For every photographer, luck is the most valuable tool in your camera bag. I have been on the lookout for owls for many years and have faced far more failure than success.
Only twice have I been fortunate enough to find myself face-to-face with these impressive birds of prey.
The first experience was more than a decade ago when great grey owls migrated south from the far reaches of northern Ontario during a season where their main prey’s population crashed. So they set off south to hunt for their voles.
They seemed to find many in and around Muskoka and Simcoe County.
Grey owls are wonderful to photograph as they generally have no fear of humans due to their limited contact with us in their normal northern habitat.
I found that if I was quiet and slow I could walk up to within about twenty feet of them, which was an unbelievable experience for me.
They stuck around for most of that winter before migrating back home when the snow began to melt.
It was a winter to remember for wildlife photographers. Apparently the cycle of vole population crashes occurs about once every 20 years or so.
My second and by far my favourite encounter to date was with three different female snowy owls that were camped out not far from each other in a farm field east of Angus.
Female snowy owls are known for their dark markings on their feathers that distinguish themselves from the solid white males of the species.
They were easy to spot and stuck around for at least a month during January and February of 2015. They too showed little fear of humans but were slightly more skittish than the great grey owls.
The backdrop of the farm fields and trees were perfect for the photos, but the temperature was a frigid minus 20 along with howling winds. Not very comfortable for a photographer or photography gear.
During my weekends spent with these beautiful birds I captured images that I will treasure forever.
I have since returned to the same areas to try and find them again over the past few winters, but they are nowhere to be found. I’m hoping that that all important photographer’s luck will make its return next season. Fingers crossed.
