Hungry Owls Moving To Western Washington

Driven by hunger, scores of snowy owls have wandered to western Washington from their homes on the arctic tundra, with the fluffy-white birds being spotted even among the bustle of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

It’s the biggest incursion of the swivel-headed, hazel-eyed creatures here in nearly 25 years, said Hal Opperman, chairman of the Bird Records Committee, a national Audubon Society group that tracks birds in Washington.

“This is an invasion of snowy owls, and it’s really quite something,” Opperman said Tuesday.

In the arctic, the birds feed on wild rodents, especially lemmings. But for reasons that have puzzled scientists, the lemming population has plummeted, forcing the owls to fly elsewhere for food.

The birds, mostly young owls, began to arrive about two weeks ago. So far, the Audubon Society’s Seattle chapter has received more than 65 calls from residents who say they’ve seen one.

There were 15 sightings alone at the Dungeness Spit near Sequim and a number of others in the Skagit Valley and Olympic Peninsula. One owl was reported perched on a building in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. Another was found in the airport’s parking garage.