Snowy Owls #5 and #6

The Snowy Owl invasion continues and I follow reports along with my own gut feelings about these birds whereabouts and came across 2 more Owls recently.  Oh, and #4 surfaced yet again!

Snowy Owl #5 was way the heck out on a pier in a lakefront park in Mississauga.  I was scanning the area and something caught my eye far off in the distance.  I guess it was the shape if nothing else.  And in my bins I was second and third guessing what I was seeing.  I took a couple photos with the 500mm lens and still wasn't sure.  I decided to crank the ISO and exposure, basically blowing the s**t out of a shot or two and indeed I was seeing one.

I played a game of "Spot the Snowy" with friends on Facebook with this shot.  It's still a closer shot, being not zoomed with the camera, than what I was seeing with my own eyes at first.  Can you find a Snowy Owl in this photograph?

Well, what do you think?  Any ideas where he is?

Would you believe where I've half circled below is a Snowy Owl?

Surely you see him now in this photo below.

One more super cropped to heck shot.

I can't even guess how far out he was from where I stood.  1,000 ft?  Who knows for sure but he's one of the most off in the distance Owls I have spotted in my days of birding.  As I search out these Owls this season, no matter where I go, how far out they are from me, I'm still enjoying the views and am nearly as excited with each one as compared to the first almost one month ago.

So, that was #5 and later that night, after work, on my way home, I spotted #4 along the 401 once again.  And then the next day, I came across Owl #6.

It was a cold rainy Friday morning and I set out once again for a couple hours before work.  I always have my hopes up but I am never expecting in my outings.  One just can't predict wildlife.  But luck have it, I spotted the bird in another lakefront park quite some ways out on the ice.  It was funny because I swear he just appeared since I scoped the area minutes earlier with nothing and then suddenly I saw the lump.


I was quite excited to see this bird after a lengthy damp dismal walk of the park!  I followed my way around the shoreline in hopes of a better view of the bird and lucky me, he stayed put.

Obviously he was aware of my presence but not bothered enough to take flight and flee from me.  I wasn't aggressive in my walk of the shore and there was no way I intended on creeping out onto the ice for a closer shot.  Note, ice or no ice, I don't believe in invading their personal space.  It's just not my thing.

So, I passed the bird some and found the shore went further out into the water just west of the bird.  I decided to try that spot for a great view and a few more photos.

Here I tried shooting through the crook of a tree.  I was using the tree as a blind, hiding my body from the Owl.

I stepped to the left of the tree and tried a few more pics just as the rain was getting heavier.

This was freaking awesome!  I had never seen such a heavily barred Snowy Owl before.  And experts birding buds tell me this is a young female.  I knew it was a young'un as most of them venturing out from the tundra right now are young birds in search of food after a very good breeding year. 

I'm falling asleep as I key this.  It has been an exhausting few days after that awful ice storm here in Southern Ontario.  I wonder how the birds fared through the storm and who is still around?  Word is some of the recent visiting Owls have disappeared, and people guess they moved across Lake Ontario and into the USA now.

My goal, as some know, is to beat my record of 13 Snowys back in the 2011 invasion.  That's just 8 more Owls to go.  Think I can do it?  Care to cheer me on? 

If you missed my last Owl blog, here it is.  It seems to be a popular one with friends.  I hope you enjoy it too.

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Snowy Owl 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13!

I asked myself the other day, and some others, where my number of Snowy Owls to be seen this winter would end at. I had no answer, and friends had guessed between 15 and 20. As you can see from the title, I did get close to 15... and hey, it's not quite over yet so we shall see. But 13 different Snowy Owls this winter is astounding to me.

Re-tracing my path a few days after the last adventure. I quickly found what I call numbers 8 and 9, as both of these Snowy Owls were in the same general area as just days earlier. The adult male (#2) was in the vicinity as well. And then as I turned a corner, I noticed yet another Snowy Owl in this 2 km radius, making for 4 Owls (the most I have ever seen in this stretch) and this Owl became #11 to me.

Snowy #8 roosting in the morning on a trailer out in a field.

Snowy #9 was REALLY far out in a farmer's field.

And here be Snowy #11. Female or young male?

Please note, I did stay inside my truck as I took these shots. All the Owls were out on farm fields so roadside is the best I could get with any of them.

Something caught it's attention, or it grew tired of my attention upon it and away it went deeper into the field.

And one day later, a report came in of two Snowy Owls in another area where I had seen only one previously. I took a chance the following day, right before work. It was quite a trip across the QEW and I was hoping to get 30 minutes in the area before I had to turn around and head back the other way to work. Traffic was heavy. And as I exited the QEW, I looked at the clock. If the last stretch of road was good, and the Owls could be found quickly, I had maybe 15 minutes now. A part of me wanted to turn around and head back to Mississauga. But another part, a louder part within said "You've come this far, continue!" And of course my rubber arm was twisted with ease. And I still am very happy to this day that I did.

