Anecdotes photographiques №2 Après l’Hermine, le Harfang

Photographic anecdotes №2 After the Ermine, the Harfang

He sometimes stands on the rocks of the quay, sometimes on a branch or even in the middle of a field. It's the Snowy Owl.

This winter visitor is the dream of many photographers and nature enthusiasts.

I had the chance to see this majestic bird of prey on multiple occasions, in different environments and contexts. Being either curious or shy, each individual I encountered seemed to have a different attitude towards me.

I saw several people chasing the owls. Rarely the opposite. However, the individual you see in the photo had, in a way, adopted me. Over the course of my encounters with this bird, it let me get closer and closer. He no longer seemed to show distrust towards me. Or was he starting to know me and trust me? Brief. I will always remember the moment when I surprised crows attacking the owl. After I managed to scare away the pesky corvids, my winged friend went to perch on a rock. I waited several minutes before starting my approach, just to let him recover from his emotions and not stress him out further. Everything went well as usual. In the end, I returned to my car and just before getting in, I turned my head towards the rock. The Harfang was no longer there. While surveying the surroundings, I ended up seeing it resting on top of an electric pole a few meters from my vehicle. Think what you want, but I think this bird understood that my presence scared away the crows and that it had in its interest to stay close to me to have peace. I swear to you that's exactly what he did. This happened several times in a row before I finally stopped seeing him.

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