Bird watchers and photographers are over the moon with excitement as a wave of snowy owls has descended on southern Alberta.
Southern Alberta is experiencing a large influx of snowy owls or an owl irruption.
Wildlife photographer Frank Wood has been firing off a lot of shots over the past few weeks just northeast of the city.
"Some of them will let you get very close, others as soon as you stop your vehicle and they hear the sounds of the brakes and the gravel underneath, they'll fly, each bird, they're an individual," said Wood.
The elegant birds range in size from 52 to 71 cm and have a wingspan over a metre.
The owls have been seen in unprecedented numbers as far south as the Mexican border.
"Easily twice the number of owls this year that I normally see, it's been great," said Wood.
Irruptions are believed to be related to food and weather cycles.
The irruption of owls this year owes itself to a population boom of lemmings in the arctic last year.
Lemmings are small mouse-like rodents and an adult owl eats up to five a day.
"This year is unusual they've headed as far south and west and east as the coast of Maine," said Naturalist, Sid Andrews. "They've been seen down in Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio, Syracuse and Bangor, Maine."
The owls won't be here for long and will make their way north to nest by the beginning of March.
Snowy owl pairs mate for life and lay between three and eleven eggs at a time.
Adult male snowy owls are pure white, females and young birds are white with black banding.
Snowy owls usually live for 9.5 years in the wild and can live until they are 35 in captivity.
We have received several requests for directions to view the owls.
Here is how CTV Reporter Kevin Green found the owls.
Kevin drove east on Country Hills Blvd past Highway 9 then began crossing the area on the secondary roads in the area.
Kevin drove 410 km that morning in a more or less square area bordered by Country Hills Blvd x Highway 9 on the southwest - Bieseker on the northwest - and east to Highway 21 (Carbon corner on the north and Rockford on the south.)
The best time to see the owls is 8:00 a.m. to noon, when they are generally perched on poles along the road.
Later in the day they are often flying and hunting.
