With the help of some other folks, I finally found a second Northern Hawk Owl in Sax-Zim Bog on Saturday morning. After the atrocious weather the past few  days … dare I say dreich?! … the day was finally worth heading outside. Putting our weather in perspective, I went through 40 pounds of salt trying to keep rid our walks free of ice buildup from the snow and sleet screaming in off Lake Superior.

While the weather forecast claimed the sun would arrive by mid-morning, Mother Nature said if you really want to photograph the Hawk Owl, you MUST show patience. I arrived in the Bog at 7:30 am, and the sun did not come out till 1:00 pm. However, the long wait was worth cooling my jets. The Northern Hawk Owl performed!

Sax-Zim Bog Northern Hawk Owl Hunting

The owl moved all afternoon between three perches near a small creek

Perch #1

Perch #2

Perch #3

One of the dives for a vole

Vole Capture #1

Vole Capture #2

Back to Hunting on Perch #3

In the final image of the “back to hunting” photos, the full sun had come out. It was taken about 15 minutes later than the other images in the sequence and something had obviously caught the owl’s attention.