Hope springs eternal for lonesome island snowy owl

A snowy owl has returned to his favourite Scottish haunts for the eighth consecutive breeding season, despite never having found a mate. The owl is thought to have hatched in Greenland in May 2001 and first appeared in the Outer Hebrides in 2003.

Each year since, the large white male has taken up his pattern of nomadic wandering in his quest for a mate. The bird of prey's search has taken him all over the islands, including visits to North Uist, Lewis, Harris and even remote St Kilda, but to no avail.



Local RSPB Scotland staff, said yesterday the bird had even recently been spotted "sidling up" to a white polythene bag.

Conservation officer Martin Scott said: "At his age, he'll be hormonal. We see him sitting on exactly the same fence posts and rocks, but we've not had a resident female for years."