When I got up yesterday morning at 5 am, the skies were clear and the stars were sparkling. This condition meant only one thing to me, I had to head north of Duluth and see the hoar frost in the sunshine. Thus, 45 minutes before sunrise I drove north deeper into the Boreal Forest. I was hoping a Great Gray Owl would sit in the sunshine in a frost encrusted tree. Although I never found an owl in a super white ice encrusted tree, this bird was cooperative in a semi ice covered tree … and out in the sun. Enjoy!
There are magical evenings, and then there ARE magical evenings. I ended 2020 with an experience even I found hard to believe. With about 30 minutes of light left before sundown my friend Ed found a Great Gray Owl in the Boreal Forest within a few miles where I was owling. He was kind enough to send me a text, and thankfully we both had cell service. The owl did not mind our presence … was out in the golden evening sun … and moved perches whenever it was within minutes of being encompassed by shade. I actually walked away from this owl while it was still out hunting in the sun. I did not want to get home late for dinner, and had a 45 minute drive ahead of me. Given sunset is at 4:30 pm this far north, darkness comes early!
I hope you enjoy all these photographs, and I will admit there are more images than a normal post, but I was excited … still am. Once again, the golden color in the photos is because I took most of the images within minutes of sundown.
The two “take-off” sequences bring forth two important points:
Based upon time in the woods, I understand birds. The owls told me when they were about to take off. It was not dumb luck.
Even with knowing a bird is about to take-off, it is supremely important to use “burst mode”. Each group of photos is about one second in total duration. Thus, a lot happens in a very short period of time.
In the last nine days we’ve had three snowstorms, including one blizzard. Two nights ago seven inches of the new white stuff fell out of the sky. The end result is that the snow in the forest is now deep, which makes hunting much more difficult for Great Gray Owls. Given this kind of owl hunts by hearing its prey running beneath the snow, it is always easier to hunt when there is no snow. In addition the three storms have meant lots of wind, making the listening process of hearing mice and voles much more difficult. Over the past nice days a lot of meals have been missed. Owls are hungry.
Yesterday afternoon, in the middle of the afternoon I found a Great Gray Owl hunting around 2 pm. I suspect this bird is a juvenile and not an accomplished hunter. The wind was strong and the snow was deep which meant non ideal hunting conditions; however hunger is a great motivator.
It was a beautiful experience for me, but for the owl it was a matter of survival.
This first photograph is “backed off” to show the owl in its environment. As photographers (me included) we often want to zoom in as closer to a subject as possible, which is quite often a mistake.
Now I wanted to feature the owl and the snow flocked trees.
Video 1: Great Gray Owl during a snow squall (link for email subscribers)
Video 2: Windblown Great Gray Owl (the bird gave up hunting shortly after this point) (link for email subscribers)
