This morning I got up early and headed down to Presqu’ile Park for a hike out to Gull Island.

Right now, Gull Island looks like this.  Required footwear for the hike varies, but today it consisted of tall rubber boots with ice cleats strapped on to them.    A very fashionable ensemble.

Hiking out the the island I am never alone, as the lake is teeming with waterfowl such as these little Long Tailed Ducks.

And mallards….woah, look out behind you!!!!

Each year, a female Snowy makes Gull Island her home.   I don’t really know if it is always the same one.    But I do know that many Snowy Owls enjoy winter territories around the Great Lakes each year.    It’s the easy access to waterfowl that keeps them coming back.

Today I initially found the Queen sitting on a duck blind.   Isn’t it nice of the park staff to set these up for her?    She checked me out, then fell back to sleep.

Snowy Owls are wild, and do not tolerate people if we get too close.   I have learned to stay far back, stay still, and then the owl will just go about its business instead of flying away.    My long lens helps, as does heavily cropping photos when I get home.

I always take a plastic garbage bag in my backpack so I can sit down on it and wait, and watch, without soaking my pants.   Eventually the owl took off right over me to go hunt over the lake.

She flew back to the island and landed on the “Access Prohibited” sign, then gave me a little wink.   OK, I am anthropomorphizing here.   Again.

After swooping down over the island looking for rodents she landed back up on a post.  I love how her feathers were blowing in the wind, and how I can see the fuzz on her face when she turns sideways.  Once again, I waited to see what would happen.

Off she flew, right over me! What a beauty! New Year’s Eve is always kind of like Thanksgiving for me.   I look back on the year, and think about all the things I am thankful for.

I am so fortunate that I live in such a beautiful part of the world, where I can visit wild creatures like the Snowy Owl who fill me with such awe.   I can’t think of a better way to spend the last day of 2015.

Thank you for sharing my journey with me, and Happy New Year!

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The post Queen of the Island: My Favourite Snowy Owl appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.