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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Reader photos: Outstanding in their field

A snowy owl, an arctic bird that moves south to hunt for rodents during winter, visits Lincoln County on Nov. 25. (Craig Goodwin / Courtesy)
A snowy owl, an arctic bird that moves south to hunt for rodents during winter, visits Lincoln County on Nov. 25. (Craig Goodwin / Courtesy)

White is an anxiety-reducing camouflage color for wildlife to wear during winter. That is, unless there’s no snow.

The snowy owl that showed up in Lincoln County last weekend was a standout attraction for Spokane pastor-photographer Craig Goodwin. Being at the top of the food chain, the white winter migrant from the arctic was not particularly threatened by its obviousness in a brown landscape, save for possibly being loved to death by gawkers and photographers.

However, the snowshoe hare near Newman Lake was not too happy about the abnormally warm weather on Thanksgiving Day, for good reason.

Snowshoe hares turn white this time of year for camouflage in snow. Without snow they stand out like beacons and are more vulnerable to predators.

“I also found the fresh remains of a devoured hare,” hiker-photographer Ken Vanden Heuvel said.

For the hare, it’s pray-for-snow time or be preyed upon.

Web extra: Submit your own outdoors-related photos for a chance to be published in our weekly print edition and browse our archive of past reader submissions online at www.spokesman.com/outdoors.