In search of Owls

[AIRIC]

You would think a place called Owl Forest would have an Owl or two in it . Well, Raymond and I packed up our wives, and little girl, at 5:30am New Years Day and headed for Amherst Island’s Owl Forest. After a two hour drive, half hour ferry ride, off roading in Raymonds 4x4 and then a 25 minute hike we arrived at the heart of Owl Forest which we have now nicknamed Chickadee Forest as it is infested with cute, friendly little Chickadees. Not an Owl in site . After getting our camera gear…and new lenses covered in snow we headed back to the girls and the comfort of our vehicles. This is what we got, oh ya, and lots of excercise.

The girls waited patiently in the car as we were gone 1.5 hours on our little expedition

Raymond having a little fun and no I did not try this in my Mazda

Luckily we passed some birders on the way out, BTW birders and photographers don’t mix well, and they said they saw a Snowy Owl on the other side of the Island. So off we went and what a surprise we actually found it but so far away it was hardly worth a shot.

Well, at least we saw an owl. We had no food and the girls were hungry and needed a washroom bad, things were falling apart fast when all of a sudden we saw our opportunity for a decent owl shot. Still not what I had hoped to get but enough to make the trip worth the time we invested.

One of the first shots of the day. I tried to get close to these sheep but the sheep dog pretty much woke up the whole Island and told the inhabitants some city slickers were here to disturb the peace. We quickly moved on.

The scenic coastline

All in all we had a good day and the girls got to bond. I think Berni and Daisy will have a lasting relationship and at least Raymond and I will give them lots to talk and laugh about.

Eric

 

[woodsac]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, the shots you got are great!
Ironically, my favorite shot is the sheep

 

['Daniel']

The 1st owl on the post is exquisite.

 

[Eric.]

That one of the snowy owl in the snow is awesome Eric. Good Work. Looks like your new lens really did you well!

 

[AIRIC]

Yes, I think the new lens saved the trip. That VR rocks!

Eric

 

[Calliope]

Awesome shots! Clear, beautiful birds.... and that last photo is breathtaking! Great job! :thumbup:

 

[Raymond J Barlow]

too much sky in the last shot, but it works! Great trip for us, we had a blast this trip to Whitby, and meeting Airics wife Bernie was the most fun! all shots are great Airic, the light was brutal again, so you did well considering. When LaFoto sees us 4 wheelin, with the baby on board, she will have a fit, as will others I am sure! Please go easy on me, it was just a little bump!

Maybe tommorrow I will have time to edit my "duplicate shots" of this excursion to Amherst Is... lol!

Great fun Airic! Catching that Snowy was a blast!

 

[LaFoto]

No fit!
I am tougher than you would think!
It's only I try to cover terrain as that in a normal 3series BMW ... and fail... I should say "tried once", for I have never gone into terrain that is only for 4-wheelers again.
And as long as you don't say your daughter complained all day... babies like to be rocked, don't they?

Now to AIRIC's photos:
a) it is great to hear that you have met yet again. I envy you. Consider travelling to Washington DC some time between 2 and 12 April, all of you, will you? If all goes well and we can agree on those dates, my husband and I are SERIOUSLY considering flying out to that "BIG TPF-Meet-Up"!

b) You manage to take the most impressive photos in even the dullest weather conditions, and the photo of the snow owl, far away as it was, and white on white as it is (on purpose, I would think ) still is really good! But I also like the woodpecker and the other little cuties that you saw and managed to photograph. And that coastline ... brrr! I now want to turn on the radiators even more...

 

[Raymond J Barlow]

No fit!
I am tougher than you would think!
It's only I try to cover terrain as that in a normal 3series BMW ... and fail... I should say "tried once", for I have never gone into terrain that is only for 4-wheelers again.
And as long as you don't say your daughter complained all day... babies like to be rocked, don't they?

whew! I thought I was gonna get a blast! I know Bernie thinks I have lost it! Noe I need to go shopping for a new running board for the truck, as that is pile was too much for Ford plastic.. ugggggg

 

[Chiller]

Wow. Airic. What a trip. The shots you got are still killer though. Awesome work my friend.

 

[wls3]

Eric

All great. The Snowy Owl on the fence post is my favorite. In flight shots came out super.
Can't imagine we will have to wait long to see some in flight aircraft shots with that new lens.

Bill

 

[JTHphoto]

more great photos on what looks like a dreary-light day... at least there weren't any shadows to contend with

looks like you guys (or ray at least) had fun plowing through the snow, looks like a blast!

 

[pursuer]

Wow, what a beautiful and inspiring series. Superb work. The owl closeup, the sheep and the coastline are easily my favorites.

After checking out yours and Raymonds photos this morning I decided to head into the woods and try to get some sort of wildlife myself. I wandered around for over two hours and didn't see so much as a squirrel LOL

 

[Raymond J Barlow]

more great photos on what looks like a dreary-light day... at least there weren't any shadows to contend with

looks like you guys (or ray at least) had fun plowing through the snow, looks like a blast!

It was mostly ice! and bloke one of my step ups... ugggggg! Bernie still thinks I am nuts!

 

[doenoe]

wow, great series..........i need a bird feeder somewhere too. Would be nice to have one where birds actual come.
Anyways, awesome pics again