News & Articles

On occasion our readers send us their photographs they’ve taken in the area. This past month Dr. Scott Wolff, a resident on Park Point was with his family and had a wonderful encounter with a visitor to the northland. Here’s his account of what happened.

On December 19 we had the grandkids, Drew and Ella, for our weekly daycare Thursday. We make it a point to get outside everyday, regardless of the weather. On this day we went out on the beach, where there were lots of frozen formations, icicles, snow and ice grottos and the like. We went for a beach walk and the kids were enjoying playing on the ice formations. On the edge of the icy berm next to the water’s edge, one small clump of ice caught my eye. It just didn’t seem to fi t. It was a little whiter than everything else. I kept watching it and, sure enough, it turned. It was an immature snowy owl, enjoying the solitude of the beach in winter. We kept a respectable distance, so as not to disturb it, but others in the neighborhood were noticing the owl also. The local crow gang were getting riled up and starting to dive bomb the owl. I had gone back to get my camera, and the owl sayed put, ducking with each dive from a crow. I was impressed that the owl didn’t flee, and eventually the crows gave up the game and left. Ella and I just sat and watched this gorgeous bird for awhile, and then a fl ock of mallards surprised us all as they swam around the corner of the ice shelf. The owl looked down and, alarmed at this most recent intrusion to its privacy, spread its wings and flew off.