About three to four weeks after hatching, young leave the nest and scatter in close proximity of the nest. Once all the chicks have left the nest, both parents must feed the scattered young. Young fledge seven to eight weeks after hatching. Due to nearly 24 hours of light per day in the tundra, snowy owls are active any hour of day or night, and perch on the ground or any raised object while searching for food. They may gather in groups of up to 20 or more owls when they disperse south in the fall, particularly when they find a location with plenty of prey.
Loyal Parents Snowy owls are very protective parents.
A male will dive and strike at most any intruder that enters its territory or threatens its family. This includes animals such as arctic foxes, wolves and even humans. Another means of defense against predators is to act as if it's wounded. They hope to trick the predator into thinking that the wounded owl is an easy meal, while they slowly lead it farther and farther away from the nest. If there are nine chicks in the clutch, parents will have to provide about 1,500 lemmings to feed the ravenous chicks until they're ready to go out on their own.