The predawn, partly cloudy skies soon filled up with snow flurries as I crossed over the Laurentian Divide on the way down to the Bog. Inclement weather, my favorite to photograph in!
Although there was snow, the wind stayed down, and owls were out and about. This 18 second video shows how the morning began.
Although I meant to head home in the early afternoon, the lure of more Great Greys kept me in the Bog until dark.
With 2015 here and a Raptor exhibit beginning in just a few months, Sax-Zim Bog seemed like the best place to start the new year. It didn’t take more than a few passes along Admiral Road until a Great Grey Owl was spotted in the trees. Not sure which car was the first to stop, but I worked my way up to the few folks that were setting up their gear. Although this beauty was on the sunlit side of the road, it really was just a touch too low to be basking in its full glory. The entire encounter lasted less than five minutes before the owl flew deep into the woods.
Driving farther down the road, the sun was just beginning to set. What a beautiful ending to the first day of a new year!
