NEW GLARUS — An owl’s presence in New Glarus in recent days has caused traffic jams and law enforcement concerns. Everyday gawkers and plenty of bird watchers have flocked to the area with long lenses in hopes of capturing a look or an image of the creature perched atop a light pole.

It is a Snowy Owl, which is not at all common in southern Wisconsin. Word spread and crowds started to build almost immediately after it was first noticed in the first days of January. Then cars started stopping and clogging traffic at times on Wis. 69 and in the SSM Monroe Parking lot, where the star of the show is perched.

Green County Sheriff Cody Kanable was diplomatic in the face of the occasional traffic woes related to the owl, even as he urged the public to use common sense and to park legally.

“It’s pretty neat to see,” Kanable said. “We are going to make sure people are safe and parking legally.”

Speaking in hushed tones and moving so as not to spook the white owl holding court on high, one photographer said she was from Appleton, another said he was from Milwaukee.

“The Snowy Owl is a big deal,” said the woman, her 400 mm lens in tow, on a frigid Thursday morning, Jan. 9. In almost conspiratorial tones, she added that the bird has become the talk of the town in New Glarus and well beyond. The reason: Snowy owls make periodic but — somewhat rare this far south — appearances in Wisconsin. 

In some years, some North American Snowy Owls remain on their arctic breeding grounds year-round, while others migrate — to southern Canada, mostly. For perspective, only 24 snowy owls were spotted in Wisconsin in 2023, according to AllBirds.com while the number was 180 in 2017.

“The regal Snowy Owl is one of the few birds that can get even non-birders to come out for a look. This largest (by weight) North American owl shows up irregularly in winter to hunt in windswept fields or dunes, a pale shape with catlike yellow eyes…,” AllBirds.com writes on its website.

Scientists and ecologists say an “irruption” of the birds is a massive movement of snowy owls over large distances. It is caused by large fluctuations in food supply.  Smaller-scale irruptions occur every four or five years, while so-called “mega” irruptions a once or twice in a lifetime event.

This is not the first group of humans enamored with the almost mythical creature: The Snowy Owl can be found represented in ancient cave paintings in Europe. Millennia later in 2025, humans remain in awe of the visitor in winter white.

“Hey move your car or they will kick us all out of here,” said one annoyed photographer to a reporter, standing 14 feet or so below the great snowy owl of New Glarus.