Some of the snowy owls I've seen photographs of here look pretty emaciated. I'm no ornithologist, but I understand that a healthy snowy should look a little bulbous. See my photo here for a healthy example:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rps_ip/6844286923/
Snowies need about 30-50 yards between you and them to feel reasonably comfortable. They've come a long way to winter here and need all the calories they can store before they fly back north. They sleep during the day to conserve calories. When we approach during the day and they open their eyes, we've gotten too close. Their eyes are open because they are scared of what we're going to do to them. If they fly off their perch during daylight hours because we've gotten too close, then they've wasted calories they should be saving up. Various groups have posted ethics for photographers. If we're genuinely interested in the welfare of these creatures, we should follow those ethical guidelines.
I know that none of us would sacrifice the animal's welfare to get a great photo, but I saw many photographers "flushing" snowies regularly so that they could get shots in flight. Not only does doing so prevent others from seeing these beautiful birds, it causes the birds unneeded stress and loss of calories at a time they need it most. Moreover, when we get too close (within about 50 yards), they're spending much of their time looking at us (to see if we're a threat) rather than looking for prey.
Let's be careful and considerate!







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After that lecture, I noticed more photographers who were doing the same and figured they just didn't know better. I've probably flushed other birds many times accidentally, but that was my first snowy outing.

