Posted by Jeff Lewis on February 1, 2013 at 3:00 PM
Max Waugh mentioned in the OR topic that Ocean Shores has snowy owls - are there other locations nearish to me in Bellingham that have snowy owls? I'd love to get some shots plus my son is on a real owl kick and would love to see them as well. Thanks.
I'm new to the site and after a long time photographing wildlife at an amateur/hobbyist/for-my-own-amusement level, I'm interested in trying to step up another level, and it looks like participating in this community will be an awesome resource.
Hi, Jeff - the snowy owls in WA state, and other northern US locations, were a very unusual aberration and I'm afraid they are long gone.
About every 5-10 yrs, there is an "irruption" and the huge numbers of snowies in that unusual year migrate much futher south from AK and Canada to find food. Last year was the year.
More info here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/28/us-owls-migration-idUSTRE80R0MP20120128
Welcome to NPN! You've joined a great community of excellent, as well as up-and-coming, photogtraphers. We look forward to your images, as well as your comments and critiques on other's work.
Sandy
Posted by Dan Roberts on February 1, 2013 at 10:05 PM
I saw some snowy images posted a couple of weeks ago on another forum that were taken on the Skagit flats near Mt.Vernon. Don't have a more specific location description than that. Last year apparently the heavy snowfall drove the owls farther south. We had record snow accumulations all across Alaska.
Posted by Max Waugh on February 2, 2013 at 1:09 AM
Sandy, there has been a "shadow irruption" this year... there's even been a pair hanging out in the Ballard area of Seattle for much of the winter.
The last report on eBird shows 8 snowies at Ocean Shores as of the 22nd, but I'm not sure if there's any more recent news.
Jeff, if you are up near Bellingham, your best bet may be to head to Boundary Bay, across the border in Canada. I was there today, but surprisingly did not see any snowies at the "traditional" 72nd St. location (where they were last year and for much of this winter already). However, it seems like the owls have really spread out and I believe they're still around. People were reporting that they are down near 64th, and are being seen on the roofs of the greenhouses down there. On January 28th, someone counted 21, so they are definitely still in the area... it'll just take a bit more work to find them.
By the way, at 72nd today, I did have three or four short-eared owls and two long-eared (my first ever). I also saw my very first saw-whet owls (four!) at the nearby Reifel Sanctuary, which is really worth a visit. Someone also saw a GHO at Reifel and barn owls are sometimes seen in the general area. You could have a six owl day!
I highly recommend the eBird.org sightings map to look for recent sightings of a particular species in a given area.
Max
Posted by Jeff Lewis on February 2, 2013 at 2:43 AM
Thanks everyone for the replies, that's all very helpful. I've been primarily interested in chasing down reptiles and amphibians in the past, but we moved to the Pacific NW a few years ago and there's much less of those to be had, so I've been reorienting towards birds, but haven't really looked into birding resources yet. ebird.org looks perfect, thank you Max, that will definitely be lots of fun to play with. I also joined the Tweeters mailing list to get plugged in to local birding spots and events.
Also Boundary Bay and Reifel sound perfect, just what I was looking for, I will definitely be checking those out. 6 owls would certainly be incredible but even without the kids'll be delighted if they get chickadees eating out of their hands...
Really?? COOL - I hadn't read anything about this.
Skip, Sorry for the out-of-date reply!
Sandy
Posted by Max Waugh on February 2, 2013 at 1:21 PM
Jeff (and anyone else), if you go to Reifel to look for the saw-whets, they have been along the path in the NE corner of the sanctuary. They are extremely tough to find, because they're so small and during the day they're often huddled underneath dense pine branches out of sight. The good news is that the locals and staff will often know where they are, so you may come across other photographers or bird watchers looking at them.
Yesterday, there were a couple right on the path, but so well hidden that we wouldn't have found them without someone pointing it out. One was two feet above my head and I wouldn't have seen it without help. If you do have to look for them on your own, the key is to look for fresh droppings along the edge of (or on) the path. These will often reveal the hiding spots.
