Not cruising per se, but today after going up to the boat in Bellingham last night to do a few things we continued on this morning into BC to Boundary Bay just across the border.* We had heard there was a migration of Snowy Owls underway and that the prairie flats around the bay were a good place to see them as they took a break from their trip north to the arctic for spring breeding.
The photos I took don't do them justice.* They are one of the largest owls and they are also the heaviest.* Their wingspan is five feet.* We'd never seen them before so it was a real treat to get to see not just a few but fifteen in one place.* They hunt small mammals like voles and field mice, and in the Atlantic region, lemmings.** We read that a mature Snowy Owl needs to eat seven to sixteen or so mice/voles/lemmings a day to maintain their strength during their migration.
While we were there a big male flew in right over our heads.* Too fast for me to get a picture but it was a bit eerie seeing this big bird sweep right over us about ten feet up and not hear a sound.* We've had eagles and ravens do this up north and the sound of their wings passing through the air is actually quite loud.* The owl was dead silent.
The birds were all facing into the wind that was coming off the bay but they would periodically swivel their head around 180 degrees to check on us.
-- Edited by Marin on Monday 20th of February 2012 12:32:05 AM
The photos I took don't do them justice.* They are one of the largest owls and they are also the heaviest.* Their wingspan is five feet.* We'd never seen them before so it was a real treat to get to see not just a few but fifteen in one place.* They hunt small mammals like voles and field mice, and in the Atlantic region, lemmings.** We read that a mature Snowy Owl needs to eat seven to sixteen or so mice/voles/lemmings a day to maintain their strength during their migration.
While we were there a big male flew in right over our heads.* Too fast for me to get a picture but it was a bit eerie seeing this big bird sweep right over us about ten feet up and not hear a sound.* We've had eagles and ravens do this up north and the sound of their wings passing through the air is actually quite loud.* The owl was dead silent.
The birds were all facing into the wind that was coming off the bay but they would periodically swivel their head around 180 degrees to check on us.
-- Edited by Marin on Monday 20th of February 2012 12:32:05 AM