Outdoors

As noted in this column last
week, Barbara Begg, Cresswell,
reported the sighting of a rare
snowy Owl on the premises of the
Wetora Airport.

While these magnificent white
Arctic owls are occasionally seen
here, they are by no means regular
winter visitors. Readers may recall
that several of them were reported
here four or five years ago. Their
large size and very light coloration
will serve to distinguish them from
any other species.

ae Snowy owls tend to move south-

ward in some numbers at four or
five-year intervals, the eruptions
probably related to the shortage of
lemmings, their major food
resource in Arctic regions, espe-
cially during winter.

These owls are circumpolar in
their distribution, occurring
widely across northern Europe,
Siberia, Alaska and Canada.

® Many of our owls, excluding of
course the short-eared and burrow-
ing members of the tribe, are
© mainly crepuscular or nocturnal in
their hunting activities. But the
snowies tend to hunt by day.
When encountered here, they are
almost always first sighted high on

a power pole or fence post from

which vantage point they survey

the surroundings in search of prey

» — chiefly mice and voles.
With a little patience, observers
might well see them sweep silently
across the terrain on broad wings

and plunge to earth to retrieve a

meal.

Their flight is superb and their
» cyesight undoubtedly very acute.
Snowy owls nest only in the

Arctic and as far north as land
Wrrovides nesting sites and availa-

ble food in the form of voles,

lemmings, nestlings, short-tailed

weasels, other birds and at times, a

few fish.

Bent reports that the most north-

erly, and probably the first nest of
this owl ever recorded, was found
+ by Major Fielden in Grinnell

Land, latitude 82 degrees 40 min.

on June 20, 1876. A little over

seven degrees from the Pole!
Nests are merely slight hollows
in the moss and grass on a hum-
mock. The clutch of eggs, from
three or four to a dozen, are Jaid
@giregularly but incubation tends to
begin with the laying of the first
e- @eg so that the chicks tend to be
staggered in size with the oldest
often two weeks or more older

than the youngest.

Both adults defend the nest
against intruders by diving, calling
and snapping their beaks. I] was
most surprised to discover that
they also make use of the same
tactic as our smaller woodland
species, the long-eared owl.

If pressed at the nest, they may
both flatten out on the ground,
wriggle, and flutter thei wings
while scolding hoarsely, as though

@io lure the interloper from the
me chicks.
mB. = §= We often saw goodly numbers of

these birds on the prairies in.

winter, as many as three score in a

single day. They have also been
reported landing on ships,
hundreds of miles from shore,
during storms.

E.T. Jones and I spent several
seasons live-trapping and banding
them before releasing them. .
Retums were few, partly because
another bloke was live-trapping
them and selling them to zoos in
various parts of the world!

But we did get a significant
return from one which had been
caught in an Eskimo fox trap on
Southampton Island in Hudson’s
Bay.

Rudy and Mavis Kirmhse, Birch
Road report a number of small
greyish birds (as many as 13-22)
spending the nights on a narrow
ledge in their carport. I have not
yet checked their birds but a small
number of chestnut-backed chick-
adees do that in our carport.

Enid Blakeney, Lochside, spot-
ted two northern hammers coursing
over the airport this week. Then to
top that off, she witnessed a very
Tare sight.

A bald eagle stooped on some
Canada Geese on aiport land near
Canora Road. It then chased one of
them into the air about 20 feet
from the ground before bringing it
down! Enid later spotted the eagle
in a small tree nearby where it was

dining upon its prey. SNOWY OWL

SIDNEY

BY THE SEA

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TheReview

Snowy owls are rare visitors

CY HAMPSON photo

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Sidney By-The-Sea rekindles the Spirit of Christmas past by providing a
level of service that only a small seaside town can. Join in the Christmas
in Sidney Spirit as you stroll down Beacon Avenue and remember a time
when Christmas shopping was a pleasure!

More than any mall! Sidney By-The-Sea combines a wide variety of
independent shops and services with the unmatched convenience and
atmosphere. You'll find 8 art dealers featuring everything from local
originals to creatively framed limited edition international prints.

Twenty different clothing stores, Five Jewellers, Six Craft shops, Three
Hardware Stores, Bookstores, and much much more. With over 200
shopping opportunities you're sure to find the perfect gift for everyone on
your shopping list!

Plenty of Free Parking

Sidney’s Fifth Annual Parade of Boats is set to sail on December 8th at
6:00 p.m. Join friends and family atthe New 2idiiey waterfrontto view this
glittering Christmas Tradition.

Delight to the sounds of A Family Christmas Concert by the
Parkland School Music Department
at Sanscha Hall - 7:15 p.m.

You can visit Mr. Claus at his Sidney Santa House in
Snapdragon Nurseries on Beacon Avenue.

Santa House Hours

DECEMBER 8 - 22
WEEKDAYS | P.M.-4 P.M.
SATURDAYS 10 - NOON ® 2 - 4 P.M.
CLOSED SUNDAYS

© Sidney Association of Merchants

Wednesday, November 28, 1990 — A15

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