A Tale of Two Snowy Owls!

Year 8
I had another “point and pray” photo taking experience yesterday a bit before sunset. I did not realize it when I took this photograph due to my own tunnel vision that the Snowy Owl was flying over to inspect another owl which was only 75 yards behind me. Snowy #1 cleared my head by four feet and landed 20 yards behind me. It then proceeded to stare at Snowy #2, which I then discovered. An amazing experience. Uff dah!
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This is the image I took as the owl flew right at my head … I pointed the camera in front of me … pressed the shutter release down hard and prayed I would get the shot.

And now in sequence as I experienced the two owls … which were never more than 75 yards away from me, and often much closer. Notice that Snowy #2 is “whiter in color”. I am pretty certain that the first owl is an immature female, whereas I think the second Snowy is an immature male. By the time male Snowy Owls are four years old they become almost pure white with no banding. The female’s banding helps with camouflage as it incubates eggs in the nest on the ground up on the Arctic tundra.

Snowy #1: Resting in the late afternoon

Snowy #1: Wakes up and sees Snowy #2 (I did not know at what it was looking)

Snowy #2: Discovered right behind me!

Ring-Necked Pheasants

Year 8

Just south of the true bog habitat … in the Meadowlands area there are farms up in Sax-Zim Bog. Yesterday afternoon I found two ring-necked pheasants, which are a bit unusual for our area, while looking for Snowy Owls.

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.