A Snowy Owl was seen by a group of Rubis workers on Thursday on top of an oil storage tank, and it was later found on a house roof near Gibbs Hill lighthouse by Tim Brewer, and photographed by Andrew Dobson.

A post on the Bermuda Audubon Society’s Facebook page asked people to continue to report sightings, and noted: “There have only been 3 records in the past 30 years and about a further 10 historical records.

“Snowy Owls move south from their Arctic breeding grounds with some reaching the US East Coast and accidentally to Bermuda.”

According to National Geographic, “The snowy owl is a patient hunter that perches and waits to identify its prey before soaring off in pursuit. Snowy owls have keen eyesight and great hearing, which can help them find prey that is invisible under thick vegetation or snowcover. The owls deftly snatch their quarry with their sharp talons.

“A snowy owl’s preferred meal is lemmings—many lemmings. An adult may eat more than 1,600 lemmings a year, or three to five every day. The birds supplement their diet with rabbits, rodents, birds, and fish.

“These magnificent owls sometimes remain year-round in their northern breeding grounds, but they are frequent migrants to Canada, the northern United States, Europe, and Asia.”

- Photo courtesy of Andrew Dobson

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