Take-Off of at sunset of Snowy Flight #007 … granted a license to kill!
I was with a number of friends this evening. Everyone else was positioned in a traditional photographer location with the sun at their backs and directly upon the Snowy Owl. However, having observed “Lady” over the course of many “flights”, I was convinced I knew where she would go next. Thus, I slogged through deep snow to position myself with the sun partially in my face and where I thought she would fly next. Lady did not disappoint and the image taken above resulted. By the time I reacted to her flight directly at me, this is what I saw as she flew past. Do not mess with Lady; she has a license to kill!
Lady put on a fantastic show yesterday afternoon, which I watched starting 30 minutes before sunset till after the golden orb had dropped below the horizon. As always, Lady is one classy woman! This Snowy Owl is “rad”! Unlike other local Snowy Owls which refuse to hunt till after sunset, I can count upon Lady to come out before dark and move around. It was fun to see her have an appetizer.
Down the Hatch! (lost the light within moments … the golden hour of photography)
Take-Off
Snowy Owl after Sundown (now that the sun is down, the owl is not basked in gold light)
I decided I needed to go over to Sax-Zim Bog and see the famous “Admiral Road Boreal Owl”. My hope was by visiting on a Tuesday afternoon the number of birders would be at an acceptable level. Thankfully it was only me and about 15 other folks. Apparently the weekend was crazy. The good news is everyone was being very quiet and allow the owl to hunt. This small owl shows up at the Admiral Road feeders about 2:00 pm in the afternoon when the spruce trees provide good shade, which allows the light sensitive owl to hunt. The feeders attract lots of mice and voles, and this owl is very much enjoying its visit to northern Minnesota … easy food.
On the way home, Greg G. and I enjoyed a private viewing experience with this beautiful Northern Hawk Owl.
Upon getting home, I dropped off Greg, and never even got out of my own car. It was off to Superior for evening Snowy Owls … my third owl species of the day.
Lady Showing Interest in a small dog.
I actually broke the “golden rule” of owling yesterday afternoon. Normally I am very, very quiet around owls, but when I while watching “Lady” in a quiet neighborhood, I realized she was quite interested in a small dog. While most owls are not capable of catching prey the size of a small dog, Snowies are not “most owls”. Anyhow I yelled over to the owner who was about to leave her dog out in the back yard and suggested that might not be a good idea.
Finally … the prior evening I had fun watching a different Snowy with Jeannette L.
