The ghost of the Arctic skies

Ethereal and stunningly beautiful, the snowy owl is one of our most treasured owl species — and it might be making a welcome return

- Lindsay Waddell

My previous conservation piece was on the same theme as this one (Little owl, big character, 8 January). However, the last one was small; this one is certainly not. It’s a bird very few of us will ever have seen, unless it has been on a gloved fist or in an aviary. The snowy owl has bred here but not for some time — the last record being on Fetlar in the Shetlands in 1975, having bred there eight years in succession since it was first spotted in 1967. It is no surprise because Shetland is a mere 400 miles from the Arctic Circle.

The last logged visiting record was in the summer of 1993 but it is possible birds have come and gone without being located. There is a mention of one being seen in October 2018.

The bird was first recorded by the naturalist Linnaeus in 1758. He was the first to put into print many species and he gave the snowy owl the name Strix scandiaca. That has now been altered to Nyctea scandiaca and there would seem to be some debate around that classification even to this day, as DNA has placed the bird very close to the European eagle owl. However, most recognise the previous name.