Most individuals arrive at the nest site by April or May with a few overwintering arctic exceptions.
Males advertises potential nest sites to his mate by scratching the ground and spreading his wings over it.
The nest is usually a shallow depression on a windswept eminence in the open tundra.
There seems to be a variety of qualifiers for appropriate nest sites.
The nest site is typically snow-free and dry relative to the surrounding environment, usually with a good view of the surrounding landscape.
The nest may be made of ridges, elevated mounds, high polygons, hummocks, hills, man-made mounds and occasionally rocky outcrops.
If covered with vegetation, taller plants that may obstruct view are plucked away sometimes.
The nest sites are often long-established and naturally created by the freeze-thaw process of the tundra.
Gravel bars may be used as well.
The female may take the most active role in the nest's condition of any owl species.
No owl build their own nests but female snowy owls take about three days constructing a scrape, digging with her claws and rotating until a fairly circular bowl is formed.
She will still not construct or add foreign materials to the nest (despite some circumstantial evidence of moss and grass from outside the nest mound being found).
In two separate cases in Barrow, two separate females dug out a second scrape to the side and below the main nests and appeared to have called all chicks to the more secluded nest to ride out severe weather until the skies cleared.
The Barrow nest scrapes averaged 47.7 cm × 44 cm (18.8 in × 17.3 in) in 91 with a mean depth of 9.8 cm (3.9 in) while the scrapes were smaller in Hooper Bay, reportedly 25 to 33 cm (9.8 to 13.0 in) diameter and 4 to 9 cm (1.6 to 3.5 in) in depth.
Occasionally, in the lower tundra, snowy owls may too use old nests of rough-legged buzzards as well as abandoned eagle nests.
Unlike other northerly breeding raptorial birds, the snowy owl is not known to nest on cliffs and the like, so do not enter into direct competition with eagles, falcons, ravens or other Bubo owls when nesting to the relative south.
The area of nest mound often has a relatively rich plant life which attract the lemmings, which may tunnel right under and around the owl's nest.
Geese, ducks and shorebirds of several species known to gain incidental protection by nesting close to snowy owls.
Conversely, the snowy owls will sometimes kill and eat both young and adults of these birds, which implies a trade-off in the benefits.
Most individuals arrive at the nest site by April or May with a few overwintering arctic exceptions. Males advertises potential nest sites to his mate by scratching the ground and spreading his wings over it. The nest is usually a shallow depression on a windswept eminence in the open tundra. There seems to be a variety of qualifiers for appropriate nest sites. The nest site is typically snow-free and dry relative to the surrounding environment, usually with a good view of the surrounding landscape. The nest may be made of ridges, elevated mounds, high polygons, hummocks, hills, man-made mounds and occasionally rocky outcrops. If covered with vegetation, taller plants that may obstruct view are plucked away sometimes. The nest sites are often long-established and naturally created by the freeze-thaw process of the tundra. Gravel bars may be used as well. The female may take the most active role in the nest's condition of any owl species. No owl build their own nests but female snowy owls take about three days constructing a scrape, digging with her claws and rotating until a fairly circular bowl is formed. She will still not construct or add foreign materials to the nest (despite some circumstantial evidence of moss and grass from outside the nest mound being found). In two separate cases in Barrow, two separate females dug out a second scrape to the side and below the main nests and appeared to have called all chicks to the more secluded nest to ride out severe weather until the skies cleared. The Barrow nest scrapes averaged 47.7 cm × 44 cm (18.8 in × 17.3 in) in 91 with a mean depth of 9.8 cm (3.9 in) while the scrapes were smaller in Hooper Bay, reportedly 25 to 33 cm (9.8 to 13.0 in) diameter and 4 to 9 cm (1.6 to 3.5 in) in depth. Occasionally, in the lower tundra, snowy owls may too use old nests of rough-legged buzzards as well as abandoned eagle nests. Unlike other northerly breeding raptorial birds, the snowy owl is not known to nest on cliffs and the like, so do not enter into direct competition with eagles, falcons, ravens or other Bubo owls when nesting to the relative south. The area of nest mound often has a relatively rich plant life which attract the lemmings, which may tunnel right under and around the owl's nest. Geese, ducks and shorebirds of several species known to gain incidental protection by nesting close to snowy owls. Conversely, the snowy owls will sometimes kill and eat both young and adults of these birds, which implies a trade-off in the benefits.
Snowy owl