Snowy Owls

Every few years high in the arctic tundra the lemming population explodes. Lemmings happen to be the favorite food of snowy owls. With high concentrations of their favorite meal, the snowy owls also have a population boom. Nothing like a little extra lemming to set the mood. As the snowy owl population booms and the winter gets colder the owls spread out looking for new territory and food. This is called an irruption. 2025/2026 is set to be a big irruption year with more snowys showing up further south than usual. So I went looking for them.

DAY 1

I had been checking eBird for weeks to see if any would show up near home, looking at locations up the east coast. The most regular documented sightings were in Massachusetts and Long Island. With Long Island being closer to New Jersey, I obviously opted for Massachusetts, as I’d rather drive 5 hours to the northern Massachusetts coast than go anywhere near the traffic hell that is Long Island. I left Friday morning after oversleeping my alarm and arrived at Plum Island and Park River National Wildlife Refuge on the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border. It was 1 pm when I got there and after only a few minutes on the island I was treated to watching two short-eared owls hunting over the salt marshes that make up most of the refuge. While not the owls I was looking for, it’s a species I had not seen before and a good omen for things to come.

I traveled up and down the island to get a lay of the land. Many of the things I read online about where to find snowy owls said to check the dunes around parking lot 3. I hiked up the boardwalk through the dunes and saw nothing. I trudged along the beach carrying my Nikon d5 and my 400mm f2.8 lens on my tripod. It was freezing out, with temperatures in the teens and wind whipping the coast line made the walk difficult. Nothing on the beach either. As I got back on the boardwalk to head back to the car, three men carrying surfboards walked by and out into the surf. I’m pretty sure surfing is a summer Olympic sport not a winter sport. I watched them surf for a short time before I couldn’t feel my fingers and went back to the car.

I drove the island some more where I watched a rough-legged hawk hunting and diving before flying out of sight. As I moved on, the hawk appeared again and landed on a tree right on the road and was promptly divebombed by a mocking bird. The hawk took off again after a short time and an additional aerial assault by the mocking bird. Rough-legged hawks are another winter visitor from the high arctic, which adds to the good omens of the trip. Further up the road there was a short-eared owl perched in a tree far off the road and too obstructed to get any great shots. I met another photographer from the area named Norm and he gave some great intel about beaches and areas throughout Massachusetts to find snowys. After some good conversation I called it a day.

DAY 2

Winter for me means sleeping more, almost like a hibernating bear. So I once again overslept my alarm and got a late start, which worked out considering it snowed overnight. The roads were still being plowed when I hit the road around 7:30 am. I got out to Plum Island around 7:45 am and there was a sign that said delayed opening (flashbacks to my school days). I waited until 8 to see if they’d open. With no signs of opening another driver in line at the gate turned around to leave and stopped to tell me about Hampton Beach where a snowy had been seen a few days prior. A quick look on Google said it was only a 15 minute drive over the border into New Hampshire. The drive took me to a small state park on a spit of land sticking out into a harbor inlet. A short hike from the empty parking lot through the dunes to the beach provided nothing just one or two seagulls and a few sparrows. A short hike back through the dunes where I encountered another photographer also looking for snowys. We discussed locations and sightings. One sighting was further south in a town called Nahant near Boston. I mentioned going down there on Sunday on the way home when he informed me not to go as the owl had been struck and killed by a car. Depressed and discouraged I headed back to the car, and back to Plum Island.

After a whole day of driving up and down the island with a small nap in the car around noon, I made for the gate to find food and head back to the hotel. As I neared lots 3 and 2 crowds of photographers were following the short eared owls hunting again. I also followed but to no avail they were too far out. At gate 1 I stopped for a quick bathroom break and saw several photographers across the street laser-focused on something out in the marsh. One last attempt for the day. I met a man named Greg who told me he had a Snowy Owl dialed in on his spotting scope. FINALLY! The only problem was that even with putting a 2x TC on my camera and stretching the 400mm to an 800mm the owl was only a tiny dot in the frame. Cropping in made it look more like a blurry sasquatch than a snowy owl. Oh well. I still had a half day ahead of me on Sunday. At least I had “seen” one.

Blurry sasquatch (*Sasquatchus pixellatus*) or snowy owl?

Day 3

I got up around 6 am packed my stuff, waited for the free hotel breakfast at 7 grabbed some grub and headed off to the island. I started where I ended the day before at lot 1. I saw one bald eagle way off in the distance but no snowys. I drove slowly down through lots 2 and 3 scanning the horizon for the outline of a snowy owl which looks like a white lump in a 3,000 acre sea of white lumps of snow. I stopped at a place called Wardens which is a set of maintenance sheds for the islands employees. While walking through the lot I stopped to grab some shots of yet another winter visitor, snow buntings.

Small like a sparrow but with white and shades of yellow. Beautiful, fearless birds. I laid on the freezing cold ground for nearly a half hour taking pictures and at one point they were so close the camera was unable to focus on them. After freezing on the ground I walked through the maintenance lot to the back where 3 photographers were waving me over. Another snowy. Closer this time but still far away. I stayed maybe an hour and a half watching the owl hop around on a small island in the Plum Island River. I messaged Norm to let him know about the owl and he showed up a little while later to see it for himself.

It was around 11 am by this point and I decided to start heading out as I had a 5 hour drive home. Norm followed. We got to Lot 1 where another man said he heard about a snowy sighting at Hampton Beach State Park that morning. With only a 15 minute drive over and a smaller area to search, it couldn’t hurt to go try one last time.

Immediately upon turning in the lot I could see photographers everywhere. I knew the owl was still there. I parked and headed towards the action. Almost immediately I could see the owl. A snowy owl sitting on the ground maybe 200ft off the parking lot overlooking the harbor inlet. It was backlit so after getting a few shots to ensure I got something I moved off to another position for better light. I stayed for nearly 2 hours shot more than 1,000 frames and loved every second of seeing a snowy owl so close.

If you’re planning to go looking for snowy owls here are some tips;

Use eBird- The app can give you pretty good data about best places and times to see them or at least give you a general area like plum island where sightings are frequent.
Bring a long lens or spotting scope or both
Be patient- snowy owls can sit for hours on end. Give them time eventually they’ll move or take off.
Talk to people- Even if you’re not the friendliest person or socially awkward, talking to others can get you good intel about where to go and when or even where not to go because things have changed. The birding community in Massachusetts had a much more community feel than NJ does. Everyone I spoke to was friendly and helpful. On top of getting intel you should always give intel as well. I’ve found people are more likely to share what they know if you share first. Hey, who knows, maybe you’ll even make a new friend or two along the way.
Dress warm- it’s cold out there and it gets even colder and windier along the beaches. Bring lots of layers and handwarmers.
Do your homework, research your subject. Snowys are diurnal meaning they’re active and hunt during the day.
Be careful driving in wildlife areas, the tragic loss of the snowy owl in Nahant was the result of a car striking the bird. Be vigilant and drive slow.
Be courteous of other photographers, respect the ones that got there first. Don’t stand in their way. Be quiet, owls have excellent hearing and loud noises could drive them off.
Take only pictures, leave only footprints, kill nothing but time.
See you out there!
-Greg

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