Many, many years ago, back when Toronto used to have more winters like the one we are currently experiencing, I heard tales of Snowy Owls being sighted at the Leslie Spit. Owls, in general, are just cool birds, but Snowy Owls? This was special, this is not normally part of their territory. I didn’t know for how long they would linger, so bundled up and braved the -30 C with windchill and had the fellow drop me off so I could see, and hopefully photograph, a specimen or two. In a few hours, he would come back to pick me up.
I spent those hours hiking and searching. I took a few photos of some interesting ice, but I saw nothing moving this day. It was finally time to rendezvous with the fellow, who had probably already arrived, waiting for me to finally show up. By this time, the windchill was beginning to penetrate my winter layers, my face felt like it was about to fall off and my legs were a little slower moving through the snow.
There he was. I got into the car and before I could make my numb lips move to talk about my disappointment, he started bubbling excitedly.
“Did you see the owl fly away as you got close to the car?”
“Huh?”
“You were late. I’ve been sitting here for a while and these owls keep flying around and landing by the car catching mice. So cool!”
I looked at him. “I saw no owls.”
While he hadn’t been watching Snowy Owls, the local Great Horned Owls were giving him a spectacle. I guess the owls had been well-enough fed by the time I had gotten there that they were taking a break. I was able to see one sitting contently on a tree branch beyond a fence, but that was as close as I got to any owl that day.
My first Snowy Owl in the wild! My friend and I shot as best we could in the low light – he, envying my ISO capability; me, his cropped sensor. But we saw a Snowy Owl, and that made me happy.
This year, apparently a lot of Snowy Owls have been spending time in more southerly regions than typical. Maybe it helped that we had a really “good” winter finally, maybe it had to do with food availability, maybe they’ve been saving up for a while and this was the year for the big trip to get rid of a little wanderlust. Whatever the reason, if I wanted to see one in the wild, then this seemed to be the year for it. Last weekend, I figured that so many people have been posting such amazing photos of the critters that I should at least wander around a bit to see if I could finally see one of these birds for myself.
A friend and I headed out to the Spit. We hiked through snow, on ice and got some interesting snowscapes. As for owls? We talked with a birder who was heading out as we were heading in and she mentioned that she had seen a Snowy Owl on a tree not far from the entrance the previous day, but this day, she had seen nothing, not even the Great Horned Owl who typically hung out in one particular area. My friend and I were familiar with this owl, having discovered it the previous year. We went by its hangout in case it showed up, but nothing. We saw some kite surfers having fun on the ice and had a great hike, but no owls. Until…we were close to leaving the park. There, up in a tree, as the woman we had met earlier described, was a Snowy Owl sitting high and surveying its domain! It would have been nicer if it had allowed us to get closer before it flew away, but it was still a thrilling sight. The light was getting low and we were still able to get a few shots, even if at a distance.
My second Snowy Owl was seen as a dark bump blending into the surrounding ice and snow.
The next day, my fellow and I drove out to Pickering, where another Snowy Owl had been reported. I’d like to say “we” saw one, but the fellow decided to go into the car to warm up, leaving me to continue along to the lighthouse marking the point of the little manmade harbour. There I saw the Snowy off in the distance, on the other side of the harbour mouth, blending in with the ice and snow. It sat for a while before suddenly taking off and hunting some hapless critter off in the distance. When it was done, it flew across the water, past me, and on down the shoreline. I still wasn’t able to catch anything resembling a closeup, but, hey, that’s a Snowy Owl a day over the weekend. That in itself made for some excitement. Closeups? That’ll come eventually.
Beautiful in flight, the Snowy Owl flew across the water and my path before disappearing from sight farther down the shoreline.