Snowy owl's threatened status an "alarm bell" for a changing Arctic, scientist says

That recommendation has been passed on to the federal government, which will decide whether to list the snowy owl as threatened under the Species at Risk Act.

Louise Blight, co-chair of the subcommittee overseeing birds, said snowy owl observations have declined about 40 per cent over the last three generations, or 24 years. She says climate change — as well as direct threats such as vehicle strikes and poisoning — are to blame.

“Not only does this species nest in a region with one of the fastest-changing climates on the planet, but when it heads south for the winter it faces additional threats — collisions, electrocution, rodenticide poisoning, and diseases like avian influenza,” she wrote in a news release.

Blight, who is also an adjunct associate professor at the University of Victoria’s School of Environmental Studies, said in a phone interview that climate change reduces sea ice, which the birds use for resting and hunting. It has also led to increased shrub cover in the wide-open tundra habitat where the owl breeds, and there have been suggestions the population cycles of lemmings — its main prey — are being affected, she said.

She said it’s hard to measure the specific impacts of climate change on the owls, in part because the habitat changes are happening so quickly. 

“I talked to a colleague a couple of years ago who works in the Arctic…her comment was, ‘the Arctic is changing so fast we can’t even keep track of it,’” Blight said.

The owl, she said, is one of many species that are declining at “really concerning rates” for a number of different reasons, including habitat change, invasive species and climate change. 

“I find them all alarming comments on the state of nature,” she said.

David Rodrigue, biologist and Executive Director of the Ecomuseum Zoo west of Montreal, said the committee’s recommendation should be a “rallying cry” to accelerate efforts to protect Canada’s biodiversity.

He says Quebec has yet to begin its own formal process to assess the status of its official bird.

Rodrigue says a government decision to designate the species as threatened would trigger measures to help it, including an obligation to create a recovery plan and some habitat protection.

He said more can also be done to help the birds when they migrate south, including limiting the use of certain rodent poisons.

In Canada, “threatened” means a species is likely to become endangered if nothing is done to reverse the factors leading to its disappearance.

Rodrigue said the Ecomuseum has had snowy owls in its care, and visitors are always drawn to the beautiful snow-white birds that shot to global fame when they were featured in the “Harry Potter” franchise. 

“They’re extremely striking,” he said.

Rodrigue believes the snowy owl’s population decline sends a “huge signal” about the vulnerability of the Arctic, and believes everyone should take notice.

“The Arctic in many ways is extremely important for, literally, human survival as well,” he said. “And we don’t see what’s happening there. People don’t realize that things are so bad there that you’ve got species like that that are crashing.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2025.