Snowy owl on Guernsey

Magnificent image of a snowy owl on Lihou Island, off Guernsey. Photo copyright Steve Levrier.

March 2010. One of our readers, Suzie Hole, alerted us to this snowy owl that has been seen several times on Guernsey, and the nearby of islands of Herm and Lihou recently. Although snowy owls are highly unusual in the Channel Islands, at least two different birds were seen on the islands in 2008 & 2009. The previous sighting was in 1993. in 2009 the snowy owl stayed until June, apparently mostly feeding on gull chicks.

Snowy owls breed in the Arctic and are only occasional visitors to Britain, though a pair did reportedly breed in the Shetland islands in the 1960s. 

Click here to see the report and images of the snowy owl seen on Alderney in 2009. 

Snowy owl on Lihou Island, Guernsey in 2010 - Is it the same bird? Photo copyright Steve Levrier

Snowy owl seen on Alderney in 2009. Photo copyright Bill Black.