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Several snowy owls have moved down from the Artic into Minnesota this winter. On Friday a friend and I took Forest Road 11 over to the Sax-zim bog area to photograph one particularly beautiful snowy owl. When I first saw this snowy owl’s face it reminded me of a ski mask. They have to survive extreme cold temperatures in the Artic. As a result their facial feathers are so thick that it looks like fur covering their entire face.

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We watched it take off across a farmer’s field and drop on a mouse.

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I don’t know if it heard the mouse or saw it running across the snow but that mouse was a full football field away when the owl spotted it.

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They are excellent hunters and as you can see from the talons in this photo whatever it grabs is not getting away.

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Rear view of the talons.

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There were wind chill advisories while we were out taking these photos.

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While our hands were freezing from operating the cameras the cold didn’t seem to bother the owl at all except for seeing a little frost on its eyelids.

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