Can you guess the Iowa animal featured in this extreme close-up?
This is a snowy owl, an occasional winter visitor to Iowa. We only see snowy owls in Iowa when lemming populations – the snowy owl’s favorite dinner item – crash on the tundra. That sends the snowy owls south in search of food, like mice and other small mammals. So if you spot one, it’s a rare sight indeed. This year, the Iowa Ornithologists Union has reported a pair of snowy owls in the Lime Springs area earlier this month.
Learn more about Iowa's owls.