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Hunting for the hunters~


With so many snowy owls in the region this winter, birders and photographers have been particularly successful in spotting and shooting (photographically speaking!) these beautiful birds. The well-known locales where snowies have been sighted are big draws for hopeful viewers.

We’re hunters. We seek the thrill of seeing wild creatures close up. We want to experience their beauty and dignity. We bundle up, drag out our gear, and complain about the wind chill, all to witness the real hunters, whose survival depends upon their focus, their senses, their quickness—and freedom from distraction.

Snowies are not easy to spot. Protective coloration works like a charm, and despite being large, once they are patiently hunkered down, scanning for rodents, they can be all but impossible to detect. Even in motion they fly low and are well camouflaged.



Your best bet in spotting one is patience and a pair of binoculars … or watching for clusters of people. When someone spots a snowy, he stares into the distance, and whoever comes along asks, “What do you see?” 


And then they stand with the first guy until the next person comes along and asks, “What’s out there?” And she stays, and so on, until quite the group of owl paparazzi has formed.

Saturday, I was with my husband and was hoping he’d see an owl, which is much more exciting than just looking at the photos I come home with.  But the road to the location that had been successful for me a couple of weeks ago was closed. People reported seeing owls, but they were so far out in the marsh they were invisible to the naked eye.

It didn’t look hopeful. But the point is to enjoy what nature gives you on any given day. So I snapped a picture of wild turkeys on the roadside…because they were there and I had a camera. They foraged and paid us no mind.


 We watched a beautiful red-tail hawk ride wind currents, while scanning for prey. Later he sat, all handsome, on a branch while a crowd gathered beneath him.  He was oblivious to the gathering paparazzi; there’s no time for distractibility when your life depends upon a successful hunt.


We pulled into a turn-off where there was a small cluster of people. I stepped out of the car to see a people looking skyward. I swung my camera up with just enough time snap a few shots of what turned out to be a juvenile bald eagle before he took off for better hunting grounds. Did he notice us? If so we were not of interest.



We headed further north to a spot where people said a snowy had been hunting all day.  And sure enough, the snowy grapevine was correct. She was there…and so were the people.  Thankfully the owl was separated from the crowd by a drainage depression in the marsh, which prevented those who push the limits from getting too close to the bird, forcing it to move on.


If I had to hunt for survival, could I tune out the paparazzi?  I’m not sure. And that thought makes me all the more respectful of the wild creatures I observe. 

I wish everyone was.
~~~~~
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Comments

Pauline said…
I don't know how you got lost from my reading list but I am glad to have found you again. I haven't seen a snow owl in western MA for some time; maybe the ones out your way will come mine. Meanwhile, thanks for the fabulous photos!
Ruth L.~ said…
I'm glad you found me again, Pauline. I've been a little of a slacker with my blog, but I'm glad to see you've remained active. Love both your blogs!

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