It seems the winter of 2013-2014 is
starting with a bang-sub zero temps and a solid blanket of snow are
leading us out the door with skis and tip ups in hand and fatbikes
rolling on packed trails. In my case, I've headed out the door armed with a binoculars and long
telephoto lens bayonetted onto my camera. Reports on ebird.com and in the news are reporting an
invasion of Snowy owls across the state.
Although it's not entirely understood
why we in Wisconsin (and other states) are treated to this arctic
visitor, theories abound. Bust and boom populations of their
preferred food, Lemmings, may drive the majestic birds south, in
search of better hunting. Successful breeding may also lead to
abundant adolescent birds being pushed south for new territory. No
matter the reason, every few years, when the birds arrive, we have a
wonderful opportunity to experience them. To non-birders, the regal
white bird may be familiar as Harry Potters' pet owl Hedwig. And
indeed, no other owl is quite as striking as the Snowy. Not entirely
white, the bird has perfect camouflage for our Wisconsin winters.
The often more observed juveniles, tend to have greater black or dark
grey barring across the chest and head, while mature adult males are
“cleaner” in coloration.
I can remember maybe seeing just one Snowy
owl in the past, on a telephone pole near my parents home in Wausau.
I do enjoy birding and photographing birds, so when the “snowy
alarm” went off on facebook a few days ago nearby, I just had to
make an attempt to see one again. Our local game warden, Adam Hanna,
had observed a snowy along a county hi-way north of Neillsville and
recorded a fuzzy video of it from his truck. The following morning a
good friend asked if I'd like to go in pursuit, cameras in hand, for
the birds generally will stay on one area if food is abundant.
The location was a bit of a drive fro
us, so we scanned every tree, every power pole and fence post on the
odd chance another owl was in the area-a real possibility. As we
slowly made our way within a few miles of Adam's sighting, I happened
to glance out the side window and amazingly, a Snowy was flying right
at us! Without thinking, my thumb hit the power button on the camera
in my lap, I swung the lens up and started firing through the glass
window and the bird closed in. It gently flew over the car and lit
in a corn stubble field a hundred yards away. From our vantage
point, we could just make out the grey and white blob resting on the
snow. Both of us kept shooting, but with a paultry 300mm lens,
chances of having a good image were marginal at best. The owl seemed
to be in no hurry and after observing “him” for sometime, we
decided to continue our search in case this was a different owl
than was seen the previous day 3 or 4 miles away.
Nothing else turned up and we returned
to the corn field where besides glancing our direction from time to
time, the bird seemed content where he was. We hoped to get closer
shots, but also didn't want to disturb him in anyway so for this day,
we would be happy with the extremely lucky images captured on my
camera. We did return the following day, but no luck-there are a lot
of woodlots between these one mile county “blocks” so he could
have been about anywhere or moved on to better habitat. If that's
the case, perhaps someone else will have this fortunate opportunity
to observe one of natures rare treats-if so, take every advantage of
this invasion! More sightings here: ebird
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