100 yards at 2,500mm via digiscope.
With an 18.5mm lens. Can you see the owl?
Not wanting to overstay our welcome, Sylvia and I only remained long enough for me to take a few photographs from an appropriate distance that wouldn't disturb the owl. We didn't get any closer and we would never park or walk directly below a Snowy Owl, for such behavior would likely cause the bird to fly away. On the other hand, if it had flown off it might have provided an opportunity for a cool flight shot. Or better yet, it might have selected a perch closer to the road, like a utility pole or pine tree. But then you risk flushing it a second or third time should you keep pursuing it ... and such birder conduct is considered harassment. As the Boundary Bay Regional Park sign states: "If snowy owls take flight—you're too close!"
Link: Return of the Snowy Owls
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
Jan 1, 2015 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM
37 species
Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-necked Pheasant
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2015 Mike McDowell