Officials: Go see snowy owl at Lake Pueblo, but be respectful

Floating on the waters of Lake Pueblo is a snowy owl, though you might have to squint to see it.

Luckily, Brandon Percival, a birder from Pueblo West, was out at the lake looking at seagulls when he first spotted the arctic visitor.

“Pueblo Reservoir gets lots of rare gulls, and I was looking for gulls and happened to see the snowy owl sitting on the tires,” Percival said.

Since he reported it on Monday, birders and passersby have been stopping to see the rare sight.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say the last time a snowy owl was at Lake Pueblo was in 1984.

But lake manager Monique Mullis says if you do stop by to see it, be respectful.

“Don’t ruin it for everybody else. You know, this is really an exciting thing and you’ve already talked to some people who find this very neat and there’s a lot of people coming from all over to see it,” Mullis said.

She said while the owl is sitting where it is now, the South Marina is only open to slip renters.

“If there were a lot of people close by and especially boats getting very close by just to get a view, that could be very stressful and dangerous for the bird,” Mullis said.

Percival said although he’s seen snowy owls before, he still got excited.

“[I] called everyone in the world, all my birding friends around Pueblo and everywhere else to let them know about it,” Percival said.

For some people, this is a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.

This snowy owl isn’t the only one that has been seen in Colorado. Parks and Wildlife officials said other sightings have been seen in Otero and Las Animas counties, among others.