Snowy Owl nesting cam now live!
Special thanks to explore.org!
It is not easy to set up a live camera streaming 24/7 from the Arctic tundra, but the amazing folks at explore.org worked with ORI to make it happen. THANK YOU!
Watch the cam live on explore.org
Watch live on YouTube
Video update from Denver Holt
Have a question about Snowy Owls or something you saw on the live cam? Submit your question here:
We'll post answers on our website and in the explore.org Snowy Owl cam chat (they will be pinned as Featured Posts) at least once a week.
Read previously answered questions here:
Timeline of the Nest
Notes and observations from Denver & the field crew and volunteers
June 16, 2022
Early in the morning we first saw the male and female Snowy Owls roosting near a potential nest site. A male Snowy Owl was observed to fly nearby and hoot. The female did nothing. Later that morning, the owls were seen roosting in the same area on the tundra. That evening, as Denver investigated the potential nest site, he found a fresh scrape on the mound. The female was nearby but was not interested in Denver. The female was seen flying away and Denver observed her either carrying prey or having a brood patch. As Denver left the site to a distanced observation area, the female was sitting on the tundra. Denver wasn't sure if the female laid eggs and abandoned or possibly never laid at all. No lemmings were seen.
June 18, 2022
Denver observed the female on the mound. It's likely she laid her first egg sometime between the 17th and 18th of June.
Usually, by this time (mid-June) Snowy Owls are hatching, this nest is a month behind schedule. This is the latest nesting attempt we have ever seen.
June 17/18- June 29
Sometime between June 17th/18th and June 29, the female Snowy Owl laid 6 eggs. Laying every other day. We continued to monitor, measuring eggs, prey, and observing behavior.
July 17, 2022
Routine nest check visit, ~31 days after the female laid her first egg. The first pipped egg was observed, finally hatching on the 18th. We observed an increase in prey deliveries from the male, with 5x as many prey items.
July 20, 2022
We saw two chicks and one egg with a fracture. The parents remained close by and the female returned to the nest immediately once we left.
