Searching for Owls

Encountering an owl in the wild is an otherworldly experience. Even though I spend a lot of time outdoors in wild places, I can count on my fingers the number of times I’ve seen an owl in the wild. And when I do, it’s usually fleeting and quite dark—a glimpse of silent feathers. Maybe that’s why I haven’t tried to photograph one before. But a little more than a week ago, I decided to try. The first day of owl photographing, I sat for hours under an oak tree, a few hundred yards from a nest, waiting for dusk to come, hoping to see the owl emerge to hunt in a field. The owl didn’t come, or if it did, I must have looked away for a moment and missed it. I came home covered in insect bites and discouraged. The rest of the week continued in the same way-hiking to the places I’ve heard owls call or areas I know others have seen owls. Finally, last night, right after I had given up for the evening, I photographed this juvenile Great Horned Owl. It was one of the most rewarding wildlife encounters I’ve ever had.