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Snowy Owl

Photo of the Week (December 10th, 2017)

(archive photos of the week here)

There was a time when I had my camera with me...everywhere.  At all times. If I went to the store, on my way to and from work...I always had it in the car, just in case I ran into something "good". That definitely paid off a few times, but as the years passed, and as my photo portfolio grew, I started to become more complacent. The camera stays home, unless I'm specifically going out to shoot. Well, this past week, I really regretted not having my camera! I was driving home from work, and came across this gorgeous Snowy Owl sitting on top of a telephone pole, right next to the road. No camera!  What to do!?!?! I ended up watching it for about 10 minutes, before deciding to try to dash home and grab my camera. I drove the 10 miles back into Brandon, picked up my son from school, brought him home, grabbed my camera, and headed back to see if the owl was still there.

When I headed north towards the telephone pole he was on, he was gone. I drove very slowly, scanning other potential perches, but didn't find him. Finally, after driving about a mile north of where I'd seen him, I turned around to head home. As I approached the telephone pole he was sitting on originally, he flew up from the nearby field, and landed in the exact same spot!  Serendipity!  I was able to grab as many shots as I wanted, and he was still sitting there when I left.  A wonderful, unexpected treat.

Click for more Snowy Owl photos

Click here for more information on this species