Oona at EagleFest!

Most of us have never seen a snowy owl, but the chance to do so will occur on the weekend of January 16 to 17, when Bill Streeter of the Delaware Valley Raptor Center (DVRC) brings the beautiful Oona to EagleFest in Narrowsburg, NY and Eagle Watch Weekend in Lackawaxen, PA.

Oona came to the center earlier this year from a science teacher looking to place her in a good home. Oona is a captive-bred human imprint, and as such, can never be released into the wild. According to Streeter, the owl’s name is a Welsh word meaning “pale,” and closely approximates the sound she makes when excited: “Ooooooooooona!”

The snowy is the largest of the North American owls by weight (over five pounds for a large female), with a wingspan of five to six feet. Their specialized environment requires adaptation to life on the tundra, the permafrost area of rolling plains void of trees and mountains, stretching thousands of miles around the globe from Alaska to Siberia.

Streeter will share loads of information about snowy owls and other raptors at the programs, but here are a few interesting facts:

Snowy owls exhibit striking bright white plumage, with females and immature birds heavily barred. Adult males are mostly pure white with some dark spots. This very dense plumage with air cells is second only to Adelie penguins in insulating efficiency.

The undersides of their feet are heavily feathered and they bear extra long feathers topside. They have large forward-facing eyes with heavily feathered eyelids. A white mustache of rictal feathers completely shields their nostrils against the cold, and helps capture their breath to keep the nostrils warm.

Snowy owls are mostly diurnal (hunt during the day) or crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk). They eat lemmings, voles, arctic hares, ptarmigans, ducks, geese, seabirds and fish.

See the magnificent Oona on the 16th at 10:30 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. at EagleFest, or on the 17th at 2:00 p.m. during the Eagle Watch Weekend. Visit www.dveaglealliance.org/pdf/EagleFestBrochure.pdf or www.eagleinstitute.org/calen dar/calendar.php or www.dvrconline.org for more information.