That fact immediately suggested a possible explanation.
Snowy owls are known to use airports and similar open landscapes.
From an owl’s perspective, an airport can resemble some of the broad, treeless environments to which the species is naturally adapted. Large areas of short grass and open ground can also support rodents and other prey.
Unfortunately, the overlap between snowy owls and airports can create hazards for both birds and aircraft.
Weidensaul suggested that accidental exposure to aircraft de-icing fluid was a plausible explanation for the Michigan owl.
Perhaps the bird had been near an airport while an aircraft was being treated.
Perhaps it had been accidentally sprayed.
If the substance reached the owl mainly from one direction, that might also help explain why the strongest coloration appeared on its upper surfaces while much of the underside remained relatively normal.
It is a compelling theory.
But compelling is not the same as proven.
No one documented the moment when the owl supposedly encountered de-icing fluid.
No chemical sample was collected from the feathers.
And without capturing the bird and testing the material, scientists could not definitively identify whatever had caused the coloration.
The airport explanation therefore remained a hypothesis rather than a confirmed solution.
Why Researchers Did Not Simply Capture the Owl
For people following the mystery online, there might seem to be an obvious solution.
Capture Creamsicle.
Collect a feather.
Test the orange material.
Mystery solved.
Wildlife research, however, requires scientists and agencies to consider whether intervention is justified.
Karen Cleveland, a wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, told reporters that officials were aware of the unusual owl and that the bird appeared healthy and well.
There was no obvious emergency requiring its capture.
Catching a wild raptor creates stress and carries risks. Researchers generally need a meaningful scientific, management or welfare reason to handle an animal.
An unusual color alone does not necessarily justify disturbing a bird that appears to be functioning normally.
Michigan officials therefore did not plan to capture Creamsicle simply to satisfy public curiosity.
That decision made a definitive answer much less likely.
Unless researchers somehow obtained naturally shed feathers or another reliable sample, the mystery would have to be investigated primarily through photographs and observations.
And those observations soon produced another important clue.
The Orange Began to Fade
As winter progressed, photographers continued documenting the owl.
Something was changing.
Creamsicle was becoming less orange.
Photographs taken later in the season appeared to show significantly less reddish coloration than images from January.
By March 2025, reports from Huron County described the owl as apparently returning toward its normal appearance.
This development was important because it was consistent with an external substance gradually wearing or washing away.
If the feathers themselves had grown with a fundamentally altered pigment structure, researchers would not necessarily expect the coloration to simply fade from the feather surfaces over a matter of weeks.
If the orange material were something coating the feathers, however, gradual fading would make much more sense.
Weather could wear it away.
Snow, moisture and physical contact could remove some of it.
Normal feather maintenance could also play a role.
Eventually, molting would replace old feathers altogether.
The fading did not identify the substance.
It did, however, add weight to the broader idea that Creamsicle had probably been stained by something in the environment rather than being a naturally orange snowy owl.
That distinction is important.
Calling the owl a “rare orange mutation” would go beyond what the evidence demonstrates.