I present to you, Snowy Owl #12! A real treat with this one because she was putting on quite a show for us in the marina, having caught herself a Ring-billed Gull for a meal. I still only had 15 minutes with her but I was A-OK with this. She, much like all the others, was some distance off; but the feasting show through my binoculars and the lens was just awesome! (I did see the other Snowy Owl, just a bit of it, at the far end of the marina, along the break wall).

She has the Gull in her talons. And she hopped with it across the dock until she got to a more comfortable spot. Four hops with the carcass... thump, thump, thump, thump.

Back to her meal.

And a short break just before I left for work.

I was buzzing all afternoon at work! 12 Snowy Owls now! And the "meal ordeal" played over and over in my head.

And then, that night, as I got on the 401 to head home after work... what do I see but yet another Snowy Owl! It was sitting on a lamp post at Hwy 401 and Hwy 410. There was nothing I could do other than slow down a little (making sure no traffic behind me), look up at it as long as I could until I passed it, and continue home. I was all smiles as the rush of the Snowy Owl sightings came back to me.

To some it appears I am bragging. But I am not really. It became my own personal bit to keep track of them for myself. Many miles have been driven, much gas has been burned, and a lot of time has been spent over the past 3 months. I think I am allowed to keep track and share it for those who are interested.

We are now into our first full week of March. I don't expect to see anymore. But you never know...

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Snowy #6

On Sunday January 21, 2012, Angie and I saw MY 6th Snowy Owl for the season and her 5th. She missed the last one I saw due to construction workers scaring her out of a potential roosting/hunting area.

What a sight this guy was! And it's funny because we were off to check out a female Snowy in the area we heard reports of. Lucky for us, the road exit took us by this guy and as soon as we took the turn... Angie shouts "there's a Snowy!"

We had an amazing brief visit with this guy before a couple off-leash dogs flushed him from the fence post.

We never did find the female reported up the road but still may try again another day before the Snowys all head back up to the tundra. Enjoy the pics!

Crack of dawn and Mr. Snowy is possibly still on the hunt for his next meal.

The warm glow of that morning sun is deceiving on another cold January morning.

We are well away from him as you can see.

A walk to the west of the field got a better view of him before a couple large dogs came running over to get a look at this majestic bird for themselves.

I think it is necessary to post this reminder to everyone after my Owl posts, something to remember when you find yourself in the presence of any Owl...

The Owl Code of Ethics (that can be used with any wildlife sightings really)

Absolutely no dogs are allowed.
Keep a minimum distance of five metres from owls.
Be silent; speak in whispers.
Do not linger in front of an owl more than a couple of minutes.
If you cause an owl to fly, do not pursue it.
Do not bait owls with rodents.
No flash photography allowed.
No sound devices allowed.
Do not remove branches or vegetation.
Stay on the existing trails.
If the bird is on private property, please respect that this is private property and view safely from the side of the road.

Report harassment of owls to 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667).

I ask if you find an Owl in your travels to please keep it as quiet as possible. Call it selfish as some will, but it's a matter of protecting the birds. Word travels fast on these creatures showing up in the GTA. And so many people will go seek out the bird. The bird needs to live it's life... to rest and to hunt. These things cannot be done with constant human presence.

Please be responsible and respectful is what I ask.

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I saw my fifth Snowy of the season!

I saw my fifth Snowy Owl yesterday.  A good number for me but pales in comparison to some others who have seen more than 2 dozen in Southern Ontario.

This is THE year to see a Snowy Owl in the wild.  As I previously blogged before, there is a Snowy Owl "invasion" or as the proper term is "irruption".  Check out this really cool YouTube video about the invasion, it's only 3 mins long and well worth the viewing.

I love birding and I love taking photos.  Now I've got my fix for the time being on viewing Snowys, I really hope to capture something great in way of a photograph for personal memories of this amazing winter with them.  Too often the birds are far off in fields and other spots where they hope to rest and not be disturbed...  and I can respect that, and I WILL RESPECT that.  One day I will luck out and get THE shot for me.

Here's the 5 Snowys to date...

Snowy #1 was found just east of Toronto along the lakeshore.

Snowy #2, a beautiful near pure white male, found about 35 mins north of Toronto near Newmarket.

The next two made for a 2 Snowy Owl day about 3 hours east of Toronto.  This one is perched way out in a cattle field atop a potential Osprey nest stand.

Despite the distance, this is my personal favorite shot of a Snowy Owl for the winter.  The landscaping and sky just make it so nice.

And #5 was found just down the road from me yesterday.  There is a man working on a boat in the background (blue helmet) and has no idea that a majestic bird is so very near him resting.

Thanks for looking.  I hope to share a few more with you in the coming weeks before they all fly way north again.  And apologies for my absence but it's winter, I got birds to see...  winter really is a great season for birding, believe it or not, you just gotta bundle up and go!

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