Wildlife photography has been a serious passion of mine for about six years. I have traveled to different states and even out of the country to photograph birds. My focus is mainly on migrating birds, deer, elk, any critter, flowers, and the Aurora Borealis. One of the many things I enjoy photographing is the snowy owl in the winter. If food is scarce, the snowy owls will migrate here in the winter from the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia, primarily the tundra.
Once I learned about this extraordinary, unique snowy owl, I became obsessed. I called her Creamsicle. I did a lot of digging and research, as usual. That’s how a lot of my shots are formed. The beginning of this journey started with a 2-hour drive one way, just hoping to even see her. Once we spotted her, it became a sit-and-wait game. I am stubborn, so I was willing to do the work to get that shot. Six hours of waiting, mumbling. “I hope she flies to a pole” and “I think she’s going to fly” became a fantasy.
Copyright photo by Julie Maggert Facebook page: Exposing nature through my lens to enjoy nature through my eyes.
We drove home, somewhat disappointed. All my shots were hundreds of yards away. I decided not to post them on my social media page that day. A couple of days later, we returned at first light, willing to sit and wait all day. She was already in the same spot, way out in the field. The waiting game continues. After 9 hours, she flies. As we learned, she flies to one of her favorite spots. A tree way out on the ditch line, yet still hundreds of yards away, not good enough for a decent photo. At the very last light, she went hunting and flew out of sight back into the field. On our way home, I was quiet and felt gutted.
Still determined, I drove myself in what I thought was going to be my last time. Once I arrived at the location, she was not in the same field. Feeling disheartened, I drove around, glassing high and low, trying to find her. A big chore. I made one last pass the opposite way before parking. Something caught my eye, much closer to the road behind a big clump of dirt. I checked my rearview mirror before slamming the truck into reverse.
I double-looked and thought, there’s a kid’s bouncy ball in the field. Weird. I grabbed my binos just to be sure. Sure enough, it’s her. Now my adrenaline is pumping, and it’s game time. I parked the truck and waited some more. Patience is the key to this game. Once I was parked, other people started to realize what I was doing and parked along the road as well. I even had someone block me in.
I became irritated. Because if she flew, I was going to have to reverse out of there in a hurry. And now I was stuck. Luckily, they only stayed a few minutes and moved. Around 5 p.m., she flew and headed back to her perch, her favorite tree. I headed home with some decent shots in tow.
A few days later, I hemmed and hawed about going back. What are the chances I would get that shot? I’ve learned over the years not to rely on nature. She does what she wants when she wants. This would be my very last chance for a few weeks as I have other obligations. In a few weeks, who knows what could happen. She could head back north, get spooked far away, or worse, get hit by a vehicle. I didn’t want to chance any of that.
Of course, I decided to head back over to the location. I felt that this would be a total Hail Mary. Once I arrived, I immediately started driving around, trying to spot her. After a few hours, I came up empty-handed. I decided to park and wait because I was going to be there until dark again. It’s too far from home to go back and forth. Once I’m there, I make it a day trip. I ventured out to look around one more time, and there she was, on a pole. They usually get on poles overseeing fields for mice, voles, and other prey. I parked and shut my truck off to not disturb her. She was on a less-than-attractive utility pole with a bunch of lines running through it. My dream shots of this Snowy diminished as fast as it came on. She finally flew off that pole onto a more “clean” pole, and once again, all this time and hard work paid off. I got the shots of her I have been envisioning. It is always a bittersweet moment when your hard work and planning pays off. Now, it’s time to focus on a different photography goal. What a dream come true to finally capture this uniquely rare snowy owl in all her beauty.
There are some speculations that her coloring may be just a color mutation or from the over-spray from airplane de-icer or even paint. Whatever it may be, she is a once-in-a-lifetime beauty and seemingly healthy. Within those 4 days, I logged 900 miles of driving, 28.5 hours of sitting in the vehicle, waiting and glassing with the binoculars, and 16 hours of driving back and forth to the location.
I have to thank my husband for always standing behind me. He is always willing to assist me in carrying my camera equipment, drive, or just be there for support. We have been able to witness many memorable adventures together because of my photography passion.
These photos are not AI-generated nor colored enhanced. Just a simple edit was done. You can follow my Facebook page: Exposing nature through my lens to enjoy nature through my eyes.
