Newfoundland has been invaded by snowy owls!
Apparently it happens every few years, when there is not enough food up north to sustain a growing population of owls. Young owls leave to find new feeding grounds and gradually make their way south, and because they prefer tundra-like landscapes they are drawn to areas like Cape Spear, where the barrens offer similar hunting conditions.
Today I saw several owls, most from a distance, some from pretty close up:
Snowy owl at the old lighthouse – Cape Spear
Snowy owl portrait – Cape Spear
When you see an owl up close like this it’s pretty surreal; it’s like someone borrowed one from the zoo and just put it on this rock for the day.
Anyway, these owls seem to be OK around people, which is good because Cape Spear isn’t the best place for privacy, lot’s of visitors every day. I did notice them getting nervous when they see a dog though, and also when there’s an eagle flying around…
Special thanks to Karen for sharing the owl news on her blog, without her I would not have known about them!
newfoundsander 
WOW!!!! Do you think if I took my daughter out there tomorow we might see some? She is quite infatuated with these beautiful creatures.
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newfoundsander wrote:
Hi Sierra, nothing is for certain but yes I think there is a good chance you can see them tomorrow, apparently they’ve been there for a week now…
Good luck!
Just beautiful….
Thanks Marian, yes a gorgeous bird isn’t it?
Yay, glad you found the owls. I was going to email you because I hadn’t seen any pics of them on your blog.
Thanks again for sharing 🙂
When I saw them on your blog it was night already, and then the day after we had that ‘storm’, but yesterday was a great day for it! I hope they stay for a while longer…
This is one of the many things that makes Newfoundland so beautiful!!!
I agree, even after 5 years in Newfoundland, there are still new things to see 🙂
What a magnificent bird. If the US didn’t have the Bald Eagle as our national bird, I would hope it were the Snowy Owl. You can imagine how hard it would be to spot one in the snow! Hope all is well with you both….Bess
Thanks, we are both fine, hope you are fine too!
I think we’re lucky to have very little snow at the moment, because like you said it would be a chore finding them in the white landscape…
Maybe if they stay a while longer I’ll get to try 🙂
That’s incredible. I did a cape Spear themed blog just yesterday!! Looks to be a very popular place with the tourists these days too!! Wish I was there to see this:-) Thank you for sharing!
Yes it’s a very busy weekend for the owls, I was there again yesterday and they’re getting a lot of attention. I wonder what they make of it all.
Yes, it must also be unusual for them to see so many curious humans!
Cool, way to go!
Thanks, did you get a chance to see them yet? If you did I’m sure you got some great shots too 🙂
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We saw 7 this morning on our way from Cape Spear to North Head – actually we probably say more, but we saw 7 sitting together once all at one time. It was incredible. And we saw a bald eagle, too. The eagle and an owl were just sitting metres apart. Just amazing.
That’s awesome, I’m so glad you got to see so many all at once, with an eagle there too no less!!!