We have some in Minneapolis this winter. They’ve taken up residence at the airport which presents a problem. Once they settle on their winter home they aren’t easily dissuaded.

I’ll take your word for it. Snowy Owl is one bird I have never seen in the wild, even though I am out most of the winter.

Bucket list bird for me.

It was an amazing sight.

Early one winter morning, sitting on my raised bed with a dead rabbit. It was dark, with only the street lights on.
I might not even of seen it because of the snow.
It stayed for a few minutes and then flew down the middle of our street with the rabbit.
Silent.
It was beautiful.

Except for the rabbit.

Poor bunnies they're at the bottom of the food chain.

Eagles, hawks, and the like stoop fast from great height and hit their prey hard. They have strong, stiff feathers and streamlined form for speed in the 'tuck'. This makes their wing flaps much louder, though.

Since owls hunt in much less light and seek smaller prey, they are optimized for stealth, with serrated wing feathers and 'fluff' on the trailing edge to suppress turbulence. That makes them slower fliers and probably reduces their endurance as well.

https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.org/2015/07/24/creature-feature-quiet-as-an-owl/

Did you know most owls can't move their eyes ? They aren't round, but tapered, with the back (retina) end much larger than the front, so free movement is impossible. They've adapted by evolving 270-degree swiveling heads.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew-Iwaniuk/publication/227856635/figure/fig3/AS:288945733685266@1445901439968/Dorsal-and-side-views-of-excised-eyeballs-from-four-species-of-owl-a-Northern-saw-whet.png {trigger warning: dissected eyeballs. kind of gross}

Other weird stuff: their ears are at different heights on their heads, giving them audio stereolocation both vertically and horizontally.

I knew their feathers were different from eagles and hawks but I had no idea they couldn't move their eyes or that their ears were at different heights on their heads. Wow! Nature is amazing!