• Thursday-What'sUP May 12 - 11:50 pm

Snow in the Copper Country in May? Snowy Owl that is, this one spotted by Carl Kiilunen, napping on someone's rooftop. I found some interesting facts about this species, that differ from other owls, such as this guy here tends to live by himself, except when mating. A tiny hollowed out hole in the ground is what he calls home, although they do like to perch in trees when hunting for dinner. That's another big difference, the Snowy Owl, is NOT nocturnal and actually does its feeding around dawn and dusk, which reduces competition with the creatures of the night. There is a similarity with other owls though, they communicate with shrieks and hoots. Kind of like a group of kids on the playground!

Hey Mary, Glad to hear you had a good birthday. And I'm glad I found out it was your birthday too. You sure did get a lot of good wishes eh:) I envy your trip to the Hungarian Falls. We'll be there for Memorial Day and I'm hoping to make it UP there. My brother and his wife are coming too so I figure if I can't find them, he surely will.

I love snowy owls. My husband is a big fan of them. They're gorgeous, aren't they? Here's hoping that's the only snow you guys UP there see this week.

Wow! I have never seen a snowy owl except in
captivity, which hardly counts... Thanks for the
information about them. I will show the picture
to my class. A couple of the kids have just
finished reading "Hoot" and others have seen
the movie, so owls are hot topics.

Cool shot of the owl. We have a folk tale involving an owl. Will stick this in the module as to "other information."

I've been waiting to see a picture of the snow owl! Thanks for posting it...and congrats to the photographer for getting the shot! I read there was an elusive snow owl in West Hancock when I was home in March but was disappointed the paper didn't publish a photo. Interesting facts and Belated Happy Birthday Mary.

Whoa, have a look at this cutie... ;-)

I remember when I was young seeing snowy owls quite often around the neighborhood perched high in a tree or on our radio tower. We also had a cat that was scared to death everytime she heard an owl "hoot". She would hide under the bed and usually not come out until morning. I'm thinking when she was an outdoor kitty she had a traumatic experience with an owl, or something...

The owl pics are Awesome!

HELLO,. THAT IS A GORGEOUS CRITTER. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OWLS, WHICH LEAD A MUCH MORE "COVERT" LIFE STYLE, CAUSE WE CAN ONLY HEAR THEM...I BUILT A BIIIGGG OWL HOUSE WHICH LOOKS LIKE THE SQUIRRELS MAY WANT TO "SQUAT" IN IT. WISH I WAS IN COPPER HARBOR.
JEFF LC

We have a very small owl down here and his/her home is a hollow in the ground. It is called a Burrowing Owl. It is interesting to note the Snowy Owl lives in a similar abode.

Oh wow, what a gorgeous fella, eh. I love owls, but have never seen a snow owl in the wild. I'll definately have to take a closer look, the next time I am in the UP ;)

That owl looks like he doesn't give a hoot! (Smirk)

FloridaKeys(Erica)--

The children's book "Hoot" by Carl Hiassen is
about your Florida burrowing owls.

An inner city Detroit plumbing supply house had a stuffed Snow Owl up in the high rafters since the 1930's, and no one realized it was a crime to even possess such a "trophy" until a DNR guy walked in one day to purchase supplies and enlighten the help. I don't know what ever happened to the owl, but it don't live here anymore..........

I hear Hubbell has penty of "wild" rabbits this guy could help
take care of. The lumber company I worked for years ago had
one such visitor who (tee hee) made our shed his home with out
coersion. A concerned but unaware customer called the DNR to
report us. All's well that ends well, watching the owl do his thing
got us through at least one slow week before he moved on.

The warmth of the asphalt roof feels good, probably, after a long, cold winter in the snow.