Snowy Owl

Not particularly good quality but looks OK in this size. I was leaning back in my seat in a friend's car, trying to balance myself to get a few shots through the skyroof, LOL. I don't know if simply pointing my point-and-shoot up towards the sky took away the quality, or if maybe the car engine running caused vibration - though my IS should have worked sufficiently. We saw three Snowy Owls east of the city on this day and this gorgeous male, almost pure white, was the first one we saw.

Spent today in the mountains, to see what birds could be found. Talk about a slow, quiet day, LOL! There seem to be so few birds around in many places. However, the highlight was a Northern Hawk Owl, very, very far away! Like a needle in a haystack, seeing one of these in the vast forest! We were in total awe that Andrew spotted it and, thanks to his scope, we had a lovely, sharp view of this fascinating owl. The weather was amazing today and the ground was clear wherever we went. I know I, for one, had expected there to be snow everywhere. If only winter could be like this the whole season ... sigh.