A swampy open field wedged between two restaurants at Coffee Creek Preserve in Chesterton became the temporary home for a snowy white owl and a sudden tourist attraction.
In Thursday morning’s sun, people gathered in the parking lots of the Culver’s and Popeyes restaurants to watch the snowy white owl, crouched behind an outcropping of rocks about 35 yards east of busy Ind. 49. Some named the owl “Olive Oyl,” like Popeye’s girlfriend in the old cartoon, though observers don’t know the bird’s gender.
The owl would turn its head from time to time, making fleeting eye contact with observers. Spectators say that on some mornings, between 9:30 and 10 a.m., the bird flies around the field. The owl also likes to sit on top of the parking lot streetlights.
Veronica Burnsworth lives nearby in the Eagle Crossing apartments and has made multiple trips over to Coffee Creek to watch. Burnsworth said there were quite a number of people who came out on Wednesday.
“She was sitting in the middle of the field,” Burnsworth said, which allowed people to get a good view.
Nicole Harmon, director of wildlife rehabilitation and education for Humane Indiana Wildlife, said she has received quite a few calls about the owl in recent days.
“I love how the town has really been rallying around this bird,” Harmon said.
Snowy white owls, which dwell in the north tundra, can be seen in early winter or late spring in Northwest Indiana, though it’s considered rare. Harmon said that weather can impact the movement of snowy white owls, so the recent storms might have pushed the bird this way.
This particular owl has been spotted before in Wisconsin and the Chicago area, Harmon said.
Humane Indiana Wildlife, along with the Dunes-Calumet Audubon Society, have been monitoring the owl’s movements. Harmon said the bird had previously suffered from an injured wing when it was in Wisconsin, but now appears healthy.
“She’s flying beautifully. She looks wonderful and we want it to stay that way,” Harmon said.
Kim Ehn, president of the Dunes-Calumet Audubon Society, said her concern is that people stay back because larger birds use a lot of energy when encroached upon by humans.
“I would like to caution all photographers from entering the fields this owl may frequent,” Ehn said in an email, posted by the Town of Chesterton. Ehn said she recently told a person to get out of the field and to stay on the parking lot pavement.
Several photographers, with cameras equipped with telephoto lenses, were perched in the parking lots, positioning themselves for the best view possible.
Karen Belgholzlane of Chesterton has come with her camera to the Culver’s parking lot on a few mornings. She has heard of people driving in from miles around, from the Chicago area, South Bend and Lafayette.
Belgholzlane said she had heard about the snowy white owl sighting on social media. She saw her first white owl years ago when she was visiting Montrose Beach in Chicago.
“Here, we can get close, respectfully close,” Belgholzlane said.
Jill Zimmerman, who grew up in Chesterton but now lives in Valparaiso, drove her SUV into the parking lot at Culver’s, with her 7-month-old son Wesley in the back, to catch a glimpse of the snowy white owl.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Zimmerman said.
Steve Himan, a lieutenant with the Chesterton Fire Department, came on his day off to the Popeyes parking lot.
“You don’t see this very often,” Himan said.
Rita Anthony of Michigan City and Kam Holding of Coatesville, Indiana, were in the Popeyes parking lot with their cameras trained on where the bird was sitting, about 75 yards away.
“You can’t get too close to them,” said Anthony, who has made a couple of trips to Chesterton. “I’m surprised it’s been here this long.”
Anthony said she viewed a snowy white owl in Chicago, in the area of 31st and Lake, about seven years ago.
Holding, who loves to photograph wildlife, said he drove more than three hours to Chesterton.
“This is my first,” Holding said regarding the snowy white owl. “It’s pretty awesome. It’s a pretty awesome sight.”
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
