Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca)

Abundance:  Occasional; 2 records in 2 Regional counties, 1 in Kentucky and 1 in Tennessee, each involving a single bird (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population visiting the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Visitor during winter (2 records) but might also appear during late fall and early spring; sight records.

Information on Records: 

1 December 1956 (1) c. 2.5 km west of Cumberland County line on Rt. 70S, White County, Tennessee (J. M. Kellberg et al.; Kellberg 1956).

Pre-1962 (1) Barren County, Kentucky (observer unspecified; Wilson 1962).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Large, open areas, especially agricultural land.

Remarks: The Barren County record involves a specimen taken in that county "some years" prior to 1962 (Wilson 1962: 14); the specimen was then in the Edwards collection at the Kentucky Museum.  The description of the White County bird is not wholly satisfactory in that the the owl's head was turned away from the observers, so the "face" of the owl was apparently not viewed; despite this shortcoming in the record, other descriptive details about the bird, especially its size and overall color, are consistent with features of Snowy Owl (Kellberg 1956), so the record seems likely to be valid.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited