The elusive snowy owl, rarely seen outside the Arctic, is turning up more frequently in the skies of North America, data from the National Audubon Society suggested on Wednesday.

 

Sightings of the majestic raptors, popularized by the owl Hedwig in author J.K. Rowling's fantasies and the films based on them, could eclipse last season's record when the final tally is in, according to preliminary data from the society's 115th Christmas bird count.

 

The society is not expected to release the total until June. It needs to analyze data from an estimated 2,400 counting sessions by teams of volunteers from December 14 to January 5. The countings took place in North, Central and South America, the Caribbean and some South Pacific islands.

 

As of Wednesday, with just a fifth of the counting sessions totaled, there were 303 of the enormous white birds sighted, Geoff LeBaron, the project leader, said on Wednesday.

 

Last year's final tally was 1,117 snowy owls, or nearly double the previous high of 563 from the 2011 count, he said.

 

Snowy owls breed in the Arctic, where they eat lemmings along with the occasional rabbit, rodent, fish and even fellow birds. Because they typically travel only in search of food, they are rarely seen outside the Arctic.

 

Bird experts are not certain why the sightings are more numerous or if they are connected to climate change.

 

 

PHOTO: Mini, a 25-year-old Snowy Owl injured as a young bird, peers out from her enclosure at the Raptor Trust, a bird sanctuary and rehabilitation center about 30 miles west of New York City in Millington, New Jersey in this December 12, 2006 file photo.

CREDIT: REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files.