I took this photograph 50 minutes before sunrise today, which made this an incredibly difficult image from a photography vantage point. Taking this kind of photo was my goal when I headed out in the dark this morning. Here are some of the things I needed to have happen:

1. You need a full moon, or almost full moon. Thus, there are not too many opportunities per year.
2. You needed to find an owl in the dark.
3.  The owl must be willing to sit on the very top of a tree such that I could line up the bird with the moon.
4. I needed all my thermal clothes. It was -9F when I took this photograph, and I have no idea what the chill factor was except to note 15 minutes hiking around outside of the car was plenty. It was plenty cold.

The owl never spooked during my time with the bird. It was willing to let me be within 15 yards, but I needed to back off to get the proper moon angles, etc.

I may be crazy as an owl, but I stayed out till 10 am, and ultimately saw seven owls … five Great Gray Owls and two Northern Hawk Owls. After all these “good shots”, I think it about time for a “owl bloopers post”. I have many! Stay tuned.

Northern Hawk Owl Demands Equal Time!

Great Gray Owl Take-Off!

Ships that go bump in the night! (actually the pre-dawn Sea Smoke). The vantage point is Silver Cliffs near Castle Danger on Lake Superior’s North Shore. Thus, the advantages of going out before dawn in search of Great Gray Owls!

One Ship

Two Ships

One Owl (vole being triangulated with hearing)

Over the past week I have started to learn the winter hunting territories of three owls north of Duluth. This morning I decided to see if I could find one of the owls before sunrise and take a photograph in the pre-dawn light. I think I succeeded! This is a Northern Hawk Owl, a winter visitor to northern Minnesota … truly a snow bird. The image was taken 15 minutes before sunrise. I also have posted a photograph of the same exact owl taken 20 minutes after sunrise, or 35 minutes later … same tree but slightly different angle. The temperature was 3F, and I walked back to my car and warmed up between photo sessions!