NAMPA -- Some unique visitors are making themselves at home in a Nampa field. Their arrival has a lot of folks clamoring to see them.
Two Snowy Owls have made a field in Nampa their home for the past three weeks now. Idaho Fish and Game says Snowy Owls are extremely rare in the US outside of Alaska. That's why bird watchers have been traveling from miles away to get a glimpse of them.
We heard that they were out here a week or so ago, said Ed Crawford, an avid bird watcher. For Crawford, the sight of these two Snowy Owls is something special.
To get these particular birds you have to go a long ways away, said Crawford.
Snowy Owls usually live in the arctic tundra making the sight of them in Nampa extremely rare.
I enjoy the chance to see these and get them on my bird list, said Crawford.
I've never seen one before and I've been bird watching in Idaho a lot for the last seven years, said Bruce Ackerman, a biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Ackerman says it's hard to tell why the owls have come farther south, but sightings of snowy owls have been popping up around the state.
There's been five other sightings in southern Idaho this winter, said Ackerman.
The arrival of the owls has spurred frenzy among bird watchers. Ackerman says folks have been streaming in from across the state just to get a glimpse of the birds.
Unlike other species of owls, snowy owls stay out during the day making them perfect for bird watchers, like Crawford.
To see a rare bird like that so close that's pretty impressive, said Crawford.
Idaho Fish and Game says they don't know how much longer the owls will be in the area, that's why they're asking everyone to stay well away from the owls so they don't become stressed and fly away.
