Surprise Encounter at Fort Crown Point (Asio flammeus)
I didn't expect to see a short-eared owl in upstate New York, almost Vermont, when I visited in late January. Actually, up to this encounter, I didn't even know that these owls also lived in the New World. So you can imagine my surprise to see this bird when I walked around an almost snowless Fort Crown Point. Granted, this is not one of these great owl-hunting-pictures that I admire here at Flickr and elsewhere, and it was quite difficult to get it into a presentable state as the owl was quite far away from me, there was "heat haze" in the air, and it was quite a dark day. I still wanted to share this picture because seeing this owl was such a surprise that made me so happy that day. Also in the picture: the frozen Bulwagga Bay of Lake Champlain and a slope of the wonderful Adirondack mountains.
Surprise Encounter at Fort Crown Point (Asio flammeus)
I didn't expect to see a short-eared owl in upstate New York, almost Vermont, when I visited in late January. Actually, up to this encounter, I didn't even know that these owls also lived in the New World. So you can imagine my surprise to see this bird when I walked around an almost snowless Fort Crown Point. Granted, this is not one of these great owl-hunting-pictures that I admire here at Flickr and elsewhere, and it was quite difficult to get it into a presentable state as the owl was quite far away from me, there was "heat haze" in the air, and it was quite a dark day. I still wanted to share this picture because seeing this owl was such a surprise that made me so happy that day. Also in the picture: the frozen Bulwagga Bay of Lake Champlain and a slope of the wonderful Adirondack mountains.