snowy owls return to obx

Elusive raptor returns to NC coast.

Snowy owls, with a mind of their own when it comes to migration, are back on the Outer Banks. The elusive bird has been spotted on Ocracoke and Pea Island over the past month. Wildlife experts think this will be a banner year for the raptor, as Peter Vankevich reports writing for the Ocracoke Observer.

Difficult to spot because it blends so well with its background, the snowy owl has returned to the Outer Banks. Photo Peter Vankevich.
Difficult to spot because it blends so well with its background, the snowy owl has returned to the Outer Banks. Photo Peter Vankevich.

“Ahoy! Hast thou seen the great white owl?”

So cried the ancient man, holding a pair of vintage 1970s green armour-coated 7×35 Leitz binoculars. Returning to scanning the Outer Banks dunes, cane laying on the same, he caught the young man off-guard as he stood next to his Zeiss 20×60 zoom-spotting scope attached to a Manfrotto tripod nonchalantly eating a sandwich.

Okay, so a Snowy Owl is not a Moby Dick – but for some it is close, and a reliable sighting may cause birders to quickly change plans and head out in hope of a glimpse and some photos of one of the most sought-after birds in the Carolinas.”

 

[box type=”bio”] A sometime visitor to the Outer Banks, snowy owls have returned for another visit to Ocracoke the Ocracoke Observer reports.[/box]