Snowy owls showing signs of distress in Nova Scotia

A wildlife rehabilitator in Truro says young snowy owls could be in trouble in Nova Scotia this year.

Helene Von Donnick runs the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. She says this year, more owls are migrating south from the Arctic, and that could mean the owls have to compete harder for food.

Van Donnick recently received a young owl at the rehab centre which was extremely thin and died within moments of arriving. She says she's also heard reports of other owls that were malnourished or dying. 

She says people should give the birds space, but should watch for signs of distress. 

"They certainly do rest, and they certainly do spend a lot of time still on the ground, but we've had situations where they're in the same spot for a couple of days, the exact same spot for a couple of days," Van Donnick told CBC's Information Morning.

"Then certainly call us or another rehabilitator or the Department of Natural Resources."

Van Donnick says this is the second year snowy owls are migrating in larger than usual numbers.