For now, it’s a holiday mystery.
A snowy owl, certainly not native to Southern California, has made an appearance in a residential Cypress neighborhood, drawing avid ornithologists and curious bird gawkers alike.
The mostly white and brownish-grey bird was perched atop a house on a palm tree-lined street Tuesday, Dec. 27, nestled next to a chimney while revelers pack the street and sidewalk with tripods, cameras and cell phones.
“It is absolutely unique as a bird observation,” said Vic Leipzig, who teaches birding at Saddleback College and is the past president of Sea and Sage Audubon. But what is just as remarkable has been the public’s response, he said.
“It’s a beautiful thing to see,” Leipzig said. “That there were so many people standing there watching this thing was very thrilling to me. And not just people, as I expected, who had traveled long distances, but folks from the neighborhood as well.”
At times there were upwards of nearly 30 people keeping their eyes and cameras glued on the bird from the far north.
Some local bird experts speculate the owl might be the same bird spotted a few weeks ago in Los Angeles County near the Port of Los Angeles. They believe it could have been “ship-assisted” — meaning, it could have ridden on a ship, not unusual for an owl — to Los Angeles before making its way to Orange County.
If this theory proves correct, there will still be some debate about whether the owl is “countable,” a term bird watchers use to refer to whether a bird counts toward a “life list” of birds seen in person in their natural elements. Some birders will say a ship-assisted bird, even one that wasn’t restrained, shouldn’t be included on a life list; others may be more lenient as long as this snowy owl naturally chose the ship for its journey south.
Another speculation is that it is an “escaped” bird that had been kept in captivity.
Young bird enthusiast Riley Daniels, 11, of Palos Verdes Estates, came with his parents to see the snowy owl and brought his camera to take photos of the rare sight.
“It’s absolutely amazing, what a gift. It’s like Santa Claus because he’s on top of the chimney. We’ve never seen anything like this, so for it to be in Cypress, in our neighborhood is very, very special,” said Nancy Menendez, who lives in the neighborhood where the owl was visiting. “We usually take our dog on this walk so this is really cool, so excited.”
Snowy owls are large and powerful, common in northern Canada and Alaska, especially during winter months. Migration patterns are not well predictable, according to the Audubon Society, nesting in the Arctic tundra during summers and sometimes migrating as far south as just below the Canadian border during some winters — often garnering widespread attention when they do so.
Last year, a snowy owl was spotted in New York’s Central Park — an occurrence that experts said had not happened in more than a century.
But Leipzig doesn’t believe there has ever been one spotted as far south as Orange County.
For those who may want to get a glimpse of the white, Arctic bird, it’s best to keep some distance, view it through binoculars and try not to disturb the bird, instructs Nurit Katz, outreach coordinator for the Los Angeles Raptor Study, which monitors hawk, owl and falcon nests to learn how the birds adapt to urban environments. Don’t try to get the owl to fly and be respectful of the neighborhood, she said.
Other owl-viewing tips from the Audubon Society include: Don’t feed the owls; avoid flash photography, especially after dark; and don’t get too close. If the owl frequently looks at you, you might be too close, according to the Audubon Society.
“Wildnerness birds are so unused to people that it doesn’t occur to them to be frightened of people,” said Sylvia Gallagher, a longtime birding instructor in Orange County.
Snowy owls are usually silent, according to the Audubon Society, although they do have a hoarse croak and shrill whistle when on breeding grounds.
For now, Leipzig isn’t aware of any plans to remove the bird. Although some videos shared on social media show the bird appearing to pant, maybe as a result of the warmer temperatures in Southern California, Leipzig said there is no word yet that the owl is too sick or injured that it should be captured.
And it’s already been in the Cypress neighborhood for at least a few days – a neighborhood that does have ponds with ducks. Snowy owls typically eat rodents, but can eat birds as large as ducks, Leipzig said.
Regardless of how the owl made its way to Orange County, it’s certainly a rare sight for bird enthusiasts and casual observers this holiday season.
Staff photographer Mark Rightmire contributed to this report.
