Snowy owl 3,000 miles from home appears healthy in Southern California neighborhood

In the last two weeks, a female snowy white owl has been living off a diet of rats and gophers, likely hunted on a nearby Navy base and golf course...

January 7, 2023
2:50 AM

In the last two weeks, a female snowy white owl has been living off a diet of rats and gophers, likely hunted on a nearby Navy base and golf course. The owl, which raptor experts believe is about a year old, has been roosting on rooftops in a Cypress neighborhood about two miles away. Snowy owls are typically found in the vast grasslands and wetlands above the Arctic Circle and it is believed this is the first recorded this far south, prompting bird enthusiasts and others to flock for a glimpse. Charlie Hamilton of Long Beach takes photos of a snowy owl that found its way from the Arctic tundra of Alaska or northern Canada, as it sits on a rooftop of a home in Cypress during its second week of living in the Southern California neighborhood, on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.

Erika I. Ritchie