The Owl Irruption Continues In Northern Minnesota

My 6th trip was the best.

Goals unachieved I once again made my way to Northern Minnesota in search of owls. This time I was pretty sure I knew where at least one great gray owl was. Not to my surprise the famous great gray owl of Two Harbors was on display for many photographers to watch and photograph. This particular owl was actively hunting for the crowd but it was not the featured act on my trip up the north shore.

Pulling into the parking lot at the Two Harbors boat landing I was among the last nature geeks to arrive. This day was mostly cloudy and I felt no need to leave my house at 4am. There were 27 owl enthusiasts (yes I counted them) pointing cameras at this great gray owl who was hunting from a small pine not far from the boat landing. Some had long lenses while other still employed short range models and cell phones. I’m not a big crowd guy but I couldn’t help but jump into the fray shooting images over the crowd from a distance with my 500mm lens. This was cool but I was here to watch and photograph the majestic beast hunting voles. I wanted flight shots. Throughout the morning the great gray owl moved about from perch to perch always working into the significant wind. Using that knowledge I continually attempted to predict the flight of the owl. This tactic proved to be somewhat productive. Owls don’t always fly where you think they will.

Having a long lens employed is both an advantage and at times a disadvantage. The long lens allowed me to track the owl over greater distances and away from the group of photographers. The disadvantage was this owl was jumping up vertically from fence posts to pounce on voles and my long lens didn’t allow for me to effectively get these images from a distance.

I stayed with this owl for a few hours but it never really went where I was predicting it would go. Most of my good images were on perches which is cool but not my number 1 goal. I had been up the north shore numerous times this winter and I had found numerous owls including the rare boreal owl weeks before so I thought…should I  look for other owls?

Making a move from the famous Two Harbors owl was a risk I was willing to take. I made the decision to get some lunch and try and find another great gray or two.

Like a fisherman would do I headed to search an area I was successful in weeks earlier. Driving the county roads in St Louis County for a while I had an instinct to go to an area that was hot in early January. I found a great gray owl on this drive but it was not in an area conducive to flight photography so I bailed and returned to the Two Harbors owl. The crowd was now much smaller maybe 8 photographers and it appeared the great gray had moved off into the woods. Pondering the opportunities before me I decided to drive back to owl number 2.

Upon my arrival owl 2 had moved. I began my way down the road hoping to find owl 2. Found! And now it was in a more favorable place for a photographer. Owl 2 was perched not far from the road and obviosly hunting. This would be the beginning of what I now know was the single greatest hour of bird photography I’ve ever experienced. Owl 2 was actively hunting from perch to perch as the sun was settng and it offered me the chance to take a zillion images at 20 frames per second. I had an idea that I might have some excellent images of owl 2. One squence had me make a corret guess in it’s flight path and at that moment I was pumped thinking these shots will be what I was aiming for.

Now having seen my images that sequence was not exactly as imagined, good but not excellent. What I did find was a series of images that set apart from any other sequence I’d ever shot. I think what happens is you get so lost in the moment. Concentrating on holding the camera while following the bird as best you can takes away from thoughts of framing up a shot. It’s nice to get lost in bird photography and sometimes you get rewarded.

Below are some of my images from February 22, 2025 and day I won’t forget

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