Snowy Owl

A Snowy Owl, resident of the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago: 10/30/10.

As a rule I want to try to keep the photos in this blog to be of wild birds, but this gorgeous Snowy Owl (Above) was way too striking not to include it. It did take some creative maneuvering to get this photo without having fence wire in front of it. But I finally managed to find a position that didn't have trees, people or other obsticals in the way and was able to stick my lense in between the wire mesh to get this clear unabated shot.

Unfortunately for us Northern Illinoisians, Snowy Owls rarely come this far south. The farthest south their winter homes extend is just a bit north of here in southern Wisconsin and will range all the way into Canada. In the summer months, they can be found on the open tundra in the arctic circle and the northern most regions of Canada and the northern coast of Alaska.

NOTE (Added on 1/30/11): Fortunately for us Northern Illinoisians, a Snowy Owl was sighted in Ogle County, IL, in late January of 2011.  Check out my blog post on 1/29/11 link below:

http://northernillinoisbirder.blogspot.com/2011/01/snowy-owl-sighting-in-northern-illinois.html