When I left my house this morning (Dec 11th) I was a bit bummed as the skies were gray and the light flat. But when we started gaining elevation out of Duluth, a hoar frost wonderland began to appear. Every single bud, branch, needle and twig on every single tree was coated in a feathery frost. Spectacular! Now if we could only find some subjects! I was traveling with Dave Shaffer from Spooner, Wisconsin (one of the best Black Bear photographers in the country…see his images (all taken in the wild) at http://www.bearwitnessimages.com) and we were after one thing…Owls!
Most birders and photographers who love boreal birds have heard of northern Minnesota’s Sax-Zim Bog. It is a Mecca for those searching out lifers or photos of northern birds such as Boreal Chickadee, Black-backed Woodpecker, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Ruffed Grouse, Pine Grosbeak, White-winged Crossbill, Evening Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, Hoary Redpoll and, of course, owls. Great Gray Owl and Northern Hawk Owl are regular nesters and can be found easily most winters. Boreal Owls, Snowy Owls and Northern Saw-whet Owl are much more rare.
[Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens; f5.6 at 1/400, ISO 400, aperture priority]
Great Gray Owl atop a tiny Tamarack cloaked in hoar-frost, Sax-Zim Bog MN
After a couple hours of unfruitful searching, we spotted a dark blob far down the road. I knew instantly that it was a Great Gray…the Phantom of the North! This was Dave’s first ever Great Gray…a “lifer” in birder parlance. And what a bird! This guy (girl?) kept on hunting for over an hour as we watched and kept clicking the shutter.
This is probably my favorite image from the day. I lover the graceful curve of the Tamarack tip and the “bird in landscape” feel. It really gives you a sense of the boreal haunts of this magnificent bird. I tweaked the white balance to give it a more cool (blue) feel. Though these are the tallest owl in North America (30 inches tall!) they are all feathers and rank third in weight (behind Snowy and Great Horned).
Hoar Frost is relatively rare in the North Woods, but when it happens you better grab your camera and go! Here is a definition from http://www.weatheronline.com.uk
“Under clear frosty nights in winter soft ice crystals might form on vegetation or any object that has been chilled below freezing point by radiation cooling. This deposit of ice crystals is known as hoar-frost and may sometimes be so thick that it might look like snow. The interlocking ice crystals become attached to branches of trees, leafs, hedgerows and grass blades and are one of the most prominent features of a typical ‘winter wonderland’ day. However, the fine ‘feathers’, ‘needles’ and ‘spines’ might also be found on any other object that is exposed to supersaturated air below freezing temperature.
The relative humidity in supersaturated air is greater then 100% and the formation of hoar frost is similar to the formation of dew with the difference that the temperature of the object on which the hoar frost forms is well below 0°C, whereas this is not the case with dew. Hoar frost crystals often form intitially on the tips of plants or other objects.”
Great Grays are powered by voles—both Meadow Vole and Red-backed Vole. Some studies have shown that their diet is 97% voles. Their talons are tiny compared to Great Horneds which eat much larger prey (rabbits, squirrels). And voles must be in good supply as this guy caught two back to back within minutes.
The two images above are just different crops of the same original image. Which do you like better? [Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens; f5.6 at 1/320, ISO 400, aperture priority, tripod]
[Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens; f5.6 at 1/320, ISO 640, aperture priority]
[Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens; f5.6 at 1/125, ISO 500, aperture priority, tripod]
At dusk we found another Great Gray along McDavitt Road, about a mile or two from the other bird (as the raven flies). Thankfully Great Grays often pick photogenic perches in this stretch of road that has NO power poles or fence posts!
[Canon 7D with Canon 400mm f5.6 lens; f5.6 at 1/125, ISO 640, aperture priority, tripod]
The spruce boughs in the background hint at this bird’s wild far northern haunts.
8 responses to “Northern Owls in a Hoar Frost Wonderland”
DebPotts
December 13th, 2014 at 18:11
Absolutely beautiful….I definitely have to make another trip up there…hopefully before the year is out.
Garrett Conover
December 13th, 2014 at 18:50
Hi Sparky: My vote goes to the top image where the Great Gray is smaller and the surrounding field of white is expansive. That one has a more ghostly aspect and the bright eyes still grab your attention without any diminishing of the big context in swirly light and white.
Lynn Salmela
December 13th, 2014 at 20:41
So neat! I love this!!!!!
Sent from my iPad
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j'adore champagne
December 14th, 2014 at 12:54
Reblogged this on Jadorechampagne's Blog and commented:
Missing Minnesota…..
SR
December 16th, 2014 at 16:10
Hi ! I am loving your Blog, and find these photos of the owl Amazing! Stunning! Fantastic!
I loved that you got his face and both eyes in a couple of shots, like he was looking right at you.
My fave crop was the one less cropped where it seems like he is that bit further away. A bit more as it was I guess.
The morning seemed still and the host frost definitely icy 🙂
Love All your photos and musings. Will continue to follow your adventures.
Sxo
SR
December 16th, 2014 at 16:11
*hoar frost (darn autocorrect)
bornfreetofly
December 18th, 2014 at 08:12
Enchanting!
Alan
December 18th, 2014 at 19:30
Wow, I bet that was beautiful up there! Just the day before there was hoarfrost down by the Cities and I took some pictures of it here: http://pumasbluff.com/2014/12/11/a-hoarfrost-covered-world/
But up there, on the pines with wildlife…that must have been an awesome experience. I like the first, second, and third pictures the most.