Phantom of the North

This is a photo of a straw-chewing, country-loving Great Gray Owl, taken on 28 March 2013, NW of Calgary. This was the second of four Great Grays I saw that day, the first two quite close, the last two being more distant, but still close enough for photos. In some places, the Great Gray is known as the Phantom of the North. This rather soft image, in snowy surroundings, made me think of that name.