Neighborhood shutterbug Roy Powell captured a beautiful visitor to Cal Anderson Park Thursday night. This snowy barred owl seems to have sat on this park bench before. Powell said he spotted the bird around 10:30 PM.
In November of 2012, a female yearling snowy owl showed up on 11th Ave making a meal of an ill-fated gull. That young owl required rescue and, after rehabilitation, was released back to the wild in a well-attended celebration at Volunteer Park.
While barred owls make areas around the Hill their permanent homes, the snowy owl is a seasonal visitor to an area as far south as Seattle. Young snowy owls — like many others — regularly return to Washington and points south to winter during the harshest months of life in the Arctic. They are daytime hunters so keep your eyes open and head swiveling. At night, they apparently like to hang out and watch the world go by from a park bench.
UPDATE: Never trust a journalist to ID birds. What about barred owls, you ask? The barred birds are of a mammal-like bulk (21″ tall) “and relatively unfazed by human presence–they will stretch, emit wisdom, yawn, gambol, sleep, be serene, faire la toilette, hunt, etc. within 10-15 feet of a person.”
That’s a Barred Owl, not a Snowy. Just as cool!
That’s what somebody else just told me, also. Saw white when I wanted to. Now I see brown. Still a pretty bird. Less interesting post, though :( Update!
See? The owl was not what it seemed – good bird!