A 4-Snowy Owl Day - 14 Jan 2018


Phil Van Daele reported an all-white Snowy Owl just east of Britton, MI in Lenawee Co. yesterday. Since it was too cold for an outside bird trip Robin and I decided to take a drive to look for it. A swing through Willow Run Airport on the way gave us our best looks at a Snowy Owl; it was perched on the fence along the south end service drive. It flew off as we were pulling up behind another photographer who was out photographing it from across the road.

We continued on past the entrance to the airport buildings and found another Snowy Owl perched on the roof of a building just on the other side of the fence. I digiscoped it from 50-70 yards away.

Willow Run Airport (restricted access), Wayne, Michigan, US
Jan 14, 2018 10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
1 species

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)  2     Continuing. One on fence at s end of airport and 2nd on roof of main bldg.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S41906789

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)



We then headed down US-23 to M-50 and headed west past Cabelas to 1.8 miles just east of Britton when I spotted this Snowy Owl way out in a field next to a pair of marking stakes. I digiscoped it from about 100 yds at full power on the scope.

We failed to find the all-white Snowy Owl, so we headed back to Cabelas to have lunch at the Great Lakes Eatery and Bar. There, we ran into Bruce Smith and Sue Kuroda and they told us where to look: Hoagland Hwy just south of M-50, then turn right on Centennial Drive. The bird was about 200 yds out in the middle of a plowed field. I was able to digiscope it again at full power on the scope. Video was necessary due to wind, heat shimmer and snow. A record frame was all I could muster.


Along the way to see the Snowy Owl(s) we had flushed a dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk from the ditch next to the road. On the way back to Cabelas we spotted it soaring to the north of M-50, so I turned down the closed road and grabbed a quick photo before it disappeared into the next fields.



Great day!

Britton, MI  49229, Ridgeway US-MI (41.9765,-83.7867), Lenawee, Michigan, US
Jan 14, 2018 11:01 AM - 11:16 AM
Protocol: Traveling
7.0 mile(s)
2 species

Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus)  1
Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)  1     While looking for all white snowy owl I spotted this individual about 150 yd south of M-50 in field 1.8 miles east of Britton.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S41907109

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)