Just to give you a sense of how difficult it may be to find and shoot them, I've attached my best photo from yesterday. The only way to get a clear view in this case was to shoot from my knees.
A tripod with trigger cable is recommended, and you probably want to avoid flash (at the very least so as not to antagonize the staff or bird watchers who may be opposed to the use of flash on owls... there have been conflicts there in the past).
Also watch for mink while you're there. We had one cross the path in front of us yesterday. Only my second one, and both have been at Reifel.
Max
Posted by Jeff Lewis on February 4, 2013 at 1:02 AM
What an awesome shot, Max, thanks for posting it. I showed it to everyone in the family and they're all very enthusiastic about a family trip, now. Which is good news/bad news, of course, in that the 8 and 6 yr olds aren't the most patient for daddy to stand for an hour in the bushes trying to take good pictures of the SAME owl over and over... But I will definitely be able to get there alone as well, I'm getting more time for my hobbies because I'm currently home dad and this is the first year both my kids are in full day school during the week. Since Reifel is only about an hour away I should be able to get there and back during a school day, so I'll have opportunities.
Also thanks for the ebird suggestion, I hadn't been there and they had some snowy owl sightings listed at Sandy Point in Whatcom county - about 15 minutes to the west from I-5 between Ferndale and Bellingham, and that's only about 25 minutes from me. I had a little time today even though it was overcast and drizzling so drove over there and saw at least 6 individuals - 5 perched on houses and one on the beach, as I worked my way through down the point. The conditions made me wonder if a variation on the "Doctor! Doctor!" joke was appropriate - "Mr Pro Photographer! Mr Pro Photographer! When I take pictures of a snowy owl on a darkish overcast drizzling day against a grey overcast sky they come out really bad! What can I do?!?"
Talking to some residents there, apparently those owls just live there right now, and they see them every day. I'm planning on heading back as soon as we get a little sun to see if I can get some shots with a some light and contrast. And less house would be nice. Thanks again Max.
Posted by Max Waugh on February 5, 2013 at 4:07 PM
Jeff, I hope you have some luck up there. I'd ask you to post some results (which you should do anyway), but I'll be in Costa Rica for the next month leading tours, so I may not see what you come up with.
Best of luck!
Max
Posted by Jeff Lewis on February 5, 2013 at 4:55 PM
Will do, Max, thanks, although oddly enough I'm heading to Costa Rica on the 17th for a family vacation as well for 10 days. I've been there once but the rest of the family hasn't, and my dad is a Zoologist who's always wanted to go, so we're taking the kids and my parents and have a house rented on the Osa peninsula for 5 days. We'll hopefully spend some time getting into Corcovado and I can also sneak some solo picture taking time.
When I went before it wasn't a photo or wildlife trip, so I was just sneaking photography in around the edges and came back with a big pile of disappointing pictures from my D7000 + Nikon 18-200. I've been spending the last 6 months or so trying to beef up my photography skills and kit to hopefully avoid the same result this time.
I look forward to seeing what you get down there. I'm hoping by getting active on this site I can upgrade my skills enough to feel like it wouldn't be a waste of money to go on an actual photography tour with one of you guys
Posted by Max Waugh on February 5, 2013 at 10:06 PM
Wow, that's great, Jeff! Corcovado is my favorite place in the entire country. I think you'll love it if you do have a chance to explore the area.
I will be at Sirena Station in Corcovado with my first clients ~Feb. 12-14, and I'll take my second tour to Bosque del Cabo (on the Osa) Feb. 25-28 and back to Sirena Feb. 28 - March 3. Sounds like we may just miss each other if I'm skirting around your rental house, but keep in mind that every time I've been in Corcovado, someone has seen a puma during my stay. So time it right and keep your eyes peeled!
Discussion
11 repliesI'm new to the site and after a long time photographing wildlife at an amateur/hobbyist/for-my-own-amusement level, I'm interested in trying to step up another level, and it looks like participating in this community will be an awesome resource.
About every 5-10 yrs, there is an "irruption" and the huge numbers of snowies in that unusual year migrate much futher south from AK and Canada to find food. Last year was the year.
