I've been wanting to see Snowy Owl for years. They are super rare in our area and only appear during our winter during irruption years. Which means they had such a good breeding season last summer in the artic tundra that the juveniles were forced more south for food.
I've heard reports of 3 in NJ. 2 females and 1 male. This series of photos is of a juvenile Female. She blends in so much and thankfully there was another photographer who spotted her. She was pretty far away and even with a 2x extender, cropped sensor of R7 and 100-400 4.5-5.6 lens, it was pretty hard to get these images. These are also heavily cropped.
I'm not entirely happy with these photos, but I went in saying I'd just be happy to see her. So all in all, I'm happy. I'm happy to finally see this Muppet like bird in the wild.
#wildlifephotography #snowyowl #birding #birdphotography