Bubo scandiacus
Identification. A large, mostly white owl with yellow eyes. Adult males are nearly pure white; females and immatures show black barring on the back, wings, and crown.
Status in Michigan. Irruptive winter visitor. Snowy Owls arrive in Michigan from the Arctic in irregular irruption years driven by lemming population cycles in the breeding grounds. In peak irruption winters, dozens of individuals are recorded across the state, with concentrations on the Saginaw Bay shoreline, the agricultural Thumb, and the eastern Upper Peninsula.
Habitat. Open, snow-covered landscapes resembling Arctic tundra: agricultural fields, airports, Great Lakes piers, and large open marshland.
Where to find Snowy Owl. Best viewed in irruption winters along Saginaw Bay agricultural roads in Bay, Tuscola, and Huron counties, at airports across the state, and at Whitefish Point in Chippewa County. eBird alerts and local Audubon Society watches are the most reliable way to find them.
Best Michigan counties for Snowy Owl. Bay, Tuscola, Sanilac, Chippewa, Mackinac. Click any county above to see recent Snowy Owl sightings and hotspot information.
Conservation. Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Population estimates have been revised downward in recent assessments. Project SNOWstorm continues to track wintering individuals with satellite transmitters.
The sightings table below this section pulls live Snowy Owl reports from eBird across all 83 Michigan counties, refreshed every 15 minutes. For comprehensive historical records and global range information, the eBird species profile and Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World account are the authoritative references.
Edited by Chris Izworski, Bay City, Michigan. Sightings data from eBird, updated every 15 minutes.