Granddad’s Camera
Snowy owl, as it appears in the game

No.112 · Birds · Rare visitor

Snowy owl

Bubo scandiacus

A huge white owl of the Arctic tundra, with yellow eyes and thick feathered feet. Every few years one summers on the stony Cairngorm plateau, hunting by day.

When to look

May to September, mostly at dawn, day and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Summer and early autumn, in clear weather. Look on the high plateau, on boulder fields and snow patches.
Where in the game
the Cairngorms (mountain)
Size
52–71 cm long
Wingspan
116–183 cm; females are larger than males
Weight
Males about 1.5–1.8 kg; females about 1.7–2.4 kg
Population
Not applicable. Summering birds on the Cairngorm plateau were recorded in at least 14 years since 1940; the last visit before September 2021 was in 2013
Status
Rare vagrant; not a resident in Britain

Diet

Mainly lemmings in the Arctic; also voles, mice, birds and carrion elsewhere. On the Cairngorm plateau its diet was studied in 1980, 1987 and 2013

Habitat

Open tundra, dunes, moorland and high mountains. Winters on coastal dunes, moors and open ground

Breeding

Nests on the ground on tundra rises. Clutches of 5–11 eggs are common in lemming years. It bred on Fetlar in Shetland from 1967 to 1975

Field signs

  • A large, bright white bird sitting on a boulder or a mound of stones
  • White wings flapping slowly across the plateau in daylight
  • Pellets and feathers on flat rocks where it roosts

Did you know?

  • It is the only owl with mainly white plumage.
  • Unlike most owls, it is often active in daylight.
  • Males are whiter, and females are barred with dark brown.

Moments worth waiting for

  • Perched on a boulder May to September, day and dawn
    The owl sits like a white stone on the granite, head turning slowly, yellow eyes on the slope below.

Photo tip

Use the longest lens you have and shoot from far away. Wait for it to turn its head. If the owl is on snow, add one stop of exposure so that the white does not turn grey.

Be a good naturalist

Stay well back. Do not walk off the path toward it, and do not flush it from its roost: on the plateau it may have travelled very far and needs to rest. Never use playback. Give ptarmigan and dotterel nearby the same space.

The law

All wild birds are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

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