Barred Owl 2 February 2013
A perfect and simple evening. Smoked whitefish, a visit to over ten thousand acres of frozen brushland prairie and northern sedge meadow near my home, and a return home along the Saint Croix River made this a simple appreciation of a still and frozen winter day. I hiked out into a vast and open landscape that is almost always soggy bog and floating hummock. Today, all was ice and snow, solid footing and brittle brown sedges and bog laurel. I looked at the little details and learned the secrets of this expansive wetland, finding a high spot with a single bonsai tamarack struggling for nutrients but never competing for sun. Another high spot, and I found a smaller, older bonsai jack pine with fascinating, miniature serotenous cones. As the sun ducked low to the western horizon, I began my journey home.
I encountered a Barred Owl, silently and anxiously greeting the end of the daylight, perched at the edge of a pine grove to listen intently for rodents under the snow.
The owl was tolerant of my approach, and I made just a few images and a short video before giving the owl the space it needed to hunt. The weather has been very cold. This owl has likely been losing valuable body weight and now stays just one step ahead of winter's grip.
I photographed the Barred Owl from a Gitzo basalt tripod with Gitzo ball head. I used a refurbished Canon 7D and 300mm f4 IS Canon flourite lens. Always mindful of the animal's needs, I packed up after just a few minutes and tried to not confuse or tease the owl. Every move this owl makes this time of year could be the difference between life and death. Fellow hunter, be well!
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