Snowies in the neighborhood

David Patton/Albany Democrat-Herald, via Associated Press

A Fayette resident recently reported a snowy owl sighting and apparently he’s not alone. This is a good winter to see the birds around here:

The white, two-foot-tall birds, which live in the Arctic the rest of the year, are known to fly south in large numbers every few winters in what is known as an irruption. But this year, the numbers are unusually high, said Denver Holt, director of the Owl Research Institute in Charlo, Mont.

“There are so many across the country, everywhere, by the thousands,” Mr. Holt said. “It’s unbelievable. They are being seen from Boston, to the Great Lakes, the Ohio River Valley, Kansas, Vancouver and Seattle.”