I spent an early summer evening bombing down backroads not too far from my house looking for owls. As the sun was rapidly setting, I slowly worked my way home and came upon this handsome fella perched up on a fencepost well positioned for a night of scanning the meadows for its next meal. After a few minutes of observing this great grey owl prior to grabbing my camera, I noticed it kept rapidly flinching in response to something but with the setting sun shining directly in my eyes, I couldn’t quite tell what it was. After repositioning, I realized it was a family of swallows dive bombing at the owl because it was sitting directly on the same fencepost where their nest was located. The owl took blow after blow and was stubbornly unwilling to relocate for some strange reason. I must have taken at least 50 shots of various attacks on the owl trying to capture this experience at the right moment with only one or two that worked out. The swallows were blazing fast. Eventually the owl caught on that it wasn’t welcome and decided to fly to a less bothersome fence post. Fortunately for me, it flew directly toward me and landed on the fence post right where I was standing, providing me with more opportunities to capture several close-up shots before the light faded to the point I could no longer capture anything worth using. After reviewing my photos at home, I realized in this image there is a little bug mid-flight just behind the owl. With how fast those swallows can fly, I can’t help but think this little bug is probably extremely grateful the owl happened to sit in that very spot that evening. Spending an hour with this owl during this surreal event was one of those experiences that will be hard to ever forget.
Whistler, Canada boasts some of the most beautiful trails I have ever seen. Virtually every trail in this region looks like this photo. With the array of different sports and activities available here, it is easily every outdoor enthusiast's paradise.
