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Michigan outdoor opportunities continue to blow me away every month. I am always coming across other hobbies throughout the state that I somewhat enjoy. Some I enjoy doing from time to time and others I am super serious about them like deer hunting and steelhead fishing. The cool thing about being an outdoorsman, if you pay attention while outdoors, you come across random finds throughout the year while you are doing some other hobby that can help you as an outdoorsman later.

My Mom has really gotten into “birding” the past several years. She loves it so much that we tease her about it. In all honesty, though, the whole family has gotten into “birding” a little bit. By putting out a few bird feeders, our property continually has some sort of bird flying through. I would be lying if I didn’t admit to myself enjoying the random birds eating out of the feeders while eating breakfast. I have been able to capture a few of those birds on camera as well. My favorite is after a fresh snowfall.

The past couple of years we have been hearing about the snowy owls coming down from Canada. I have been searching for one while on my adventures but have never seen one. I thought it would be cool to get one with my DSLR camera. I have looked all over the state when I am steelhead fishing but have had no such luck.

While heading up to our cottage we got word from facebook that there was a Snowy Spotted Owl spotted in Fish Point Wildlife area near Bay city. We decided to stop and see if we could find one. I didn’t think we would.

It was pouring down rain and cold. You couldn’t see very far. We searched for miles, scanning fields for white dots and telephone poles with no luck. Several times we had seen birds in trees and fields. We would stop and look. It was always a hawk so we would move on. It was starting to feel like a lost cause. More like looking for a needle in the haystack.

Then all of a sudden my dad spotted a white fluffy bird on a telephone pole. We approached it with caution. Everyone was grabbing his or her binoculars and cameras. There it was, our first snowy owl. We all watched in amazement that we found this visitor to Michigan. The cameras were going nuts. Easily over 200 shots were taken of this visitor. It was pretty cool. The two-year quest of looking for a snowy owl was over.

If you have never seen one, I suggest you go online and look for the closest sightings. Check out “Michigan Snowy Owl Watchers” on facebook for sighting nearby. From the little research I have done, they can be seen in most of Michigan. However, they are not all over the place. Sites like above really help you pinpoint a location. When you do go looking for these birds, don't forget your binoculars and camera. When you do find one, make sure to give the owls plenty of space.