After what had been a cold snap for finding owls, the last three days have been fantastic … an owl a day for a ThreeFer! Yesterday I found a second Great Gray Owl … once again north of Duluth no where near Sax-Zim Bog.
Today shows how stupid birders can be when a rare bird appears. Last year, essentially no Snowy Owls were seen in the Duluth Superior area. A normal year has several Snowy Owls spending their time on the Arctic Riviera (Duluth!). Regardless, when I returned home from church and I heard a Snowy Owl had been spotted at the Superior Entry to the harbor, I immediately started Snowy Search ‘2024!
Why do I call myself stupid? I immediately saw the Snowy Owl upon reaching the Superior Entry. However Lake Superior was getting nasty as a winter storm bore down on the area. Spending time outside to watch a white bird hundreds of yards distant in 30F, damp weather with 30 mph winds blowing in off the big lake might not be considered fun, let alone intelligent.
Flight Time Snowy
Just Hanging
Oh well … Snowy Owl sitting across the channel on the Minnesota breakwater. My ThreeFer! As a fyi, I was using my Canon SX-70 for these pics … Super Zoom Camera … 130x magnification. I am a loooonnng ways away from this bird.
Beautiful pictures of the bird and the wild weather, lake in the background.
I enjoy your photos and commentary almost every day. Thank you!
I worked in the railroad 39 years in the twin ports, saw many great Greys and snowy owls during the winter.
Love these pix. Despite the irruption of SNOWs several yrs ago, I was still working and could not go chasing. I’m not a lister, but I sure would love seeing one.
BTW, I was tickled to see your name on Kate St.John’s anniversary post comments. I spent many lunch hours in downtown Pgh with my binos looking for peregrines. Small world!