Category Archives: Year 5

Great Gray Owl Silhouetted Against Moon!

Year 5

I took this photograph 50 minutes before sunrise today, which made this an incredibly difficult image from a photography vantage point. Taking this kind of photo was my goal when I headed out in the dark this morning. Here are some of the things I needed to have happen:

  1. You need a full moon, or almost full moon. Thus, there are not too many opportunities per year.
  2. You needed to find an owl in the dark.
  3.  The owl must be willing to sit on the very top of a tree such that I could line up the bird with the moon.
  4. I needed all my thermal clothes. It was -9F when I took this photograph, and I have no idea what the chill factor was except to note 15 minutes hiking around outside of the car was plenty. It was plenty cold.

The owl never spooked during my time with the bird. It was willing to let me be within 15 yards, but I needed to back off to get the proper moon angles, etc.

I may be crazy as an owl, but I stayed out till 10 am, and ultimately saw seven owls … five Great Gray Owls and two Northern Hawk Owls. After all these “good shots”, I think it about time for a “owl bloopers post”. I have many! Stay tuned.

Northern Hawk Owl Demands Equal Time!

Great Gray Owl Take-Off!

Car 54, Where Are You?

Year 5

Hunting along the shores of Traverse Bay, Michigan! Yup, Snowy Owl #25 has been found this past Christmas two years after it spent the winter in the Northland, mainly over in Superior, Wisconsin. The good folks of the Traverse Bay area got smart and when Snowy #25 was first found by Gerry Erickson, these birders did a reverse Google image search (at least I assume that is how they found me). I in turn made certain that this information was passed along to the person who bands Snowy Owls in the Duluth area.

Unlike many birds, Snowy Owls are nomads. These owls breed up near the Arctic Ocean, but their nests may be hundreds of miles apart in subsequent summers. Somehow the Snowies learn where there are lemmings, their primary food up north, and nest in the vicinity. Thus, when it is time to head south for the winter, these same owls can end up in dramatically different locations. Two years ago Snowy #25 was at the Head of the Lakes on Lake Superior. This winter the same owl is wintering 348 air miles away over on Lake Michigan.  If you would like to learn more about Snowy Owl research, please visit Project Snow Storm.

Finally, many of you will not remember the TV sitcom, Car 54, Where Are You. It was in reruns even when I was a young boy, and that was a long time ago! To further your TV education, here are two links about Car 54 … Wikipedia and an Episode via YouTube.

Snowy Owl #25 … my thanks for Michael Jorae for having contacted me, and Gerry Erickson who originally found the owl.

  • My post from two years ago: Spectre and two images (pre banded and banded). I know it is the same bird because of markings and it was using the same exact fence down to the pole for a perch.
  • eBird Report from the Traverse Bay area on Dec. 24, 2017 (Snowy Owl #25).

Sea Smoke Ship Sunrise Over Lake Superior

Year 5

Ships that go bump in the night! (actually the pre-dawn Sea Smoke). The vantage point is Silver Cliffs near Castle Danger on Lake Superior’s North Shore. Thus, the advantages of going out before dawn in search of Great Gray Owls!

One Ship

Two Ships

One Owl (vole being triangulated with hearing)