Where I’m from — the greater Seattle area — a snowbird is a person, a person who travels far south to spend the winter in the sunny warmth. But to a short-eared owl, a different type of snow bird, where I’m from is the south.
For a few months a year — the coldest months — you can often spot a short-eared owl or two flying back and forth over an empty field, hunting for voles. Some fields can attract a half-dozen of these owls.
While it can be incredibly exciting to photograph in a new place or to spend time with an animal you’ve never photographed before, I also enjoy revisiting old subjects. It’s allowed me to make some of my more creative images. It’s that familiarity that allowed me to make this portrait of a barred owl.
The Montezuma Castle wasn’t built for the Aztec leader. It isn’t even a castle. But it and the other cliff dwellings in central Arizona are still supporting life to this day, even though people haven’t lived in them for 600 years.