More info here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/28/us-owls-migration-idUSTRE80R0MP20120128
Welcome to NPN! You've joined a great community of excellent, as well as up-and-coming, photogtraphers. We look forward to your images, as well as your comments and critiques on other's work.
Sandy
Sandy
The last report on eBird shows 8 snowies at Ocean Shores as of the 22nd, but I'm not sure if there's any more recent news.
Jeff, if you are up near Bellingham, your best bet may be to head to Boundary Bay, across the border in Canada. I was there today, but surprisingly did not see any snowies at the "traditional" 72nd St. location (where they were last year and for much of this winter already). However, it seems like the owls have really spread out and I believe they're still around. People were reporting that they are down near 64th, and are being seen on the roofs of the greenhouses down there. On January 28th, someone counted 21, so they are definitely still in the area... it'll just take a bit more work to find them.
By the way, at 72nd today, I did have three or four short-eared owls and two long-eared (my first ever). I also saw my very first saw-whet owls (four!) at the nearby Reifel Sanctuary, which is really worth a visit. Someone also saw a GHO at Reifel and barn owls are sometimes seen in the general area. You could have a six owl day!
I highly recommend the eBird.org sightings map to look for recent sightings of a particular species in a given area.
Max
Also Boundary Bay and Reifel sound perfect, just what I was looking for, I will definitely be checking those out. 6 owls would certainly be incredible but even without the kids'll be delighted if they get chickadees eating out of their hands...
Thanks so much everyone.
Skip, Sorry for the out-of-date reply!
Sandy
Yesterday, there were a couple right on the path, but so well hidden that we wouldn't have found them without someone pointing it out. One was two feet above my head and I wouldn't have seen it without help. If you do have to look for them on your own, the key is to look for fresh droppings along the edge of (or on) the path. These will often reveal the hiding spots.
Just to give you a sense of how difficult it may be to find and shoot them, I've attached my best photo from yesterday. The only way to get a clear view in this case was to shoot from my knees.
A tripod with trigger cable is recommended, and you probably want to avoid flash (at the very least so as not to antagonize the staff or bird watchers who may be opposed to the use of flash on owls... there have been conflicts there in the past).
Also watch for mink while you're there. We had one cross the path in front of us yesterday. Only my second one, and both have been at Reifel.
Max
Also thanks for the ebird suggestion, I hadn't been there and they had some snowy owl sightings listed at Sandy Point in Whatcom county - about 15 minutes to the west from I-5 between Ferndale and Bellingham, and that's only about 25 minutes from me. I had a little time today even though it was overcast and drizzling so drove over there and saw at least 6 individuals - 5 perched on houses and one on the beach, as I worked my way through down the point. The conditions made me wonder if a variation on the "Doctor! Doctor!" joke was appropriate - "Mr Pro Photographer! Mr Pro Photographer! When I take pictures of a snowy owl on a darkish overcast drizzling day against a grey overcast sky they come out really bad! What can I do?!?"
Talking to some residents there, apparently those owls just live there right now, and they see them every day. I'm planning on heading back as soon as we get a little sun to see if I can get some shots with a some light and contrast. And less house would be nice. Thanks again Max.
Best of luck!
Max
When I went before it wasn't a photo or wildlife trip, so I was just sneaking photography in around the edges and came back with a big pile of disappointing pictures from my D7000 + Nikon 18-200. I've been spending the last 6 months or so trying to beef up my photography skills and kit to hopefully avoid the same result this time.
I look forward to seeing what you get down there. I'm hoping by getting active on this site I can upgrade my skills enough to feel like it wouldn't be a waste of money to go on an actual photography tour with one of you guys
I will be at Sirena Station in Corcovado with my first clients ~Feb. 12-14, and I'll take my second tour to Bosque del Cabo (on the Osa) Feb. 25-28 and back to Sirena Feb. 28 - March 3. Sounds like we may just miss each other if I'm skirting around your rental house, but keep in mind that every time I've been in Corcovado, someone has seen a puma during my stay. So time it right and keep your eyes peeled!
Max