Success Finally

 After several times of heading up to the Fish Point area, I was finally able to catch a snowy owl this season.   I had to look on a snowy owl site a few times to finally narrow down where I could see one.

First of all, it was not at Fish Point.  I think too many people found that spot and scared them away.

When I headed down the road where I thought it was, I saw a bunch of people with cameras, so I figured that would be the spot.

I'm not going to mention the spot because I don't want them to go somewhere else.

I think this one is a male.

I wish I could have moved to spot where the wire wasn't in the picture but I guess it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

I love those yellow eyes.

One more shot.

Seeking the Snowy Owl

 I had the day off today, so I decided to go looking for snowy owls.  I wasn't confident I would find any but I saw pictures on Facebook.  I decided to head up to Fish Point since that is where I usually see them.

I didn't see any snowy owls but I did see quite a few red wing blackbirds.  Normally, I wouldn't do a picture like this but I liked the cattails.

Most people call the robin the harbinger of spring but I think a few of those stay behind for the winter.  When you see them come spring, usually those are the ones until you see lots of them.

I consider the red wing blackbird the harbinger of spring because they are generally one of the first birds to come back and one the first birds to leave.

Because they leave the earliest, you are not likely to see ones that wintered over.  So when you start seeing them, spring is around the corner.

I also like them because they are very regal looking birds.

I liked this guy.

I love the colors.

They have a very unique song too.

I was able to get a few pictures.

I like this one.

But I think this was my favorite of the bunch.  I might try to go see snowy owls this weekend but I'm not confident.

And Our Other National Bird

 As I was getting closer to Fish Point, I saw a flock of turkeys in a field.  Of course I had to stop.

They were far enough away that I don't think they noticed me.

So I was able to get a few shots.

I think this is a young turkey.

A pair of them.

Another shot of the pair.

It is said that Benjamin Franklin proposed that the turkey be our national bird.  I'm not sure if he was serious or not but I've heard that turkeys can be pretty nasty when provoked.  Anyway, it would have been interesting and unique.  I don't think any other country has a turkey as its national bird.

Whereupon I Catch a Snowy Owl

 After catching the Alpena, I decided to head up to Fish Point.  I was hoping to catch some pelicans since one of my Facebook pictures from a year ago had them.  I ended up catching something better.

I ended up catching something better.

I had given up on catching a snowy owl this year.

I thought they had returned to the north country.

As we were entering the park, my mom pointed out that this guy was just sitting there.

I went back to get some pictures of him.  I was kind of surprised he stayed there.  I kept my distance and just stayed in the car.  I didn't want to spook him.

Usually when I see the snowy owls, they are up in the telephone poles and I am not able to get a good picture.

This one was just standing there and in good light to boot.

So I just kept taking pictures.

I will have to say, these are amazing birds.

I love the size of those talons.

That beak is pretty impressive too.

It seems like they are well adapted to their normal environment.

I just hope he is okay.

I decided to wander through the rest of the park for a bit.

I also wanted to get some pictures of puddle ducks.

They usually flee into the reeds when I arrive.

This one stuck around.

I love the red eyes.

Then I saw this muskrat.

A Canada goose.

Surprisingly, he wasn't hissing.

I think this is a ring-necked duck.

I think this is a redhead.

But he flew away.

A seagull.

A ring-necked duck couple.

So I went back to the owl.

Surprisingly, he stuck around.

And seemingly posed for me.

So I kept taking pictures.

He was looking around.

It was pretty cool.

It almost looked like he was laughing.

I think I like this one.

Before he flew off.