The Bass Islands are frequently visited by extraordinary birds, but among the most stunning is the Snowy Owl. Friday afternoon appeared to be a good day for a visit to Put-in-Bay by an immature female Snowy Owl! Click on any image for the enlarged view.
The following information is courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
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Size & Shape
Snowy Owls are very large owls with smoothly rounded heads and no ear tufts. The body is bulky, with dense feathering on the legs that makes the bird look wide at the base when sitting on the ground.
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Color Pattern
Snowy Owls are white birds with varying amounts of black or brown markings on the body and wings. On females this can be quite dense, giving the bird a salt-and-pepper look. Males tend to be paler and become whiter as they age. The eyes are yellow.
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Behavior
Look for Snowy Owls sitting on or near the ground in wide-open areas. They often perch on rises such as the crests of dunes, or on fenceposts, telephone poles, and hay bales. When they fly they usually stay close to the ground.
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Habitat
In winter, look for Snowy Owls along shorelines of lakes and the ocean, as well as on agricultural fields and airport lands. Snowy Owls breed in the treeless arctic tundra.