-day...
* Nests on the ground, and are low flyers. (My very first question was wondering why we are seeing him on the ground,
or perched very low...this is why. was awesome to see him fly away...his wing span is huge, and to see such a
huge wingspan so low to the ground was really neat).

So...there you go.

We got home from church today, and found a note from my aunt and uncle from VA...they were passing thru and decided to try to spot our snowy owl. So sorry you didn't see him. We haven't seen him at all today. But so tickled you stopped by. Sorry we missed you Vic and Christina!!

I have several people requesting calls the next time our snowy owl appears...we'll see how that goes. :))


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