Winter dusk with a great gray owl

By the time we found this great gray owl in the late afternoon, it had already been a wonderful day of owls.  This grey was the first of three that flew and hunted on the edge of the forest through into night.  The waning sunshine offered a little warmth against cold and perhaps encouraged the owls to come out of the trees to hunt.  Sometimes an owl is found only by slowly studying woods or fields.  This one was much easier – perched on a sign post.

A truck drove by and the owl took flight. The bird crossed over a fence and drifted over the field beyond.  Angling up on an instant, she quickly down towards the snow.

I missed catching a sharp shot of her crashing into the field.  She, however, did not miss.  He talons pinned a field mouse of some type under the snow.  She…