"A Sand County Almanac"

"THERE ARE SOME WHO CAN LIVE WITHOUT WILD THINGS AND SOME WHO CANNOT."
"FOR US IN THE MINORITY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE GEESE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TELEVISION.".....Aldo Leopold




"LOOK DEEP INTO NATURE, AND THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BETTER".....Albert Einstein


“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves”.....John Muir


Sunday, January 19, 2014

A Snowy Owl From Nearby Pennsylvania

Thanks to a tip from a photographer friend in Pennsylvania we headed to the Greencastle area shortly after sunrise this morning.  Thanks for the info, Coy!  After a short look we spotted a snowy owl perched on a rock that will forever be remembered as "owl rock" in my memory...




Unfortunately, the rock was about 100 yards from the road so getting really good images was out of the question.  After watching the owl for hours it was apparent that it was not going to move closer.  What a conundrum!  I noticed some folks cutting firewood at a nearby farm so I went there hoping to secure permission to get closer to the owl.  Those friendly folks directed me to another farm where the owner of the land lived.  Not encountering the land owner, we returned to our original position, viewing the owl from the road.  In a short time a pick up truck pulled up along side of us and the very considerate, friendly, farmer gave us permission to enter his field.  If you are reading this, thank you very much Tom.

We were not able to approach too closely.  The owl acted jumpy, probably from the crowd of photographers that had already been in the area earlier.  I was able to capture a couple of images and I am very grateful to both Coy and Tom for making this possible...



Thanks for visiting.  I hope you will be able to see one of these beautiful birds before they return to the arctic.



5 comments:

  1. Thanks for this report and these wonderful photos, Steve! Thanks for posting the the MD Birding site, where I saw them. I live in Emmitsburg, not that far from Greencastle... I am going to try to go out there tomorrow!

    Anne

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  2. Hello Steve
    Wunderful photo from this lovely bird.
    Greetings Bets

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  3. Interesting account of your day Steve!Always important to ask landowners permission for access,unlike some here in Britain. Can you send a few of these fantastic birds over to our neck of the woods! Always a pleasure to drop by your site....

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  4. Thanks all, for your comments. I wish I could share these sightings in person. I always appreciate it very much when someone makes it possible to find an unusual bird or animal.

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  5. Glad you got to see and photograph the owl. I was back about 10:00 this morning and didn't see them, but I suppose that may have been a bit late.

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