The great gray owl, or great gray ghost as it is sometimes called, truly seems to be a spirit of these northern woods

~Paul Bannick, in his book The Owl and the Woodpecker

Last week was the last time the roads to the interior would be open for vehicular travel for the season. We went down to Canyon, Hayden Valley, and Lake twice to experience it and hopefully see some wildlife before the winter closure. One thing we really hoped to see was a great gray owl as there had been many posts on social media recently of people seeing these elusive birds in various locations in the interior. Years ago we had seen one near Canyon thanks to a friend sharing a location. Indeed, when we drove past the pullout where we had parked years ago to head into the wood, there were several empty parked cars. Our guess was people were out looking for the owls. The other two spots we had heard owls were being seen also had numerous empty parked vehicles. We pulled into the Bridge Bay area as a couple of cars were leaving and the folks said they had not seen any. We decided to walk around a bit just to look. Unfortunately, we saw no owls but did run into a man from Idaho who was also looking and, like us, with no luck.

Great gray owls seem to prefer small meadows surrounded by coniferous forests. They sit and watch and listen for rodents in the meadow and then open their enormous wings and pounce. Great grays are the largest owls in North America by size standing over two and a half feet tall with wing spans over 4 feet. But they are not the heaviest owl as both snowy and great horned owls are usually heavier weighing in at around 4 pounds each.

There is something magical about seeing a great gray owl. Its large size (and equally large head and facial disks) never fail to impress any observer. But it may be its vagueness, how it blends into the forest, that makes it so very special anytime you are lucky enough to see one. In fact, its scientific name is Strix nebulosa, with the species name meaning misty or cloudy, a reference to the gray coloration of its feathers which are an ideal match to the gray tree trunks of its forest home.

And so the day went as we drove to the owl hot spots and waited and watched, hiking one more time in the woods near Canyon. There were tracks in the snow of marten, snowshoe hares, squirrels, ad the occasional ermine, but no owls. Driving on, we came across a large gathering of cars and people near Mud Volcano that were waiting to photograph an ermine. While we wanted to see one, it just didn’t feel right with so many people. But we did walk up a section of trail there that we had never visited and saw an amazing thermal feature named Churning Cauldron.

From MSU website – This spring was much cooler and covered with colorful microbial mats until earthquake activity in 1978-79 superheated the waters and destroyed the mats. In 1996, it began throwing water 3-5 feet high. This once cool pool averages 164 degrees F

On one of our passes through Hayden Valley we came across a herd of bison crossing both the road and the adjacent river. We both enjoy watching bison cross rivers so we stopped and watched.

We also watched a few coyotes as we traveled. It is always fun to watch them hunt.

While watching a coyote at one spot, Melissa spotted something that surprised both of us – a caterpillar out on a patch of snow! I have not been able to identify it yet, but whatever it is, it is a tough little guy.

As the day was waning, we decide to try one more time for the gray ghost of the forest. We drove to our spot at Canyon and found several cars parked at a similar angle facing out toward one of the roadside meadows. But there were no passengers so we figured people were out looking. We decided to just stay in the car and watch. Suddenly, I saw a large bird fly across the road about 75 yards away. It had to have been an owl. We slowly drove in that direction and then saw a group of photographers walking out of the woods where the owl had flown. The trees were dense as we approached the group who had stopped at the edge of the road. Then, there it was, the gray ghost!

We stopped to watch and I looked at the group of men following the owl. None of them were taking photos, they just watched from the opposite side of the road. I wasn’t sure what they were waiting on and we eventuality drove past them and parked on the edge of the road. The owl dropped down into the snow but didn’t catch whatever it was after. It then flew back into the trees and landed at the edge of a meadow. The group followed it, walking into the meadow and standing in some small tees opposite the owl. We walked to the edge of the meadow and watched as the owl gazed around looking for prey.

We were about 50 yards away, the other group much closer. The owl then flew over to the center of the meadow and landed at the top of a small pine.

The light was fading fast so I leaned against the dead tree we were standing near to brace my camera and telephoto. I fired off a few shots and suddenly I saw it take off. Melissa whispered, it’s flying right at us. I pressed the shutter a couple of times and looked up and the owl was coming straight at us about 4 feet off the ground! As it neared our tree, it swooped up and landed directly above our heads about 20 feet up in the tree I was leaning against. It gave us a look and then continued swiveling its head scanning for prey. I took a couple of photos and it responded by looking down again so I stopped. We just stood there in amazement. I honestly don’t know how long it was above us as it seemed so surreal. We would never approach an animal this close but the bird had flown to us so we didn’t want to move for fear of spooking it. The owl finally stretched up and pooped (which landed about 2 feet from me in the snow) and then flew off across the road.

The crew of photographers walked by us following the bird while we just looked at each other and smiled at what had just happened. We walked out to the edge of the road across from our parked car and the owl was perched in a snag about 40 feet off the road. Two other photographers had stopped and were standing with us. The owl crew had walked across the road into the woods in front of the perched owl.

Since our car was parked near where the owl landed, we stayed where we were, not wanting to approach any closer. We just waited and watched.

A short clip showing the owl scoping the nearby opening for potential prey

It finally flew deeper into the woods, followed once again by the same group of men. We stood and talked with the folks near us for a few minutes and then walked to our car and headed home.

What an amazing way to end our last opportunity on the roads into the interior for the season. As we drove away we discussed how having so many photographers (including us) might be stressful to these animals even though great gray owls do seem very accepting of our presence. One person we spoke to had been at the ermine jam earlier in the afternoon when the ermine did make an appearance. But he left when a small group of photographers kept crowding around the animal. I guess the lesson here is to observe and photograph from a distance so as to not change the behavior of an animal. We should probably do more walking away from the roads and sitting in places and watching to let the wildlife move freely and do what they do without interference. I understand the excitement of being close to a wild creature, but we must also realize that having a crowd of people following your every move can’t be a good thing, especially as the harsh winter season approaches. I imagine all these animals will appreciate the road closure and the freedom to just be for the next 7 months.