Snowy owls have arrived in Ottawa with 50 seen so far

The snowy owl has returned to the Ottawa area with at least 50 owls spottedso far.

Last year marked the largest invasion of snowy owls ever recorded in eastern Ontario, and similar numbers are expected this year.

Experts say there are normally eight or 10 snowy owls in the area in a good year, but last year there were 300.

The invasion in 2013 was called an irruption. This year, the second year of the phenomenon, is called an echo.

So far, snowy owls have been spotted near Kanata, Barrhaven and Manotick.

Wide open spaces such as fields are a good place to find them.

Watch Hillary Johnstone'sreport in the video player to learn more.