Snowy Owl on the Hunt!

Year 8
Press and Pray!
When the Snowy Owl you have been watching takes off after catching and eating a vole, as a photographer you “press the shutter release down” and pray.
  • You hope auto-focus locks on the owl and not the trail grass
  • You hope the owl’s eye becomes briefly viewable behind the grass
  • You definitely take photos at 12 frames per second.
Life was good up in Sax-Zim Bog yesterday afternoon. Catching this Snowy hunting ended a week of frustration with three different species of owls (more on that later)

The hunt actually unfolded in this manner. The Snowy was perched far across a field on someone’s deer hunting shack. It obviously saw movement because the owl took flight and then quickly moved through a succession of tamarack trees that put the sun behind the attacking bird. It was nice to have the owl “move towards me” today.

I mentioned “a week of frustration”. Two nights ago just before sunset I watched two Snowy Owls perched within 150 yards of each other for over 80 minutes. Neither owl moved till after sunset, and even then the birds were not willing to pose with the gorgeous sunset behind them.

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The other problem has been the “forest is noisy”. Over the past week I have seen my local Great Horned Owls twice while hiking. However now that the snow on the ground has melted, the ice crystals amongst the leaves makes for an extremely crunchy noisy concoction. While hiking it is impossible not to step on the carpet of leaves, and owls hate noise. Even when I have been in my car similar problems have arisen. Five days ago I found a Great Gray Owl at sunrise. I was only driving my car a few miles per hour, but dirt roads are just as noisy for similar reasons. We need snow to dampen down the sound factor! Thankfully life was good yesterday afternoon with the Snowy Owl.

Snowy Arrives!

Year 8

After many missed connections over the past few days across northeastern Minnesota, I found my first Snowy Owl up in Sax-Zim Bog this afternoon. This is the view I had for over 80 minutes, I hoped said bird would mover closer to me when it decided to hunt, but it actually moved almost a mile distant. Oh well … the first is always special.

There have quite a few Snowy Owls seen across Minnesota over the past few days. I think the HUGE winds including 50 mph wind gusts out of the NW blew all the owls down here a bit quicker. I am hoping we might have an irruption year, but it is definitely still to early to predict.

Thanksgiving Birds!

Year 1

Over the past 24 hours I have spent significant time looking for Snowy Owls, but my timing has been off. These owls are now starting to arrive in the Northland from up in the Arctic. Will this year be an irruption year? The jury is still out, but Snowy Owls have been seen in Spain for only the second time in history. Ornithologists suspect these owls may have hitched a ride across the Atlantic on freighters. Read more via Project Snowstorm.

For those of you who live in the northern Twin Cities area. Three different Snowies were seen yesterday in Crex Meadows! In Wisconsin quite a few Snowies have been seen in and around the Green Bay area (Door County, the Lake Michigan shore (harbors) and inland of Green Bay at various grasslands).

I was back from birding by 7:50 am this Thanksgiving morning. We have four of our almost 7 grandkids visiting. The oldest is ten, which means a bundle of activity in the house. Happy Thanksgiving.

From yesterday’s Snowy Owl search at sunset in Two Harbors. The EdnaG was built in 1896 and is all decked out for the holidays.

Earlier in the day at the crabapple tree. Pine Grosbeaks.