A Snowy Owl Sits Serenely Upon an Ice Floe Amongst the Frozen Rolling Waves of Lake Ontario

On January 20, 2018, photographer Gary Cranfield and a friend went out into the snowy cold of Oswego, New York to look for animals they could photograph. They were just about to give up for the day when they spotted a beautiful snowy owl perched upon a sign, but by the time they were able to get there, the owl was gone. A second look through the camera, however, showed that the owl moved and was sitting serenely upon an ice floe amongst the frozen rolling waves of Lake Ontario.

…we spotted a snowy sitting on a sign just out of range of our cameras. We took a break to warm up and then returned. We were disappointed that the owl was no longer sitting on the sign and thought she had left the area. Gary turned toward the bay and saw something on a block of ice. He thought it was a stick at first, but then looked through the camera’s lens and saw it was the snowy owl. It was windy and the breaking ice was really rolling giving the owl quite a ride.

Cranfield also captured gorgeous stills of this snowy owl.