Snowy Owl in Washington DC!
the other day I tried to get a glimpse of the Snowy Owl that had been spotted at Union Station in Washington DC
unfortunately I did not time things correctly
I did my pass through that part of town durning the day
the owl is nocturnal
so...
after sunset would be the time to see the Snowy Owl
it was just as I expected...
how do you spot a Moose in Rocky Mountain National Park?
look for the tripods and telephoto lenses
the same goes for the Snowy Owl in DC!
yes... the people are out
I did not document the crowds
but there were a good number of people gathered in front of Union Station
people just waiting
people just watching
there is some irony here...
the presence of the people inhibit the activity that the people wish to see
the Snowy Owl wants to hunt on the rats...
the rats are not coming out because of the people standing around
and
if a rat were to come out
the Owl would not risk taking a dive
too many people around...
I did not bring a tripod
also...
this is a "new to me camera"
I need to learn how to use this camera
I thought I had the camera set up for some night photos
no.
I dropped the ball
so often the photographer will glance at the display screen to see if they "got the shot"
that effort is not part of my routine
in fact... I often mocked that
as I feel that in so many cases it would make more sense to keep shooting and review the photos later
well...
if I were to check my display screen after my shot
I would see that in many of my night shots
I was getting nothing more than a BLACK SCREEN
on the ride down to Union Station I encountered a guy on a scooter
we had crossed paths before
he has a really cool "look"
I tried to take a few photos
and well
NOTHING
I wasted his time... no photos from that moment
RANDOM!
ran into an old friend Ivan
Ivan had his two kids down there
one more excited about than the owl
it was cool...
this is the sort of thing that I would do as a father
so... seeing Ivan down here
well... I thought it was cool
I had had dinner with my younger son Grant earlier this evening
but... I did not think to invite him
as we had an early dinner
which had me thinking he had plans
CUTE KIDS!
they were really well behaved
Ivan is doing a good job
(along with his wife)
again...
a tad bummer that all these people are ruining this owl's feeding time
but...
there is the off chance that the owl enjoys all the attention
it is more than likely a solitary creature who seldom has human interaction
so...
this has to be unusual for this creature
quite an event...
the people really came out for it
it was a beautiful night for a bicycle ride
the snowy owl got me out of the house
was nice to be humbled by the camera again...
I will be better prepared next time
maybe bring the tripod
I own a tripod
why not use it?
