END OF THE DAY BONUS

I was out driving around with another photographer, showing her the farmland area where I often see critters, birds, and waterfowl.  Because of the change to Daylight Savings Time, we were a bit early to catch feeding animals.  We were headed for home, but, at the last minute, I decided to drive through the ballpark.

I’d been to the park recently and hadn’t seen any critters, but today our luck changed, and we saw a very large, female Snowy Owl sitting on the ground.  Wow!  A Snowy Owl sitting in a natural setting versus atop an ugly pole.  That's a switch!

While the Snowy wasn’t moving much, except to swivel her head searching for prey, she was a challenge to photograph because so much else was moving!  It was a windy day and the owl was sitting among many tall weeds which were continually moving in front of her.  It was difficult to attain a focus just on the owl and not the weeds!

She turned my way, and it is always especially exciting to have the owl look directly at me with those bright yellow, piercing eyes.

The Snowy continued to swivel her head in all directions looking for something to eat, but she always knew exactly where I was. 

It was a sunny day, and at times the Snowy squinted or employed her other eyelids to protect herself from the bright sunlight.

There were a couple times when the Snowy rose up and ruffled her wing feathers.  I thought sure she was going to fly.  They were false alarms, though.

Then another time, she dropped her head and took a short nap.  The work of the Snowy must be tiring!

While I enjoy all the antics of Snowy Owls, it’s mostly the eyes that grab me.  Their piercing yellow eyes are such a contrast to the delicate eyelashes and face feathers.  She was sure an end of the day bonus!