Snowy Owl Magic: Nature's Silent and Mysterious Guardians | Full Documentary

[Music] [Laughter] [Music] this is hewig the  magical white owl made famous by the Harry Potter films he is a snowy owl and has  captured the in ination of audiences worldwide this film is a story following  the lives of one remarkable family of snowy owls we get an extraordinary insight into the  lives of one pair as they raise young in the Arctic what we discover about them confirms   that they are truly special not  just among owls but all [Music] [Music] creatures in the Midwest of the United States some  remarkable visitors have arrived these   are young snowy owls they can appear in  places like this and then just vanish snowy owls are nomads such majestic  creatures might well look out a place   in broad daylight among the homes and farmlands of Wisconsin these young snowy owls  are here to avoid the worst of the   Arctic winter much further north  the weather down here is less [Music] extreme and prey is easier to  [Music] find these owls haven't yet fully   mastered all the SK skills needed to survive  a winter further north where their parents can a rare glimpse of them like this is as close   an encounter with a snowy owl  as many of us could ever hope for snowy owls are one of the biggest owls in the world they have extraordinary  [Music] Vision unique telescopic   site allows them to lock onto  prey from great [Music] distances they'll need every skill and sense to survive in   the Arctic the land of snow  and ice where their parents [Music] remain this is the Arctic  in Winter the sun remains   permanently below the Horizon  in a continuous polar [Music] [Music] night adult snowy owls can  remain here throughout these cold dark months only the most experienced are capable  of living year round in this Eerie Bleak Frozen land as well as being telescopic these   extraordinary eyes are sensitive  enough to see in this permanent Twilight being powerful owls they can  take large prey as well there's often   little Choice there is not  much life up here at [Music] all light is slowly returning to the Arctic it is now that the the true Majesty of  the snowy owl can be seen in its frozen white Kingdom there is little relief from the constant wind for adult snowy owls the lengthening daylight  means the chance to breed is drawing closer it may not look like it but the start of  the short arctic summer is racing towards them snowy owls must nest on the first  snowf free patch of tundra they can find from year to year here this can be in a  totally different place anywhere across the entire Arctic it's late May and if  we're to succeed in filming   snow owls we're going to have to find them [Music] soon snowy owls could be breeding  anywhere from Siberia to Canada we   hope to follow a family being raised  over the short [Music] summer though   this early on not even the scientists  know where we should be if numbers were   high in one area last year it doesn't  mean to say this summer will be the same there is evidence from regurgitated  pellets that owls have been here recently   but no sign of a nest days pass and we  still haven't found any breeding snowy owls we hope this year won't be one  of those when hardly any breed at all it is June already and all around us the snow  and ice is melting at great speed [Applause] the   exposed Tundra attracts migrants from the  south they're all looking for a place to Nest summer lasts just a few short months  anything choosing to breed must get a move on [Music] the sun now stays permanently above the  Horizon it will not set again for 82 days a lead from a scientist has brought us  to the North Slope of Alaska in some years   the tundra here is dotted with snowy ow nest  [Music] though so far we think we may have   got it all wrong and there will never be  time now to move to another part of the Arctic this sudden attack by a male snowy owl is  making us think we've walked into his breeding territory anything that comes within a kilometer  of a snowy owl's Nest can get attacked like this   even wolves and polar bears we have to set up the  hide a long way back to avoid disturbing the owls [Music] again it's a huge relief to be  settled in she's definitely on   eggs and at last we can start to observe and film she's the only nesting owl  on the whole Tundra we can't see   another breeding pair anywhere else in  this landscape if she fails our trip is doomed the absence of any other  owls must be saying something   is our pair doing the right thing by trying to breed one owlet has hatched there could be [Music] more we know that snowy owls can lay  up to 14 eggs the biggest clutch size of any owl the owlets hatch every few days  but under her blanket of feathers we   have no idea yet how many there are  our male snowy owl can be seen from   way off his bright white plumage  signals to others that this is his territory with our female keeping the owlets  warm catching prey is all up to him if the   weather is this good he must spend all his  time hunting conditions here can change in   an instant fog or strong winds will make  it impossible for him the success of this   year's breeding will all now depend  on how much prey there is for him to [Music] catch he has caught something it's a brown leming he has brought in on   the rare calm day like this he  can really put the hours into hunting while they are this small  it's her job to break the food up   into bite-sized morsels those  little mouths could choke on more she's long-sighted so can't  see the outlets when they're this   close to her face the bristles  over her beak help her feel for them are there no other owls because  they know there's not enough food birds like these spectral sandpipers  and red fope can be caught on occasion though for snowy owls to