This Owl was first reported in Beckley West Virginia on Jan 5, 2014. I work in Beckley so I was able to spend at least a little time for five of the last seven days looking for the bird. On Sunday, I spent most of the afternoon cruising the mall area where it was hanging out glassing the light poles and rooftops, but all to no avail. I was watching a Twitter feed that had been reporting its location occasionally and as I was leaving a meeting at 5 pm it was reported near by, so I took off and was able to finally see it. It was on a light pole, with an intensely bright light, so the combination of dusk and rain prevented a really good picture. I never saw its face. I hope to see it again and get better pictures. The only thing I can compare this find to was when I finally found Showy Ladies Slippers after searching for three seasons.
Snowy Owls are an Arctic bird but often fly south in search of food sources in the winter. This year the unusual numbers of owls is referred to as an
irruption. This is only the 2nd one I have heard of in WV this year but Ohio has 150 or more. I have heard of people from Virginia, Tennessee and Florida coming to Beckley to see this extremely rare owl for this far south. I hope it stays around a little while longer to give as many people as possible the chance to see him.
I hope to post better pictures in the near future, but am satisfied to just see him.
