Birds | March 29, 2022 3:23 AM | hangbony
Traffic camera accidentally captures stunning image of snowy owl in flight
A stunning image of a snowy owl in flight was taken by a traffic camera.
On the 3rd of January, a CCTV camera on Highway 40 in Montreal’s West Island captured this image as part of a series.
The photographs were subsequently published on Twitter by Quebec Transport Minister Robert Poetin, who wrote: “Magnificent snowy owl picked up by security cameras of the road network on the A-40 in the West of MTL.”
According to Barbara Frei, director of the McGill Bird Observatory, the bird was probably hunting for a place to perch:
“I believe they are drawn to the highway because it is close to broad, grassy fields, which are ideal for hunting their favorite prey, small rodents,” she explained. “They want to obtain a good overview of the area, and high lamp poles or other objects that they can perch on while hunting are ideal.”
Despite the fact that the bird exclusively breeds in Quebec’s northern tundra, it migrates south in the winter.
The snowy owl has a special place in Canada, where it is protected by law from hunters and is the official symbol of the province of Quebec.