Lying on a bed of hoarfrost

On 25 January 2017, I had such a great day, spent with friend, Phil. We drove the main roads and zig-zagged along the back roads SE of the city, hoping to find owls and any other birds that we might be lucky enough to see. I haven't been able to get out much this winter, and have had very little luck finding certain owls, including Snowies, Short-eared Owls and a Long-eared Owl. Phil has an unusual ability to see things that are almost invisible to the naked eye; things that I know I would never spot if I was driving on my own. Amazing how some people can do this - and, of course, the rest of us always benefit from their ability. I was confident that we would see a Snowy Owl, but had no idea that we would see 11 of them by the end of the day!

In the morning, there were few birds of any kind to be found, but thankfully more gradually appeared as the day wore on. Birds for the day included the 11 Snowy Owls, 3 Rough-legged Hawks (one a very dark individual), 2 Prairie Falcons, quite a few Grey Partridge, and a beautiful, distant Bald Eagle down on the ground the far side of a field. It was bathed in beautiful sunset light, which showed the detail of each and every feather.

Mammals for the day included a number of Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer, some of them surrounded by hoar-frosted stubble. We also saw a very distant Red Fox hunting, 3 Elk (which surprised both of us), and several Coyotes. Everywhere was covered in hoar frost, which made for a nice setting for these two distant deer.

Thanks so much, Phil, for such a great day! A day of hoar frost and glorious cloud formation, beautiful landscape, and more than enough Snowy Owls to keep anyone happy. Perfect company, too, of course. Greatly appreciated!