Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Massachusetts is reported to attract Snowy Owls in winter, so I made the 100-mile trek last week to check it out. The refuge is located on Plum Island, a barrier island consisting of sand dunes and salt marshes. I spent parts of three days in the search and all I found to aim my camera at was a few harriers and the usual assortment of ducks and geese.

However, when reviewing what I thought was a distant harrier shot, I saw that I had something else instead. It's not the white Snowy I was hoping to see, but there's no doubt it's an owl. The next morning I did get a distant shot of a harrier.

Unsnowy Owl

Harrier

Next Saturday it's off to New Mexico for four days of shooting at Bosque del Apache NWR. Who knows what further surprises await?