I just got back from a 23 day trip to Minnesota, was fortunate to see well over 80 owls over that time! I hope you enjoy my selection of my favorite images!
amazing set of pictures. your time and preparation to go out in the cold and snow was definitely worth it. the third picture with the two owls banking in unison while flying is one of my favorites. maybe you can tell the story of the owl on your camera/lens. thank you for sharing .
p.1 #16 · Owls, Owls and More Owls! (Image Heavy!)
"It would be interesting to know the story about the Owl on the camera. Very cool shot!" Dave
==================
Some Great Grey Owls are quite tolerant of people...this year in MN there are several images of these owls landing on tripods, or even peoples' heads. This happens when they target a weedy field with lots of voles (small mammals). They are looking for a perch as close to the vole action as possible - so they can dive down directly into the snow (rather than doing flybys and hovering a bit, and then diving). So it saves energy speaking as a scientist...and I imagine that the owls that do this have become more or less habituated to the presence of people. We are like stop/yield signs to them if they need a perch to hunt/observe from.
The other day (since I am in MN right now photographing these same owls), I was checking my camera settings (looking down) for a few moments, wearing my black down coat with giant hood...I looked up and a Great Grey Owl was flying at me about three feet away (below eye level), and starting to swoop up ostensibly to land. My white face must have shocked the owl...it veered away and landed nearby instead...
There are other Great Grey Owls not comfortable with people. In past years the best place to find them was along the RR tracks near Sax Zim Bog. At dusk a few arrive each evening to hunt the edge of the road and RR tracks (weedy fields that are maintained to be that way). People wait in their warm cars in Jan-Feb...but when the owls arrive to hunt from telephone posts or the lines between them, people leave their cars with cameras etc. Those owls seem to be bothered by that since when people get close, they fly back into the woods...or down the line away from the photographers.
Perhaps these people approaching Great Greys are first winter birds, hatched in summer 2024 - so they don't know people? Perhaps they have never met people before (coming south from remote Canada)? Whooo knows? However, I do have a photo of an owl that is at least two years old (see first photo) showing two sets of flight feathers (Primaries) - some look greyish (the new [2nd year] feathers) while others look ochre (the first year feathers).
Finally, at Two Harbors (east of Sax Zim along the "coast" of Lake Superior), there are three ongoing Great Greys near the Lighthouse that you can walk up to...or they will often fly in and perch next to you, or just just above in a small spruce. Those are the best ones to photograph if you are going to visit - which I highly encourage. The last time an irruption like this happened was 2008 (and that year 100+ Great Grey Owls ended up in rehab for various problems...this year "only" about 15-20 so far.)
Great Grey showing two different types (colors) of primary feathers
There must be pests here
Not my photo! But photographer has her credits on it...that's whooo took this image
p.1 #18 · Owls, Owls and More Owls! (Image Heavy!)
Erictator wrote:
Wow, you hit the owl jackpot Al ! Beautiful work, you got some great captures.
Eric
---------------------------------------------
volhoosier wrote:
amazing set of pictures. your time and preparation to go out in the cold and snow was definitely worth it. the third picture with the two owls banking in unison while flying is one of my favorites. maybe you can tell the story of the owl on your camera/lens. thank you for sharing .
---------------------------------------------
morris wrote:
A delight to view Alphonsus
Morris
---------------------------------------------
RichP42 wrote:
I agree with the first comment: “Wow” !!!
Thanks for sharing
Richard
---------------------------------------------
TimMunsey wrote:
A joy to view. So jealous of your owl richness.
---------------------------------------------
douter wrote:
Very rich, indeed!
Douglas
---------------------------------------------
sum1sgrampa wrote:
What an amazing collection ! Tough to look at though as I thought for sure this was the year I was going to make that trip. Excellent work !
Gary
---------------------------------------------
cambyses wrote:
Stunning series Alphonsus... TFS...
---------------------------------------------
johnohio wrote:
Wonderful image set. Voted !
John
---------------------------------------------
tjbel05 wrote:
Dang! These are absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing.
---------------------------------------------
gmccroskery wrote:
Wow, Alphonsus, that's a truckload of really great owl shots! I'm very envious -- I love owls!
Greg
---------------------------------------------
Dave_E wrote:
A great big pile of owl images Alphonsus. That’s like 4 trips rolled into one. Some great images.
Dave
---------------------------------------------
dclark wrote:
Terrific collection of Owl photos!!
It would be interesting to know the story about the Owl on the camera. Very cool shot!
Dave
BTW, the Peregrines at Torrey Pines are starting to show some activity.
---------------------------------------------
James Burden wrote:
Wow, so mesmerizing! Well done!
Much appreciated! As another person summed it up, several photographers had set up tripods across from the owl (sitting in a tree) by a grassy field. Since there were no other perches available to the owl near the field, the owl decided to use the tripods as a makeshift perch. The photographer quickly moved away from his tripod, and the owl proceeded to sit on that tripod for an hour before resuming hunting in the field. It was super cool to watch!
