There are magical evenings, and then there ARE magical evenings. I ended 2020 with an experience even I found hard to believe. With about 30 minutes of light left before sundown my friend Ed found a Great Gray Owl in the Boreal Forest within a few miles where I was owling. He was kind enough to send me a text, and thankfully we both had cell service. The owl did not mind our presence … was out in the golden evening sun … and moved perches whenever it was within minutes of being encompassed by shade. I actually walked away from this owl while it was still out hunting in the sun. I did not want to get home late for dinner, and had a 45 minute drive ahead of me. Given sunset is at 4:30 pm this far north, darkness comes early!

I hope you enjoy all these photographs, and I will admit there are more images than a normal post, but I was excited … still am. Once again, the golden color in the photos is because I took most of the images within minutes of sundown.

The two “take-off” sequences bring forth two important points:

1. Based upon time in the woods, I understand birds. The owls told me when they were about to take off. It was not dumb luck.
2. Even with knowing a bird is about to take-off, it is supremely important to use “burst mode”. Each group of photos is about one second in total duration. Thus, a lot happens in a very short period of time.

Great Gray Owl Flight Sequence

Take Off of a Great Gray Owl

Great Gray Owl just “Hanging Out”!