Snowy Owls and More

Three Bridges Road

I took a drive after work one sunny afternoon along my favourite country roads north of the city. I was on the look out for Snowy Owls, Rough-legged Hawks, an elusive Red-shouldered Hawk and whatever else might catch my eye. If I found nothing but rays of sunshine, I would have been satisfied.


It is always interesting to drive by well kept Mennonite mixed farms and to see people going about their daily business. Flocks of Snow Buntings flew between corn fields and the edge of the gravel road and Horned Larks sang their tinkling tunes from fence posts.

Photographers and Snowy Owl

I turned onto another road and saw a line of vehicles parked near a field. A group of photographers were focused on a female Snowy Owl sitting on the ground. This was my first Snowy Owl sighting of the winter but I didn't stop because the area was busy enough already. There are many responsible wildlife photographers, but some will disturb birds hoping to get an exceptional picture. Some birding forums are discouraging birders from reporting rare sightings to protect the birds from harassment. On the way home I drove by the section of river where a Red-shouldered Hawk had been seen on a regular basis. A photographer with big gear had parked his pickup truck on an angle blocking half the roadway so he could get a picture of the hawk. He effectively stopped anyone else approaching the area.

Song Sparrow

I enjoy taking pictures of birds, but am just as happy watching them or focusing through my binoculars. I prefer to walk along a path rather than parking myself for long periods of time waiting for one bird. Recently, Raymond Barlow, a skilled local nature photographer, shared his photos and tips at a photography club. As a professional he spends many hours in the field looking for wildlife but he is committed to ethical practices in his work. He has a blog on nature photography called Nature Images Online Magazine that is well worth checking out.

Near the end of my little road trip, I saw my first Song Sparrow of the season. Maybe he was telling me that spring is just around the corner and that he would stay long after the Snowy Owls, Snow Buntings and Horned Larks went north again.