raise  young successfully there must be enough leming the trouble is across the Arctic  leming can be utterly unpredictable able   even in one small area their numbers  can erupt or disappear at any moment   throughout the summer for snowy  owls this makes breeding a complete gamble there have been years on this bit of Tundra  with over 30 breeding pairs of owls at once this   year the place is deserted except for our pair  we found an abandoned Nest which isn't a good [Music] sign [Music] we're increasingly  concerned that our pair will fail too we can count five owlets in the nest five  they'll need a huge amount of food as they grow while they are this age the outlets need her  warmth particularly when it's this cold cold and windy with no high point to look  out from he hovers and uses his   telescopic Vision to scour the tundra below for movement he can't afford to miss like this only he can do the hunting she is keeping  them safe and warm they're vulnerable on   the ground like this and there's one  Predator to really watch out [Music] for polar bears with the sea  ice melted they're forced into   sharing this part of Tundra with our owls if polar bears find the youngsters  unattended they will eat [Music] them this time the Bears are moving up  the coastline though they may well be back it's not for lack of trying that  he's not making regular deliveries   there are just so few Lemmings [Music] around this   is forcing her out to hunt herself she's  leaving the owlets much earlier than she should [Music] [Music] the youngest alet is only days old she  should be there to keep it out of the freezing [Music] wind [Music] the male has caught a small bird it's a phero   in her eagerness to get him back out  hunting again she comes in to do the feeding [Music] we haven't seen many fope  around at all he has done well to catch this are the Lemmings that difficult to find one small bird is never going to  satisfy the hunger of all five Outlets   without much to go around the oldest  and biggest tend to reach the food first sometimes the mail is  not coming in for hours on end [Music] the lack of prey is forcing  her off the nest time and [Music] again we're starting to worry  things may be taking a turn for the worse without her to keep them warm  the owlets are seeking Refuge out of   the wind down below the [Music] mound  they are too young to leave the nest   it has not been recorded before  we're worried to see this strange Behavior the smallest Outlet is only 10 days  old and by nature of its size is the most [Music] vulnerable this glorus Gull  has been hanging around and perhaps   knows that things aren't going  to plan for this family of owls she can't afford to travel too far from  The Nest though she's bringing back   virtually nothing for them it's  as if she doesn't know where to turn these Outlets really aren't  getting enough food a half shut eye   can mean a bird isn't well the  youngest is looking alarmingly [Music] small he is rarely off the wing and  hovering higher and higher on the lookout for food [Music] his efforts have paid off but  it's a long flight back to the [Music] nest for the owlets this couldn't  have come soon enough it is a race   to get fed though the youngest and  smallest is stuck at the back of the queue the male seems to found one  particular area way off which is rich in leming he is obviously a great  hunter there's just been so little to catch the bigger Outlets can  consume a whole leming in one go things are looking up with food coming in  perhaps our family's fortunes have changed   though we're noticing an increasing divide  between the youngest outlet and its older [Music] siblings she seems to be aware that  the youngest is struggling [Music]   she is trying to do something about  it unlike many other birds of prey   all the evidence is that snowy owls  are particularly caring mothers what   we're seeing in front of us certainly  supports that [Music] notion [Music] despite her attempts to help the owlet by sharing  food out its strength is visibly failing [Music] it at this age the owlets each need  as many as five Lemmings a [Music] day the weather can change so quickly  here in the Arctic that the owlets   must be in a good condition or  they won't survive any colder spells freezing fogs like this can roll  in off the Arctic Ocean in a matter of hours this can keep the lemings underground even she is now  begging to the maale for food how long is this fog going to last some 8 hours later it's easing though  thick fogs like these could last for days things have taken another turn for the worse [Music] the youngest owlet stands weak   and isolated it no longer has the  strength to stay with the [Music] others she's detecting that it's  too weak to feed now [Music] though she can at least brood it [Music] [Music] tenderly it's a surprise  to see this gentle side to her   nature she's so caring we have to  remind ourselves that she's just an [Music] owl even the older outlets now seem  concerned for their ever weakening [Music] sibling in his Relentless search our male is now  prospecting for Lemmings right out towards the coast this is a good few kilometers from The Nest the leming numbers can rise and  fall so quickly it's impossible to know   where to look there could be small  pockets on of them anywhere on the [Music] tundra there doesn't seem to be any movement  from the youngest owlet now it must be dead   she knows this too she has invested everything  into trying to save her youngest but there are   four others that need her attention right in front  of us we notice a sudden and complete change in her in what seems to us a desperate measure  she feeds the lifeless body to the [Music] others [Music] this might at least keep them [Music] alive there's absolutely no sign of the [Music]  male with her mate nowhere to be seen and her   youngest owlet dead what is she to do next  their efforts to breed are turning into a disaster hours later we spot him with a leming he hurries back to the [Music] nest but his family seems to have gone he's confused they are  hundreds of meters away on the [Music] [Music] tundra it's a long way to travel  though there is food out there and there's   no time to [Music] lose this is the kind  of density of lemmings he has been waiting   for all [Music] summer Keen to get a  meal the owlets are all moving towards [Music] him [Music] with them no longer on the nest and  moving hundreds of meters a day we have to keep up we need a more mobile [Music] [Music] hide [Music] a day like this in July can turn foul  in hours a rainstorm can appear from nowhere nothing is certain for these snowy owls yet  whatever challenges come at them they seem to keep [Music] going we have experienced a few   drizzly days up here but freezing  rain like this can be a killer [Music] there is no shelter on the tundra it's two long days before  the weather starts to clear [Music] snowy Outlets are equipped with thick gray down  it's one of the best insulators in the natural world within 5 days all of the outlets  are over half half a kilometer away from   the nest it's astonishing to see  them waddle across the tundra like this it's such a relief for all that  he has found a good hunting spot the outlets look so much healthier this is the age  that they need more food than ever they're growing exponentially it's now mid July and summer has reached its height for a short window  flowers like Arctic poppies   add a splash of color to this otherwise Bleak landscape all other birds here breeding will be  on the wing long before our young snowy [Music] owls any movement seems to catch their Curious [Music] eye one has spotted a nesting golden [Music] [Music] Plover they like to investigate everything around them they're just so [Music] curious something has alarmed the male it's the polar bears again only this time   they're heading right towards them  it's a mother and her own hungry Cubs the outlets have to stay hidden their gray   down keeps them well camouflaged  though their scent may give them away if the Bears get much closer to the  owlets the adults May well take them   on and stoop at them like they did at us when we arrived [Music] the Bears seem to be heading Inland our female look set on taking the owlets  in the other direction direction to where the   male is hunting she flies between different  Mounds as if to encourage the outlets to follow the whole family of owls is  moving ever closer to the coast they are over a kilometer from The  Nest now and it's only a short distance to go but there's a problem a river is in the way to  our knowledge the owlets can neither fly nor swim what are they going to do now will they be stuck here until they can fly the temperature in July can at  times creep up to well over 10° Centigrade for the Arctic this is a baking hot day wearing a thick coat of down is hard work all this warmth and water brings another problem mosquitoes there a real nuisance around the [Music] Eyes by the end of July most  of the tundra is covered in mosquitoes only a breeze will keep them at Bay maybe this is another reason  the owl family is heading to the [Music] coast but they're going to have to   get across this River [Music] somehow  [Music] these owls continue to amaze us will the other siblings make it [Music] [Applause] across [Music] then way make it look [Music] easy maybe Third Time [Music] [Music] Lucky [Music] made it we never imagined we would  see this it has never been recorded or filmed before with the owlet well ahead we can get out of our [Applause] hide almost a week has passed the owlet's flight   feathers are growing fast and they  could take to the wing any day now the whole family has reached the shoreline  where the coastal Breeze keeps all mosquitoes at Bay [Applause] there is an ample food supply  the adults are catching more than is even wanted the outlets exercise their  wing muscles and snatch at pretend prey we can tell the youngsters  apart now there are two males   and two females females have  more dark barring on their [Music] wings the season is turning in front of us there's already a noticeable  change in some of the colors on the tundra it's only August and  these are the first signs of autumn Brent geese are gathering in  large flocks ready to fly [Music] south though our parent owls can remain up here when  the long polar winter returns their offspring must leave they could never have all  the skills needed to stay alive   through a winter up here only  very experien snowy owls can do that our youngsters will go where the  weather will be less extreme and prey more certain all the summer visitors to this most  Northerly tip of Alaska are now preparing to leave with few obstacles to avoid the  tundra is a good place to learn how to   fly our snowy Outlets per persevere with  all their strength just like in everything   else we've seen them [Music] do the sun  is dropping ever closer to the Horizon   the polar day is coming to an end and our  Outlets are taking to the sky for the first time [Music] as we leave these astonishing Birds  we realize what it takes to live and   breed up here our snowy owls have  done amazingly well to raise four   owlets in an imposs possibly difficult  [Music] year soon our parent snowy owls   will be locked in another long dark icy  [Music] winter it is their home their [Music] domain [Music]

Channel: Free High-Quality Documentaries

Views: 237,734

Keywords: Free High-Quality Documentaries, HD, Full HD, Quality

Id: JwfEjYudf4U

Length: 52min 20sec (3140 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 02 2023