Governors Island may be closed to the public until spring, but don't tell that to the Canadian tourists who made their way to the spot during this winter's extended arctic snap.
DNAinfo reports that at least seven snowy owls have been spotted this winter on the island and along coasts of Brooklyn and Queens.
The owls, which are nomadic but typically spend summer months in upper Canada, Alaska, Europe and Asia, were first noticed on Governors Island last week, a spokeswoman for the Governors Island Trust told DNAinfo. She said it is the first snowy owl sighting on the island in recent memory.
Other sightings have been confirmed at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and in Breezy Point and Jamaica Bay in Queens.
Snowy owls are commonly seen in the northeast each winter, when they travel south. Last winter, several dozen snowy owls were spotted in New York City.
Some of the arctic owls were also spotted as far south as the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge near Atlantic City.
