Photographer: Donna Feledichuk

Every January a pair of mating great gray owls make their way back to a location close to my home to being their preparation to lay eggs and raise a new group of owlets. I frequently see the pair out hunting together from the end of January until mid-March when the eggs would be laid. The pair were working their way down a field, landing mostly on fence posts as there were few trees along the one edge of the field they were hunting. The female found a temporary perch on a solitary tree, bending the branches as it sat to listen and watch the snow-covered field. The setting sun gave a slight pinkish-purple tinge to the sky. I personally love this photo because it is so rare to see a great gray owl so out in the open. Usually, most photos of great gray owls show them in trees with dark or busy backgrounds. The openness of this image, the look of the owl out to vastness just gives me a feeling of tranquility.