Hi folks, I've been eyeing the Snowy Owl discussion from afar, and having seen a few healthy and not-so-healthy Snowy Owls in the north east the past few years I've been wondering why the El Paso bird is sticking around.
>From what I gather, such birds are frequently unhealthy (e.g. suffering from infections picked up in their new southerly and urbanized environs) and/or they tend to be significantly underweight. After looking at Ron Green's great pics at http://www.greensphotoimages.com/newimages (and those from a few other folks), I was wondering if anyone else thought this bird looked a little skinny?? I've not seen any healthy Snowy Owls in warm weather, so maybe it's just not as fluffed up as what I'm used to seeing under wintery NY winter conditions? Given the homeowner is feeding the bird, maybe someone can provide him a remotely readable digital scale to mount on his roof?? ;) Then again, if the owl is being fed rats that too could explain why it's staying put - finding a spot with food and water might also keep the bird around. Or both reasons. Finally, Tony mentioned aging and sexing the bird... taking a quick look at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/snowy.htm and http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/JFO/v051n02/p0149-p0160.pdf I'd take the thin, lighter brown markings on the bird along with the very white head, neck and upper breast to indicate that it's probably a male - not quite sure on age, but perhaps an adult? I'd love to see more definitive details on age and sex determination posted from someone w/ better resources on hand ;) Good birding, Paul Hurtado Pueblo, CO (currently Ithaca, NY) (... ok, make that Columbus, OH)
