One from last winter

[R Buker]

[Steve Foss]

Here are two from last winter.

[jonny_redhorse]

nice "captures" of the great greys!....I saw many of these guys last winter in the "Sax-Zim"Bog Wild life area on hwy #7(south of Eveleth)....kinda wondering if these big owls will be wintering over in our area again this year..(maybe they never left,not sure )....jonny

[Steve Foss]

Most winters bring some of the big boys and girls down from Canada. That can range from just a few individuals to the vast numbers that irrupted last winter. They came largely because of crashes in populations of red-back voles and other small rodents (great gray owls' primary food) in their home ranges. Will that happen again this winter? Hard to predict.

Almost all the owls head back north come spring, but some GGs usually stay behind in northern Minnesota to breed. There was a pair breeding about 10 miles outside Ely last summer, and I got some nice images of a lone individual in the opposite direction, about 30 miles up the Echo Trail from Ely last summer, as well.