Project SNOW-Storm: Join us as we research the annual movements of Snowy Owls
https://www.projectsnowstorm.org/posts/a-year-end-update-and-an-out-of-place-owl/
Scott Weidensaul December 30, 2022
The biggest snowy owl news in the past week comes from an unexpected place — southern California.
Some months back a video of a snowy owl on a rooftop, reportedly from San Pedro, near the Port of Los Angeles, was posted to the iNaturalist website. Given the absence of previous records of that species so far south on the West Coast, there was initial skepticism about the veracity of the report, and an immediate assumption that, if valid, it likely represented an owl that rode a ship into the port. But there were no further observations, and the speculation died off.
Then on Monday, a video of a snowy owl from Cypress, CA, about 15 miles (23 km) east of the port, was posted to the California rare birds Facebook group, and this time the bird was quickly refound and verified. That also restarted the debate about its origins. There are California snowy owl records, all (so far as I am aware) from Monterey north, and all from years when there were big flights along the Northwest coast. That is not the case this year, when there have been no reports of other snowy owls anywhere south of Alaska or west of the coast ranges.
The assumption, again, is that this owl rode south on a ship from — well, no one can hazard a guess. A few have pointed out that snowies can cross long distances of open water, like the multiple records in Bermuda, or one that made it to Hawaii about a decade ago. But those incidents, again, generally coincided with big irruption flights.
Snowies do land on ships. During the irruption flight of 1945-46, ornithologist Alfred Gross documented more than two dozen cases of snowy owls landing on vessels in the north Atlantic, and in 2021 birders in Spain were agog when not one but three snowy owls showed up, the first ever seen in Spain, two of them close to a large and active port.
Whatever the California Bird Records Committee decides regarding the countability of the Cypress owl, it’s made a lot of SoCal birders very happy this holiday week.
= new reply since forum marked as read
excellent information 
I was captivated. It stood out because it was bright white against the cloudy and drab backdrop. It was perched on a picnic table out in the open—no foliage or trees—facing the horizon.
I literally tiptoed to get closer keeping a distance so it wouldn’t fly off. As I was passing behind it turned its head backwards! 
. It was so beautiful and BIG. I’d never seen an Owl before and I am not a bird watcher so I wasn’t sure what it was exactly. I googled it and found out.
The next day, I walked by the same spot and a guy was crouched down with a telescopic camera lens pointed its way so I didn’t go near. I never saw it again.
I took a not-so-good photo that I may or may not be able to find as I’ve changed phones twice since. I’m going to look for the pic though because this thread and seeing one the other day looking in a Harry Potter movie have made me want to see it again.
It was unforgettable and very special.
for each one, select a year:
https://www.projectsnowstorm.org/snowstorm-owls-winter-2017-18/
Pennington – 2018
At at least five years of age (based on wing molt), Pennington is the oldest owl we’ve tagged as part of Project SNOWstorm. This almost pure white male was tagged Feb. 2, 2018, by Nova Mackentkley and Chris Neri near Pickford, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, just 2 miles (3.4 km) from Pennington.
Pickford – 2018
Pickford, a juvenile female, was tagged Feb. 2, 2018, by Nova Mackentkley and Chris Neri near Pickford, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, just 2 miles (3.4 km) from Pennington. She was occupying the same winter territory used in 2015 by Chippewa. Pickford’s transmitter was underwritten by donations from the public.