Lenawee Co. Snowy Owl! - 05 Feb 2012

With apologies to Kenn Kaufman here's my Superb Owl Champion of 2012!  This bird was sighted earlier this week by the Great Charles Owens, and reported again yesterday by several other birders.  I drove out this morning and saw the all white (adult male?) Snowy Owl sitting in a field just north of Pocklington and west of Rixom Rd. near the town of Britton, MI.

This image was taken using the Nikon D300 and 300/2.8 VRII and 1.4TCII (equivalent focal length ~600mm).  A close look shows the owl looking toward my direction.  Heat shimmer is evident in the background, and the small birds in the upper right are just a few of the many Horned Larks singing/chasing/displaying in the fields.

At full zoom on the Nikon Coolpix and with the 45X W eyepiece the bird required a -2.0 exposure compensation, and 10 second timer to capture this acceptable image from an approximate focal length of ~5000mm.  Heat shimmer played havoc w/ focus, and at 200-300 meters distance was not acceptable for even digiscoping.  Still, my images are acceptable and I'm happy w/ 'em. 

Congratulations, Dan on your life bird!