Rarity of Nature: White Snowy Owl Makes Appearance in Boro Park, Thrilling Local Birdwatchers

“An event like this has never been recorded,” intones Yaker Biegeleisen, Boropark24’s weather and nature reporter. “The magnitude of this cannot be overstated.”

He explains that it all began when Yoily Rosenberg, an avid birdwatcher from Boro Park was doing is regular thing on Tuesday morning, observing a Red Tail Hawk (which readers may remember from the drama of last spring), when he noticed something strange.

We connected with Mr. Rosenberg, who related: “It was agitated, flying to and fro, as though trying to chase something. This is not typical behavior, and so I set out to investigate. I got up on a nearby building with my equipment.... and that is when my breath was taken away; sitting right there was the Snowy White Owl, which, to my knowledge has never been spotted in our area.”

Rosenberg takes issue with what he sees as an unfair depiction of these birds in the tone of the coverage around the hawk last spring. “Getting close to the bird is not dangerous; unless it is nesting, or it is startled, it will not bother you. They bring many benefits to the neighborhood, like keeping the rats and rodents at bay.”

This beautiful bird, with such unique features is alternatively known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl—precisely because it is native to these frigid places, and very rarely ventures south.

“If it does come down here, it will usually hover around open areas, like the seashore... which makes the sighting atop a building in Boro Park so unique.”

Yoily supposes that it is frigid ground, and the dearth of food up north, that can cause this rare aberration. They eat mostly rodents and other small animals, which are scarcer in the winter—leading to this thrilling treat.

Birdwatchers are a zealous bunch, and don’t allow outsiders in easily. They would still not divulge the precise location... even after the bird has left the area—only to say that it was somewhere in the high 50’s.

“It is out of our deep love for nature, and our desire to protect these creatures of such beauty that Hashem has placed into the world, Yoily explains.

In the incredible images that he was fortunate to capture—which he graciously shared with Boropark24.com—we can see the aforementioned tension between the two birds, and the breathtaking beauty of the bird that ventured into our neighborhood quite by accident, providing us an otherwise elusive glimpse of this winged marvel of the frozen Arctic.