CYPRESS, Calif. (AP) ā Snowbirds are a common sight in Southern California in wintertime ā except when theyāre actually a bird. A snowy owl to be exact.
Crowds of bird-watchers have been showing up regularly in an Orange County neighborhood to gawk at a snowy owl, a species normally found around the Arctic, Canada and several northern U.S. states.
Itās current home is a rooftop perch in the balmy city of Cypress.
āIt is absolutely unique as a bird observation,ā Vic Leipzig, who teaches birding at Saddleback College, told The Orange County Register this week.
The newspaper reported that local bird experts speculated that the owl could have arrived in Southern California aboard a ship or could be a captive bird that escaped.
āItās a beautiful thing to see,ā Leipzig said. āThat there were so many people standing there watching this thing was very thrilling to me.ā