Snowy Owl

My honey and I went for a walk at Merrill Creek Reservoir yesterday, to see if we could visit the snowy owl reported there for months now. A female juvenile, apparently.

Brr, it was very cold! High of 33F in general, but certainly much colder with wind chill across the lake and triply so atop the dam.

From which vantage we did indeed see the snowy owl, nestled among the rocks on the downside of the 300-foot-high dam. She looked like just another rock to the naked eye, shone white by sunlight. But, bleary-eyed because of the wind, through the binoculars, I could make out her body and face as she turned her head this way and that, keeping tabs on us spectators far up top (ourselves and two loud ladies with a dog) and photographers far down below.


Snowy owls nest on open Arctic tundra, so I’m sure our cold isn’t fazing her at all. They are true Arctic animals, living in the very northernmost bits of Canada and Greenland, spreading throughout Canada in winter. It’s amazing to think this cute little fluff ball visitor comes from such far and foreboding places, which humans find near impossible to inhabit.

Unfortunately we read that, though solitary snowy owls are sometimes seen in the United States in winter, they usually are disoriented, stressed, and may starve. We hope for the best for our Merrill Creek visitor.

We also saw a little flock of dark-eyed juncos, slate color.