Snowy Owl

Your Gift in Action

Your gift will conserve critical habitats and ensure a future for species at risk. It will also build healthier, more resilient ecosystems that provide essential benefits and services to people and their communities, while countering the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Since 1962, NCC has brought Canadians together to conserve and restore more than 15 million hectares, coast to coast to coast. But we must do more faster and accelerate the pace of conservation. Every gift and donation counts.

Snowy Owl

Snow owls are an iconic symbol of Canada’s north and the official bird of Quebec, they are the heaviest of all North American owls, weighting up to 3 kilograms. They have distinctive white and brown feathers that camouflage them in their northern, snow-covered habitats. A thick layer of down underneath their many layers of feathers insulates them from cold temperatures.

In the summer, they can be found in their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra, where they mainly eat lemmings. In the winter, many migrate to southern Canada and the northern United States, where their diet may include birds, rabbits, hares, voles, squirrels and weasels. Most owls are primarily nocturnal, but the snowy owl mostly hunts during the day.

Snowy owls usually mate for life. The female lays three to 11 eggs and chicks hatch within two to three weeks. Chicks emerge blind but can usually see after five days. They need safe places to rest and feed and a habitat where they can thrive. A symbolic gift of snowy owl habitat is the perfect gift for any birdwatcher in your life.

Photo 1: Photo by Shutterstock, Photo 2: Photo by Thinkstock, Photo 3: Photo by Shutterstock, Photo 4: Photo by Mike Dembeck