When my wife a daughters (2 home from college for the weekend) went down to walk the beach yesterday in early afternoon, they called to say the Snowy Owl was in one of its usual perches in a tall pine at the edge of the marsh. I was headed out on a photo-prowl anyway, since we were having the first sun of the day, so I drove down. It sat at the top of the tree, the one furthest out from the road, for a few shots before lifting off, circling, and settling on a branch 15 feet from the top and on the backside, where it was pretty much out of sight. I moved down the road a ways to get a better angle, and in that short time a storm swept in, closing the sky, dimming the light, and spitting rain. Oh well. I went home.

Late in the afternoon, going on 5PM, which is, thanks to daylight savings time, still well before sunset, I drove back down to see what I could see. The Snowy was now perched at the very top of the middle of the three pines at the edge of the marsh, which is considerably closer than its perch after lunch. I only had my Olympus with its 600mm equivalent and a monopod I am trying out for my trip to Africa, but I set up and took a few shots. The wind was blowing so hard, in sudden gusts, that I was having difficulty keeping myself upright, let alone the monopod. The Owl, on the treetop, was barely holding on.

After maybe 20 minutes of this, without any warning the Owl lifted off and flew straight toward me. It passed not 10 feet from me just at eye-level. Amazing! Unfortunately I discovered a major drawback in using a monopod…it is actually worse than tripod when attempting to follow flying birds. It is, quite frankly, simply in the way…and I did not get a single shot of the bird in the air.

I would have been more disappointed if the Owl, unbelievably, had not settled less than 30 feet out in the marsh on the other side of the road…the closest I have seen a Snowy (discounting the captured Logan Airport bird we saw released at Parker River NWR). I was across the road in a cautious flash and got off maybe 15 shots. One of those wind gusts just about blew me over backward, and took my winter hat right off, but I was so intent on getting the Owl that I let it fly. Unfortunately a considerate driver stopped his truck rather than run over it (or maybe he was looking at the Owl too)…and an older couple who had also stopped to see what I was photographing in the tree just before the Owl flew came rushing to the rail beside me…and the Owl was off across the marsh to settle much further out.

Still, my best Snowy Owl shots to date! The closeness of the bird…the golden light of the low sun coming through the grasses and around the owl, the wide open eyes…it all works for a very satisfying image. Or that’s what I think. Olympus OM-D E-M10 with 75-300mm zoom. 600mm equivalent. ISO 200 @ 1/400th @ f7.1. Processed in Snapseed on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014.

And for the Sunday Thought: In photographing birds I learned long ago to take other intrusive humans in stride. Yes, people will, too soon, push too close, generally with their smartphone cameras, and flush almost any good bird. It happens. Yes people will simply rush in for a closer view and startle what I am photographing. It happens. On occasion, someone will indeed step right between me and the bird. It happens. If I let it bother me, it would only diminish my own enjoyment of the moment, and I can generally remind myself of that within a few moments (at most) of every new occurance. I do feel the annoyance still, but I know it for what it is (pretty selfish of me) and quickly let it go. I may, someday, reach the point where I don’t feel it all. 🙂

So when the man handed me back my hat, and the little old lady with her cane appeared at my elbow as the Owl settled on its new perch way out in the marsh, I had my smile back in place by the time I turned to her. She was so excited to see the Snowy Owl…her first…and it turned out she had watched it fly and restrained herself so I could get a few shots off…but when the truck stopped for my hat, she just had to go get closer. She was all apologetic about flushing the bird, but I assured her it was okay. I was not about to dampen her joy at the encounter, and I did my best to enrich it with some Snowy Owl lore I have on tap for this invasion year. It was a moment of true blessing…for her, for her husband (who remained silent but grinning from ear to ear during the whole encounter), and for me.

In fact I feel outrageously blessed to have a resident Snowy Owl in the neighborhood at all, even in this invasion year when they are everywhere. This Owl is not just any Snowy Owl, it is our owl…the one that is seen almost daily at our beach…in our marsh. It is such an unexpected privilege to have it here for the winter. I could drive to Biddeford Pool or Newberryport and see 10 in a day…but our local Owl is way more special than Owls in any number elsewhere.

And is there a spiritual side to this? If you follow these posts you know that I am learning (sometimes very slowly) to see the spiritual in everything…the living energy…most often the living love…at the core of every event, every encounter, every moment. Sharing my Snowy Owl with the couple yesterday, overcoming any annoyance at missing a few more Owl shots…that was a spiritual experience. And the joy in that lady’s face will be the picture I remember, long after the Owl shot has been reduced to digital litter in some decaying Internet of the future. Because of course, it was the same joy I felt. The joy of pure unexpected, and totally undeserved, blessing!