Harry Potter owl flies 1,000km to settle in Burren

A rare snowy owl, the arctic birds popularised by the Harry Potter films, has set up home in the Burren, more than 1,000km from it usual habitat.

It is only the third sighting in more than 100 years in Co Clare, and the first time one has made the county its home.

Wild snowy owls have become popular in private collections since the appearance of ‘Hedwig’ in the Harry Potter films. A young snowy owl could command in excess of €10,000 on the black market.

The owl was photographed by Welsh tourist Mark Lewis while it hunted over the Black Head near Ballyvaughan last week. They normally base themselves in Arctic regions but are known to settle in warmer climates on rare occasions. The Burren’s terrain makes it virtually impossible for poachers to get close to trap the animal.

“This bird possibly arrived with the birds that left North America last Autumn. I would suspect that this bird came into the Burren last October or November. They have an incredible range. This bird might just make the Burren it’s home, if it is able to get a good source of food and it likes the place,” John Murphy of Clare Birdwatching said.

“A wild bird like this could be bred with a tame bird in a collection to create a wilder offspring. I’m not overly worried about this bird being caught because this one will be able to roam so much that it should be safe.”

Mr Lewis said: “I recognised it as a snowy Owl when I saw it but I didn’t believe that it could be... I’m glad we got the pictures, because if we hadn’t taken pictures no one would have believed us.”