Finally, after two years of looking I found a Great Gray Owl right here in Cass County. I had decided to take a relaxing drive in the hopes of diminishing the effects of a nasty head-ache. I headed toward a large boggy area near Leech Lake in the hopes of finding a nice spot to watch the sunset over the bog, I had grabbed my camera in the hopes I might see something interesting but had no intentions of actually "birding". At the first turn I made of the main highway a large gray lump caught my eye. It was a Great Gray Owl sitting on top of a spindly 15' spruce. I quickly grabbed my camera and squeezed off three shots. I glanced down at my camera to verify I had good settings and a sickness grew in my stomach. There flashing in bright red letters on my camera's LCD screen, "NO CF CARD".
I couldn't believe it - I had forgotten to replace my memory card after downloading the pics of the Hoary Redpolls from my previous post. I was able to forgive myself for the indiscretion since the owl was some 150 yards away in a shaded spot with a very busy background. I was able to forgive myself until the owl flew off of its perch STRAIGHT TOWARD ME, and into the perfect warm evening light emanating from directly behind me. OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! The owl came to rest on an exposed spruce branch not more than 50 yards away and now had a beautifully charcoal gray evening cloud creating a perfect background. It was truly the proverbial once in a lifetime shot and me without a memory card. I couldn't believe it.
Later that night I also saw what I believe to have been a Great Horned Owl of the subarcticus ssp. but I likely wouldn't have been able to get a picture of this bird as it was viewable for less than a minute.
Last night I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about that Gray Ghost - the bird I had been seeking all over the snowy landscapes of northern MN. The bird I hadn't seen in some 15 years. The first time I had seen one I didn't even consider myself a birder yet. I tossed and turned until about 6:30AM - finally I gave into temptation. I begged my wife to drive our son to Basketball practice and drove back to the scene of last nights (for me) tragic events. This time I was armed with not one but three memory cards totalling some 16gigabytes of memory.
After an hour of searching I gave up. Realizing that this bird had likely moved deep into the bog I continued on to Federal Dam to photograph the Trumpeter Swans that had moved back in to the frigid, yet open waters of the Leech River.
I am happy :)
I couldn't believe it - I had forgotten to replace my memory card after downloading the pics of the Hoary Redpolls from my previous post. I was able to forgive myself for the indiscretion since the owl was some 150 yards away in a shaded spot with a very busy background. I was able to forgive myself until the owl flew off of its perch STRAIGHT TOWARD ME, and into the perfect warm evening light emanating from directly behind me. OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! The owl came to rest on an exposed spruce branch not more than 50 yards away and now had a beautifully charcoal gray evening cloud creating a perfect background. It was truly the proverbial once in a lifetime shot and me without a memory card. I couldn't believe it.
Later that night I also saw what I believe to have been a Great Horned Owl of the subarcticus ssp. but I likely wouldn't have been able to get a picture of this bird as it was viewable for less than a minute.
Last night I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about that Gray Ghost - the bird I had been seeking all over the snowy landscapes of northern MN. The bird I hadn't seen in some 15 years. The first time I had seen one I didn't even consider myself a birder yet. I tossed and turned until about 6:30AM - finally I gave into temptation. I begged my wife to drive our son to Basketball practice and drove back to the scene of last nights (for me) tragic events. This time I was armed with not one but three memory cards totalling some 16gigabytes of memory.
After an hour of searching I gave up. Realizing that this bird had likely moved deep into the bog I continued on to Federal Dam to photograph the Trumpeter Swans that had moved back in to the frigid, yet open waters of the Leech River.
After snapping a couple dozen shots of the Trumpeter Swans I decided it was time to head back home to catch some zzzz's before having to work the night shift. Along the road back a large dark bird swooped across the road in front of me. I slowed down to a crawl but couldn't relocate the bird. It was intriguing enough that I pulled onto the shoulder of the road and walked back to where I thought I had seen the bird fly in. I couldn't believe my eyes - some three miles north of where I had seen it the night before there was the Great Gray Owl.
I am happy :)
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