Sax-Zim Bog never disappoints and this year was no exception! The Bog is a magical place, the home to some really cool bird species and unique shooting opportunities. One species in particular draws me back every year and that’s the Great Gray Owl. The biologist for The Bog believes there as many as twelve resident pairs. Finding just one of those possible twenty-four Great Grays isn’t easy. The ice covered dirt roads take you through their forest home where every single tree could be a roosting Great Gray watching you pass right on by. We’re talkin three hundred square miles of habitat! Despite that normally one is found and this year we had one on three different days. But just because you see one though doesn’t mean there is a photograph to be had. Normally you find them in the afternoon not too long before sunset on the hunt. Spending quality time though is the biggest challenge as I’m not the only one wanting to enjoy this unique member of our wild heritage. But the encounters with the Great Gray Owl of Sax-Zim lit a fire in me so now that I’m back home, we found one just a few miles up the road we can enjoy and study. I’ll be going back to The Bog again next year even so no matter what though. The quest continues, thankfully!

Bird feeders are a great way to enjoy our wild heritage simply from our homes. In some regions supplemental feeding from feeders is critical. Feederwatch is a winter bird count at all of our feeders for science to find out more about all of this. I love bird feeders, I have quite a few at The Ranch and right now I’m at Sax-Zim bog and spent a few hours at some feeders yesterday doing exactly what Feederwatch is all about. When it comes to photography, you don’t want to photograph the birds on the feeder but on perches they use in their comings and goings. That’s what’s happening here. Check out the Feederwatch website, grab your lens and get involved!

We just love our UPS guy (Haley is great too!)! Curt is 5th generation Montanan born and raised here in the Bitterroots and is all Montanan. He is sooooo into critters that when he delivers we talk and talk and talk about what’s about, what he’s seen and asking me what I’ve been pointing my lens at lately. He’s also a craftsman creating some great pieces. On his visit yesterday, our conversation went from owls to the deer. That’s because it’s that time of year when the Muleys and White-tails drop their antlers. Neither of us have actually seen it happen but two cool videos have been shared where you see them just shake their head and they pop off. We both were wondering if before that if they pounded them on something or, if they just do pop off. The funny thing in the two videos and one we’d seen of a moose was that when the shed hits the ground, it startles the critter so they run. So Kurt is looking at the deer tracking the bucks to find the sheds for his crafts and me to photograph the process. It’s that time to shed the past.