In June, wildflowers reach their peak in southwestern Saskatchewan, and my intent that morning was to roam the grassy hills and do some flower photography. Below the hills, there's a large grove of cottonwood trees. Here, Great Horned Owls have nested for decades.

In 2023, however, due to a very late snowmelt and some weird weather thrown into the mix, very few owls were able to breed in my area. Owl experts assured me 2024 would be a more normal year. I checked the area frequently in the spring, but had no luck. There was a solitary GHO in the area, but I didn't find a nest.

On this June morning, before I reached the trail head, I noticed this owl watching me from a tree stump. You can see some blackened bark here - in 2013 a massive wildfire swept through the park, killing some of the trees in this spot. It's amazing that so many of them survived.

I was partly concealed by some bushes. The owl knew I was present, but could not see my full human profile, and didn't show any signs of alarm. This is the prairie subspecies of GHO, subarcticus, very pale. Probably an adaptation that makes hunting more successful during the snowy months.

Tomorrow: make yourself available and good things will happen...

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

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