Mighty wings push the frigid air back, to propell the cotton-ball in the sky forward. The wise eyes skim the line where blue meets white, looking for mice, lemmings, and a snowy rabbit or two. At the sight of an unfortunate little animal, the silent bird falls to the ground and outstretched talons end the little creature's life. The bird may eat, or it may circle a few times, then fly to the protected nest in a high tree or rocky cliff. The bird approaches an old barn, or a cliff, or a snow-heavy tree, and decends.
Fuzzy chicks cry out in pathetic squeeks for food.
The bird watches as the chicks gobble the bloody animal, then settle down to sleep. But the ghostly bird alights once again to hunt and feed. As the bird flies low over the prairies, marshes, forests, and towns of the Arctic Circle, you can see its all-knowing way of living evident in every slow beat of it's wings. The Snowy Owl is one of the greatest Arctic predators, and is a remarkable bird. Just to watch it in action is an awe-inspiring moment.