Last week at Birds and Beers, we talked about snowy owls that are usually seen at the Minneapolis/St Paul Airport in winter. None had been reported at the airport yet (they’ve been showing up all over elsewhere in Minnesota and in Wisconsin). I’ve been checking the airport a few times a week (I live nearby) and we had a couple of people who actually work at the airport show up to Birds and Beers and they had not seen or heard any reports. Then, last night someone reported on the local birding listservs that they saw one on Cargo Rd.
When I finished my volunteer shift at The Raptor Center at about noon, I headed over to try my luck. Normally, I would search of the owls after 3pm, since they are more likely to be seen later in the day but the temps were below zero degrees Fahrenheit and a snow storm hit, so I figured my chances were good.
And they were! I drove right underneath a snowy owl! The challenge at the airport is that there are few places airport security would like you to stop and take photos. I think MSP Airport Security must have my license plate on file by now. So many people have made such a big show of writing down my plate number when they see my digiscoping equipment and I never get pulled over by security. They must think, “Ah, it’s one of those birders again.” I make sure to follow the rules–do what the signs say, like stay six feet away from fences. Also, the glycol plant manager used to collect owl pellets for me, so if I pull over for a photo, I do it in their driveway and only very briefly. I avoid stopping in the road, because it’s not safe. Today someone stopped in the road on a downhill curve and I almost hit them since the roads were slick with the freshly falling snow–not cool and the kind of antics that make airport security less forgiving of birders. I’m not sure if the stopped person was a birder or just some regular person shocked to see a huge owl on a light post in the middle of the day.
Not only did I manage to digiscope a few snowy owl photos quickly, but I heard the owl vocalize (some weird bark and nothing remotely hoot-ish) and then watched it dive for prey. Alas, it came up empty taloned, but was cool nonetheless.
The owl returned to the light post and I managed one more photo before airport security pulled up behind me and gave me the hairy eyeball. I paused to make sure he didn’t want to come out and wag his finger, but with the temps so cold, he stayed in his truck and glared. I hightailed it out of there to do some more digiscoping at the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge Headquarters and ended up with a general awesome afternoon. More on that later.
Great photographs under some difficult circumstances. I would just love to see a Snowy Owl in real life. Thanks for the pictures.
Oh, he’s gorgeous!
Wow! That is cool.
That’s wonderful that you got to see some snowy owls. I suppose the cold temps are pushing them in numbers further south. Great photographs. Sorry that you were not able to soley focus on your owl without having to worry about getting in trouble. I hope the owls stick around for you to watch throughout the winter.
Natural Moments: I suspect the reason that snowies are so abundant further south (they’re all over the place in Montreal, several to an airport) is that it’s a low year for lemmings. The lack of food is always more of an issue than the cold
On a high lemming year, they don’t bother going very far south. The same thing happens with finches when the pine cone crops are poor up north – they appear down south!
In response to the actual post…the expression ‘hairy eyeball’ never fails to make me giggle.
Sweet photos of the snowy owl! We had one in Ohio not too long ago (near Xenia and then in Preble County, NW of Dayton) Susan and I chased it, but we missed.
~Kathi
Beautiful shots of a Snowy!
Fabulous shots!
Wow, Sharon, those are great pictures! I’m glad you braved the wrath of airport security to photograph that owl for us.
Congratulation on these wonderful photos. How impressive the owls look!
So very cool! It’s neat that you regularly get these owls at the airport and great images to show for your efforts. It’s a bit of an event to see them here in the NY area but it does happen in the winter. One question for you – what do you wear to keep your hands warm? Since you digiscope, you do need some dexterity to use your equipment but I can just tell by your photos that it’s darned cold there! How do you not lose your fingers to the cold?
It’s rare that I envy anyone that lives somewhere with that much snow but you just made me want to be in MN for a few mintues. Great photos Sharon!
WOW…great pictures. I’m still looking for the Snowy Owl.
What a beautiful bird! I’d love to see one up close in person. Great shots!
Nicki –
word on the birding street was the the lemming population was awesome during the breeding season and that snowies fledged a bunch of fat and sassy chicks. Then the lemming population crashed this fall, sending them south.
Beth in NYC –
I stayed in the car and then dashed out to snap about a dozen photos of the owl. If you work enough with your equipment, you can maneuver quickly. My other secret is using Hot Hands brand hand warmers. These are a must in cold weather. I keep them in my gloves and sometimes socks. I also keep them in my pockets with my batteries and camera–makes them last a tad longer. I’ve tried several different brands of hand warmers and Hot Hands last the longest of all the ones I have tried.
Thanks, everyone, glad you enjoy the photos.
I had also heard that lemmings were particularly abundant during the breeding season, and snowies fledged a lot of chicks. Apparently many of the owls down here are dispersing juveniles? So the influx of owls might actually be the result of good lemming populations and reproductive success…
Anyway, awesome shots! I have yet to see one…but I’m going to Assateague at the end of the week for a few days, and I know they have been reported there!
The booming Snowy Owl population likely led to some unusual owl deaths in Michigan. Where I grew up in Muskegon there were reports of Snowy Owls as early as October 21 this year. That is ridiculously early. Apparently they came south too soon and a disease hit them.
For details, check out the Muskegon County Nature Club web site at
http://users.tm.net/mcnc and go to the Recent Sitings page. Then scroll down to the November 6 and October 22 reports.
I have to throw in a plug for the MCNC, whose members are doing one of their CBC’s today. Good luck to them.
Andy – Newark, CA
I know security frowns upon stopping on the road but how do they feel about walking the roads? If a driver drops you off near an owl can you stand there on the shoulder and shoot photos or do they give you a hard time about that?
Still waiting to see one of these in the field….
how pretty he is, . . . the snow reminds me of the winter I spent in Fargo. I couldn’t get over how big the snowshoe hares were there. “Big enough to saddle and ride” as my Gramps used to say. They would make a pretty big raptor meal. Disapproving rabbit would really get a twist in his knickers over that.
Is it possible to fall in love with an owl?
It is such a beauty! Owls are truly magical.
Snowy Owls do make some strange noises, not what you would expect from an owl. Great pictures!