Beauty in a Struggle to Survive

What’s great about wildlife photography is you can recall details of those special moments when it all comes together for something special. In this case, I happened to be standing on a frozen road in the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge when this amazing barn owl flew by. I was lucky enough to swing the camera around to capture a few shots. They’re some of my all-time favorites. It was a bitter cold day in a particularly harsh winter.

I learned later, from a refuge ranger, that many of the owls died that winter of starvation. Normally a nocturnal animal, they were hunting in full daylight for anything they could find. I wonder if she survived.

Nature can be cruel, but that can make it all the more awe-inspiring. There’s something to learn there as we face our challenges.