Hello friends!
It’s been a pretty cold winter this year and we’ve had our share of days below -40C. Usually it is around this time of year that I start to see owls appear along the edges of the roads perched atop telephone poles or gliding along ditches in search of prey.
I have a theory about why they seem to appear along roadways in the spring and it may or may not have merit. I suspect owls start hunting along the edges of the highways because the salt from the road causes the snow to melt here first. Temperatures don’t even need to be above zero for salt to work its magic. My theory is the exposure of the grass along the edge of the road entices rodents to gather up fallen seed and who might be on the move in search of a new burrow as their subnivean home disappears. My guess is that this is what attracts the owls.
There has been a beautiful Great Grey owl that appears in roughly the same area for the past couple of years. I’m hoping I have a chance to see her again this year but will also be keeping my eyes open for a couple of Northern Hawk owls I’ve spotted and a Short-eared owl who made a brief appearance last April.
I’m headed to Alberta this week in the hopes of photographing snowy owls and other birds and wildlife as time and opportunity permits. I’ll be taking a break from the Sunday editions April 1 but will be back (hopefully with some new photos!) April 8th.
Enjoy the photos for this week and we’ll see you back here in two weeks. Have a fantastic long weekend, everyone.