Snowy Owl Spotted Perched On Bermuda Roof

November 30, 2013

A Snowy Owl was seen by a group of Rubis workers on Thursday on top of an oil storage tank, and it was later found on a house roof near Gibbs Hill lighthouse by Tim Brewer, and photographed by Andrew Dobson.

A post on the Bermuda Audubon Society’s Facebook page asked people to continue to report sightings, and noted: “There have only been 3 records in the past 30 years and about a further 10 historical records.

“Snowy Owls move south from their Arctic breeding grounds with some reaching the US East Coast and accidentally to Bermuda.”

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According to National Geographic, “The snowy owl is a patient hunter that perches and waits to identify its prey before soaring off in pursuit. Snowy owls have keen eyesight and great hearing, which can help them find prey that is invisible under thick vegetation or snowcover. The owls deftly snatch their quarry with their sharp talons.

“A snowy owl’s preferred meal is lemmings—many lemmings. An adult may eat more than 1,600 lemmings a year, or three to five every day. The birds supplement their diet with rabbits, rodents, birds, and fish.

“These magnificent owls sometimes remain year-round in their northern breeding grounds, but they are frequent migrants to Canada, the northern United States, Europe, and Asia.”

- Photo courtesy of Andrew Dobson

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Category: All, Environment, News

Comments (28)

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  1. hold on says:

    i hope they like pigeon

  2. Boom Bye Bye says:

    beautiful bird!

  3. ISO200 says:

    Lucky for the owl that David Wingate has retired!

  4. Triangle Drifter says:

    Well, if it likes lemmings it has come to the right place. Quite a few here. Too bad the Bermuda variety is a tad on the large size for it to catch.

    Oh well, there are plenty of feral chickens & pigeons around.

    Beautiful bird. Think about how long it must have been inflight to get here. No 2 hours for it. More like 2 days.

  5. Time Shall Tell says:

    Who said id doesn’t Snow in Bermuda??

  6. Hp says:

    Oh good my letter to hog warts must have arrived!!!!

  7. female says:

    I have seen an owl like this at night fly across Cavendish Heights. It was amazing.

  8. Off Island says:

    That is a beautiful bird. The last time I saw an owl like that was back in 1986. Behind Sand Piper GGuest House on South Shore I watch it take off and fly over to the old training school.

  9. In Mark's Opinion says:

    I saw this owl sitting on a roof and being chased by crows in St. David’s on Tuesday.

  10. ??? says:

    “Snowy Owls move south from their Arctic breeding grounds with some reaching the US East Coast and accidentally to Bermuda.”

    “Umm…where am I???”

    Clearly a male owl…lost and won’t ask for directions!

    • Triangle Drifter says:

      Clearly a male owl…lost and won’t ask for directions!

      There we go….by far the most likely reason the bird wound up here.

      That, or he is an arctic taxi owl which refuses to use GPS.

      • Whistling Frog says:

        Well you wrong… Its a female, the males has less black in their feathers .

        • ??? says:

          It was meant tongue-in-cheek. I’m no expert on owls.

          Geesh, some people take everything so literally.

  11. Last time ... says:

    Last time I remember a snowy owl finding it’s way to Bermuda, David Wingate shot it because it was preying on cahows.

    • Lili says:

      I have been told this one has also, or will also be shot so that it can’t kill any Cahows. I hope that was incorrect information. Is it not possible that it could be darted, trapped and then housed at the BAMZ? Can someone enlighten?

  12. Chronically Cynical says:

    “BERMUDA??? But my GPS said I was headed for Southampton, Massachusetts…”

  13. Nanette says:

    My mom saw a car in the yard and went outside to see why they were there and found people with cameras and binoculars, they wouldn’t get out of the car because of the dog, but when they did they let her see this amazing owl on the roof and then it flew they think to South P.

    • Truth Teller says:

      How do they know he was headed for the South Pole-did he file a flight plan?

  14. mikasa ackerman says:

    It was delivering my Hogwarts acceptance letter…

  15. nice bird says:

    someones pet escaped

  16. Great White North says:

    It’s a young snowy. A male doesn’t turn pure white until it matures.

    Sad to see it down there…my backyard in Saskatchewan, Canada, is more to its liking.