Snowy Owl and winter trip to Crex Meadows

 

An interesting building in a corn field south of Grantsburg.
 

 One of the birds on my photography bucket list is the beautiful Snowy Owl. After seeking one out for the past several years I heard about some sightings at Grantsburg, Wisconsin near the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area. I quickly planned a trip to the area in hopes of sighting one. Pam unfortunately was not able to make the trip because of her work responsibilities. I decided to head up to Grantsburg as soon as possible as there appeared to be a nice weather window.

I left Winona last Tuesday morning and it was -10 degrees. By the time I got to Durand, Wisconsin it was -23 degrees and I was starting to wonder if I had read the weather reports correctly. It was still about -8 degrees when I got to Turtle Lake to meet up with the Marjorie and Dennis Doering for lunch at the Casino. ( They have really good wings at the casino )  After a nice lunch and a conversation about the new novel Marjorie is working on I headed out on the last leg of my journey.

I then spent the next day and a half exploring the area south of Grantsburg and the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area. I was thrilled when I came across a Snowy Owl in my travels and was even more thrilled when the Snowy Owl allowed me to get close enough to get some photographs with my telephoto lens. I also came across several other birds on the "frozen tundra".

 

Please click on the images to enlarge them.

The sky was overcast when I located a Snowy Owl perched
on a power line pole.

A flock of Snow Buntings flew into this corn field for a quick snack.


One of the cool things about nature photography is that things slow down enough around lunch time to allow time for a nice lunch and a power nap. I finished a nice lunch that I picked up at the Burnett Dairy Co-op Cheese Store in Alpha and was working on a great nap back at the motel in Siren when I was startled out of a deep sleep by fire alarms and bright flashing lights. After determining that there was not any fire or smoke in the motel I headed out to grab a few photos as a nap was now impossible with the alarms. I later found out that a burst sprinkler pipe was the culprit.

You have to love the dedication of the volunteer fire fighters and emergency
response personnel.
 

Checking out the fields for prey.

Winter landscape of Phantom Lake in the Wildlife Area

A small herd of deer feeding in the frigid weather.

I think she was giving me a wink and a smile!

A Redpoll giving me a profile pose.

A Brown Creeper on a tree near the feeders at the Visitor
Center.

A Blue Jay checking out the feeders.

Adios beautiful Snowy Owl