Snow Birds

Jen St. Louis of Elmira, Ont., shares her tips on capturing fabulous winter bird pics!

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I love winter birds and I love photographing them in snow. That being said, I confess that I’m a fair-weather birder. Worse, I’m a lazy, fair-weather birder. I don’t like weather extremes, so when it’s very hot or really cold, you’re hard-pressed to get me to leave the comfort of home. In summer, I only photograph hummingbirds in my yard, and in winter, I try to only go out on relatively mild days. Most of my bird photography is done within an hour’s drive of my hometown of Elmira, Ont. So it’s all about finding a balance that works.

Winter is prime time for birders and bird photographers alike to hit the roads and woods in search of owls. While great horned and screech owls are around all year long in southwestern Ontario, we can generally expect to be visited by snowy, long-eared, short-eared, barred, and saw-whet owls in the winter. If you know where to look, you can sometimes be lucky enough to spot these beautiful birds. Snowies, for example, seem to be drawn to the shores of large bodies of water and areas with wide open fields. They’re also active during the day, which makes them especially appealing to birders. The key thing to keep in mind is that the owl’s well-being is the most important thing. Stay well back from the bird and use a long telephoto lens. My current birding lens is a 200-500mm, and while I love it, it’s a beast—it’s always on a tripod or shoulder holster because it’s too heavy for me to hand-hold. Remember that it’s not about getting the perfect shot, it’s about ensuring the owl remains undisturbed.