This morning was truly special. I was privileged to find and watch four unique species of owls in Northeastern Minnesota … all before 11 am! My first find was a Northern Hawk Owl up in Sax-Zim Bog at 7:00 am, 20 minutes before sunrise. From that point I moved along to various locations both in and outside Sax-Zim and found a Snowy Owl, this Great Gray Owl, and I ended the morning with Les, my local Great Horned Owl. After many days of wind, it was finally calm with snow falling lightly through the air. Make certain you watch the video (link for email subscribers), it is calming … at least it was for me.
And some still images of the Great Gray Owl hunting during the snowfall
For various reasons the other owl species did not perform well for my camera. The Snowy Owl was perched in a meadow many hundreds of yards distant. The Great Horned Owl was tucked up in its “hidey hole”, and the Northern Hawk Owl was close, but contrasted against a blah sky. I had a great time.
Northern Hawk Owl
so beautiful. i loved the video. thank you so much for sharing these amazing owls!
If I may ask, what were your settings for the northern hawk owl? I will be in Sax Zim in a few weeks, and I often have trouble getting a successful image in those pre sunrise minutes. Your photos are always great even when shooting in lowlight. I recognize a lot of post processing may be involved as well. But what a day to find all four owls.