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Posted on 05/08/2026 7:42:17 PM PDT by aquila48
An unusually orange snowy owl spotted in Michigan has left scientists puzzled over its rare coloring.
Wildlife photographer Julie Maggert captured the bird, nicknamed “Rusty” by locals. While snowy owls are normally known for their white feathers, experts believe the owl’s unusual reddish-orange color may have been caused by dye, de-icing fluid, or a rare genetic mutation.
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Ate too much salmon??? Very cool, tho.
“Don’t Eat the Yellow Snowy Owl.”
— Frank Zappa
I love listening to barred owls late at night.
Who cooks for you , who cooks for you all?
Kool.
Beautiful photos. I used to run snowcats in the mountains, one night I was by my self high up on a mountain in a blizzard cutting out a cat track. I dipped my blade into about a 5’ drift and got the scare of my life. A great horned owl blew out of the drift and flew right at my windshield and over the top of my tractor. I about had a heart attack. I guess sometimes owls get on the lee side of snow drifts and let the snow cover them to ride out the blizzard. Who knew?
What a beautiful bird!
“I about had a heart attack.”
Probably so did the owl. 😊🦉
Wow.
Wouldn’t that defeat its camouflage?
I’ve heard that Horned Owls are huge birds at the adult size. No little Grey Wrens or English Sparrows there.
Maybe the Owl was taking a nap.
Wow!
Awesome.
I was perhaps 15 and out in the winter woods at night alone at my uncle’s cabin. A huge owl left its perch and flew maybe 10 feet over my head through the pretty dense woods. I was amazed at how quiet it was - no noise at all. Not even the tree branches. It was really a weird sensation when the two senses didn’t match up. My uncle said it was probably a Great Horned Owl
I've had the opportunity to be near one when they he was standing on the ground in front of me. Yes, they are surprisingly tall.
When he arrived, he helped me up off the ground and recovered my helmet liner for me. The helmet liner was shredded by four parallel gouges, one of which was deep enough to have actually penetrated the helmet liner. Shining our flashlights around the area, we observed a reasonably large (18-24 inch tall) horned owl sitting on one of the AP fence poles, staring into the lights for awhile and then silently flying away.
The best guess we could make was that there was something about that shiny helmet liner that triggered the owl's attack. None of the other guards were attacked and, to the best of my knowledge, the owl didn't hang around the AP any other times.
My CO was nice enough to write off my helmet liner as damaged in the line of duty and had Supply replace it without charging me for it. I still have that helmet liner somewhere in my storage shed.
I’m sure you were wide awake after that swooping attack.
I’ve always heard there is something about reflective surfaces and/or strobe lights that disturbs this species off bird.
Maybe he thought you were an enemy who has newly invaded HIS territory. Like Crows, Owls will remember the movements or features of anything that appeared to be a threat or a challenge. So, the following night, the Owl was probably out there, waiting for you and your trusty Ax handle.
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