In Pursuit of Snowy Owls
Each winter, birders, professional and amateur photographers alike, brave the cold in pursuit of the North American Snowy Owl.
The Snowy Owl Prowl as this adventure is referred to, is a much anticipated event. With grid search precision, enthusiasts drive the back country roads near Beiseker, Alberta in hopes of capturing a glimpse of, or better yet a picture of this gorgeous raptor.
Snowy Owls spend their summers in the far north where they can see their prey in 24-hour daylight. In the winter, they migrate to southern Alberta where their diet consists of rodents, rabbits, squirrels, ducks, wading birds and geese.
Fun Fact: Snowy Owls and Burrowing Owls have yellow eyes because they are diurnal; they prefer to hunt during the daytime.
You’ll recognize the male Snowy Owl, like Hedwig in the Harry Potter movies, as the one who is brilliant white. Their thick feathers provide insulation in the Arctic. Additionally, this makes it the heaviest North American owl weighing in at 1.8 kilograms. Â
Younger males have barred colouring but get whiter with age.
Females are heavily barred and remain this way. They also seem to be more plentiful to find.
Enthusiasts look atop fence posts, electric poles, grain elevators or buildings for the owls. All places the birds like to perch to look for prey. These raptors love treeless, wide-open spaces and can sit for hours in one spot.
However, they are skittish, and if you stop too close for the perfect picture, you had better be ready to snap this raptor in flight.
Trip Tip: We carry a ‘winter bag’ in the vehicle during cold months. This has extra toques, mitts, Hot Shots to warm cold feet and fingers and our micro spikes for icy situations. Also a great idea on the owl prowl is a snow shovel.
During the prowl, we came upon some photographers who got their rental car stuck off the side of the road. Luckily, we had the shovel and gave a hand. In doing so, we got them back on the road and, best of all, made some new friends.
Afterwards, on the drive home, many other photographic opportunities presented themselves on the backroads of Alberta.
In conclusion, this prairie adventure can take two or three hours or if you want, the whole day. It’s up to you!
I really enjoyed reading this Snow Owl post…years ago while driving in a heavy snowfall on a country road near High River, I had slowed down, and to my left, sitting on a fence post was a very large pure white Snowy Owl. I stopped to make sure I was actually seeing a white owl in all the white falling snow! Those piercing eyes were mesmerizing and almost comforting as we literally stared at each other for what had to be several minutes before he alit the fence post and flew over the front of my car with a wing span that looked like it could have encompassed more than the whole of my car. I’ve never forgotten that experience, and have always felt I was given this as a beautiful spiritual gift.
What a memorable encounter, Gail. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. You capture it perfectly with a ‘spiritual gift’. I’m happy our pictures brought it back for you.
Sandy