Sorry about a not so happy note, but I like Snowy owls here in FL, and I've just read the article on the site of Birdlife International that Snowy Owl has been declared Regionally Extinct in Sweden, and for the first time in 20 years, the country has officially lost a bird species.

Citing from  https://www.birdlife.org/news/2025/12/11/sweden-has-lost-the-snowy-owl/

"It’s hard to mistake a Snowy Owl for another bird. Big, bright white, and incredibly graceful, it’s one of the largest owls in the world. It normally nests far up in the Arctic, following the rise and fall of lemming populations. In good years, when food is plentiful, some migrate south and settle in the Swedish mountains.
But life has never been easy for this species. In the 1800s, in some parts of the world, it was among the most persecuted owls. Thousands were shot for taxidermy, and adults and eggs were hunted for food. Today, only an estimated 14,000–28,000 remain worldwide. The species is now listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and its numbers continue to decline."

/.../

"Their disappearance from Sweden is more than a loss of a species. It’s a warning about how quickly Arctic ecosystems are changing. Losing them is a painful reminder of what’s at stake for biodiversity, for nature, and for conservation work in general."

That's really awful,  such an iconic bird and as a top predator an important part of the food chain .

THat is so very sad I hope they can be saved as a species

I heard that news , too and thought straight away of FL winter snowy owls . It is really terrible that these wonderful birds are now extinct in Sweden. I guess they struggle to find wild spaces and food , I hope that zoologists can sort out breeding programs and reintroduce them to the wild , one day

😪😥😪

So sad       ✨
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I've only just seen this, that's absolutely tragic 😢 Such a beautiful bird. I wonder if they will, at some point, work with animal charities to start a breeding programme for re-introduction. As it specifies "regionally extinct" I'd like to think there are maybe some in captivity for such s programme. Heartbreaking news.

They aren't completely extinct.  They are nomadic and were infrequent and irregular visitors to Sweden anyway but climate change and loss of habitat and food sources in Sweden has led to there being no breeding pairs there for 10 years.  They are classed as "vulnerable" in other areas but they are not extinct.

That is so sad!  I hadn't heard this.   Our world is becoming very difficult for many species.    I love taking parking the annual bird watch and one of my favourite apps is one to identify birds (not sure if allowed to say?). It's the name of a very famous wizard from Camelot!