Snowy Owl Visitor

 Minnesota is some what unique in its location and habitat. We have 4 separate biomes in the state. We have prairie parklands, similar to the great plains in the western third of the state. Eastern broadleaf forest, similar to much of the land east of the Mississippi, in the south east third. In the north east there is Laurentian mixed forest, which is similar the forests in southern Canada.  last there is a small area of aspen parklands in the northwest. The mixture of these habitats provides Minnesota with a variety of different species which varies depending upon the season. For instance last winter we had a lot of snowy owls that came down from their normal range in Canada and Alaska. These birds migrate south only when there is not enough food or too many birds. It is a treat to get to see these beautiful birds but unfortunately many end up getting themselves in trouble. I took these pictures with the flight crew at The Raptor Center. A week or two after the pictures where taken these owls were released back to the wild. This is one of the calendar pages on the new 2013 Raptor Calendar, most of which I shot and put together for them. If you are interested in supporting a great cause you can purchase one of these kick ass calendars here.