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I went out to Gull Point today in Presque Isle State Park, looking for Snowy Owls. I had heard that three of them had been spotted last week, so I decided to make the trek. I got up at O-Dark-Thirty and drove an hour to the trail head. Then I had to walk about two miles carrying my gear. Normally not a problem, but the trail has been washed out and eroded on the peninsula buy storms over the last two years. This meant skirting a series of driftwood blocked beaches (time to get wet), swampy areas (time to get wet), eroded trails filled in by Lake Erie (time to get wet) and oh yeah - a few inches of snow and ice to top it all off (have I mentioned getting wet?). The good news was that it was 21F and breezy, so I had that going for me.
No problem, with all the snowies being reported in the region, I was confident that I would find one out on the point, as they regularly hang out there if they migrate this far south. However, I forgot that it was the last day of our hunting season. There were hunters on the shoreline, hunters in blinds, and hunters just off shore in boats. There were not any snowy owls.
So, as happens often in our chosen passion, today I simply took my lens for a walk. c'est la vie.
Anyway - here is my consolation prize. Not as much presence as a snowy owl, but just as much attitude.
Titmouse by Fred Johns, on Flickr
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