Photos: Rare Snowy Owl touring Iconic Buildings of the Nation's Capital

[Donkees]

January 19, 2022

WASHINGTON — A snowy owl apparently touring iconic buildings of the nation's capital is captivating birdwatchers who manage to get a glimpse of the rare, resplendent visitor from the Arctic. Far from its summer breeding grounds in Canada, the snowy owl was first seen on Jan. 3, the day a winter storm dumped eight inches of snow on the city.

Since then, it’s been spotted in the evenings flying around Washington's Capitol Hill neighborhood, landing on Union Station, the National Postal Museum, various Senate buildings, and Capitol Police headquarters.

Late last week about three dozen people in thick coats trained their binoculars on the football-sized bird with bright yellow eyes as it perched on the stone head of Archimedes, a famous ancient Greek mathematician, carved above the train station entrance.

The nocturnal hunter appears to be targeting the city’s plentiful downtown rat population.

“Snowy owls are coming from a part of the world where they see almost nothing human, from completely treeless open Arctic tundra,” said Scott Weidensaul, a researcher at nonprofit Project SNOWStorm, which tracks snowy owl movements. Some owls migrate south out of the Arctic every winter, but the number fluctuates, he said. About every three to five years, a spike in the population of lemmings, their chief food source, results in a larger number of surviving owl chicks. In those “irruption” years, more birds migrate and migrate farther.









https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/snowy-owl-spotted-in-dc-capitol-hill-owl/65-f3d35484-3a11-44e3-ae58-8e7b006273d5

[Wingus Dingus]

1. Beautiful bird.

[Donkees]

2. *

© Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
A rare snowy owl sits on an eagle-topped flag pole outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., Jan. 13, 2022.

[wnylib]

8. Lobbying to be named the national bird?

[Donkees]

9. Snowy: "left wing, left wing''

[calimary]

13. I kinda like the idea of raptors on our side!

[SYFROYH]

19. It's a good thing owls have feathers. NSFW

[WarGamer]

3. stunning creature.

[OAITW r.2.0]

4. Great pics.....owl had a thing for fine architecture. Or maybe just a good perch awaiting

his next protein package.

Or maybe.......is this a sign from Q?


Could be, I expect to see a huge new conspiracy theory involving this owl and his presence in DC. and his choices for perching sites. Or. perhaps it is JFK, Jr.'s personal hunting owl....

[Donkees]

5. *

[calimary]

14. "Nice hat."

- Lieutenant Commander Worf.

[StarryNite]

6. Such a beauty.

[Quakerfriend]

7. Just gorgeous! I love the incredible

photos you share with us, Donkees.
Thank You!

[LudwigPastorius]

10. "The nocturnal hunter appears to be targeting the city's plentiful downtown rat population."

...and yet, there are still two DINOs who oppose doing whatever it takes to pass voting rights legislation.

[erronis]

28. Oh, I thought you were going to point out vermin that needed to be taken care of....

[EastMeetsWest]

11. Cool

Reminds me of the commercials I saw as a kid for White Owl cigars

[ARPad95]

12. There's a page on Facebook named Bald Eagles of Onondaga Lake.

Last edited Sat Jan 22, 2022, 12:39 AM - Edit history (1)

Onondaga Lake is on the northwest side of Syracuse, New York. Once a very polluted lake, it's now home to bald eagles and several other birds of prey and wildlife.

Do yourself a favor and check out the fantastic photographs that are posted daily from amateurs to professionals:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/baldeaglesofonondagalake

"Wintering Bald Eagles have returned to Onondaga Lake thanks to the massive cleanup efforts by Honeywell and partners. Please join with Onondaga Audubon in sharing your stories, sightings, and photographs of these exquisite birds. With your help, we can continue to provide information to Onondaga County as to where and how many of these birds are being observed in order to ensure these birds are not disturbed by future construction projects, trail placement, or recreational activities."

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10225468620155947&set=gm.1108708273237231

There's a resident snowy owl, too!

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4995725597125262&set=gm.1110278103080248

[Donkees]

17. Thanks for the link :) Have bald eagles nearby and one has flown low over me

[ARPad95]

25. You're welcome! I've become addicted to the page since I found out about it. There are people

coming from all over to get a glimpse of the bald eagles and friends!

[Donkees]

29. I see that Onondaga Audubon has also mentioned that this winter is an irruption year...

for the Snowy Owl. I also posted some photos of Snowy Owls in the Lounge, if anyone is interested:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181610429

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181610437

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181610052

[BluesRunTheGame]

15. Snowy Owls are not nocturnal.

They will hunt both night and day.

[Donkees]

16. This one is mainly sighted at night in this area because of the rat situation.

[BluesRunTheGame]

18. Makes sense.

Rats are nocturnal.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

24. Not only beautiful to look at but beneficial to us as well.

by helping control the pest population (rats, mice, etc.) they do us a great service.

[Liberty Belle]

26. YEs there a lot of rats in Congress.

[Rebl2]

20. He's beautiful!

Wish he would pick off a few Q republicans.

[keithbvadu2]

21. Snowy owl... an omen for the coming weather.

[Demovictory9]

22. beautiful

[NameAlreadyTaken]

23. Promoting Canada's style of health care system

[CaptainTruth]

27. Beautiful!!! Thanks for posting!

[electric_blue68]

30. Ty! Lovely owl.

[Sanity Claws]

31. Athena, is that you?