Snowy Owls Remain in Southern Ontario

Over the past five weeks or so I have been enjoying local short-eared owls and northern harriers which has been brilliant. There is a down side, however.  I’ve neglected my budding relationships with the visiting snowy owls.

With the weather having turned spring like – though I have kept my winter tyres on in anticipation of another bout of wintry precipitation – I wondered if the snowy owls might still be around. 

I was pleased to find three female snowies  the past three days.  There were still a few patches of snow in the fields and over the years I’ve noticed the owls tend to gravitate to these even when the temperature is above freezing. Is it for camouflage? Or is it simply a spot to cool their well insulated bodies?

From the road I saw what could be a snowy owl on the ground next to a tree. Even with my binoculars, from that angle, I couldn’t tell for sure though. Driving onto the farm I stopped to say hello to the family. They knew why I was there and  immediately asked ‘Is there an owl in our fields?’ They confirmed I still had their permission to go out there.

I took my binoculars and thought twice about taking my camera. My intention was to come back later. Then I thought, what if something happens and I don’t have my camera. I trudged through the mud behind the barns and into the field.

Dogs on the adjacent farm began barking. The owl flew into the middle of the field. Yes, it was indeed a snowy owl.  In order to get back to my car, which was parked behind the barns, I had to retrace my steps passing within fifty metres of the owl. I was glad I brought my camera.

I sat down in the mud at that distance and shot some images. She stared at me for a few minutes but I could see her reacting to the dogs barking, a small plane flying overhead and the sound of electrical equipment buzzing behind me. Snowy owls have a lot to take in.

Two of the children from the farm had wandered into the field and were now standing ten or fifteen metres behind. The owl was watching all of us.

A few hundred metres away there was another white lump on a snow patch and with my binoculars I could tell it was another female owl. This owl in front of me continued to monitor her surroundings. 

The dogs on the adjacent farm had vanished by this time and so she flew back to her original spot next to the tree. I walked to my car with the children who were excited to tell me they had seen a couple of owls a week earlier.

As I drove my usual lap I spotted another female on a patch of snow. I went into the field and sat down. This one I am sure I have photographed several times this winter. But the farmer’s dog, Rolo, who recently gave birth to ten pups, came into the field barking. The kids waved to me and were calling her back but she was more interested in me and the owl.

I had a bag of dog treats in my pocket in case she became aggressive but she started trotting toward the owl.  

The owl turned and flew a hundred metres up the fence line landing on another patch of snow. Rolo, no doubt pleased at having interfered with my meeting with the owl, merrily walked back to the farm.

I was still elated from my earlier encounter and was thinking of driving home but then I drove down a dirt road where I often see owls. There I spotted a third female perched on a hydro pole .

After parking my car fifty metres from her position I grabbed my coat and camera then walked into the field keeping about 40-50 metres distance between us. My little semi-circle detour brought me out in front of her as she faced the little sunlight remaining. Though she had watched me walk around she soon ignored me in favour of the hunt.

Four times in the next ten minutes she spotted prey and flew out across the field without success. She returned to the hydro pole each time.

It was dark and I was reluctant to walk back into the field in case I might spoil her hunt. And I didn’t want to walk along the road under her. It might spook her and break the trust I had tried to establish.  So I sat down on the dirt road  waiting for her to fly into the field. Once she took off I would use those minutes to rush back to my car and make my get-away. Only that’s not what happened.

The owl came off the pole and turned directly towards passing me within a few metres. She landed on a hydro pole behind me. It was only after processing my photos and seeing the pattern of barring on her feathers  that I realized this was the same owl I had written about in my February 3rd blog.

Most winters I have been fortunate to see a successful hunt and so I will keep my fingers crossed for such an event in the coming weeks. That is, if the owls remain.

                                                                                             -30-