Great Gray Owl Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: It was early December of 2004 where rumors started filtering out about an incredible irruption of owls into northern Minnesota. I'd been birding about 4 years at the time, but there were multiple species of "northern" owl that I'd never seen., species that frankly I wondered if I'd EVER see. Pre-Twitter where such a massive owl irruption would be plastered all over, I was skeptical, but decided to make the attempt. With a limited 2-day period to bird, I left home at about 1:30 AM in order to make the long drive and get there close to dawn, maximizing my birding time.

My timing was good, as the sun was starting to rise as I got to the general area of Sax-Zim Bog in northern Minnesota. I turned off a main highway and started heading west and within 1/4 mile, I saw something in a tree...could it be?!? Yes, a Great Gray Owl! A lifer! I snapped some really bad early morning photos and watched him awhile, and frankly the tripo could have ended there and I would have been happy. But that trip was FAR from over! I kept driving and within a few hundred yards...What!?!? Another Great Gray Owl!?!?

And so it went over the course of the next 2 days, with a density of Gray Owls AND Northern Hawk Owls that I truly doubt I'll ever come close to seeing in my lifetime. Over the course of the 2 days, the finally tally was over 30 Great Gray Owls, and over 30 Northern Hawk Owls! I've made the return trip to Sax-Zim Bog several other winters over the years. Sometimes I strike out completely on owls. More typically, I may find one of one species, one or two of the other over the course of a day or two.

It still always stops your heart though when you first come across a Great Gray Owl. My favorite photo isn't from the 2004 trip, but from a March, 2018 trip to the bog, where I had my closest, and longest encounter with a Great Gray Owl. There was another couple watching it when I found him, and they showed me some incredible photos they'd gotten moments before, where it had caught a muskrat, and managed to down it!! Given typical prey for a Great Gray is a small vole, eating something as big as a muskrat is pretty rare! It was one fat and happy owl and was quite unconcerned about our presence, just looking around from the same perch for over an hour as we watched.

Great Gray Owl - Strix nebulosa


GreatGreat Gray Owl 1 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 2 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 3 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 4 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota

Great Gray Owl 5 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 6 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 7 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 8 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota

Great Gray Owl 9 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 10 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 11 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 12 December 2004 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota

Great Gray Owl 13 March 4th, 2018 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota	Great Gray Owl 14 March 4th, 2018 Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota