It was a year ago on New Year's day that I saw my first snowy owl in New Jersey. I had heard that there had been many sightings, seen several pictures of the owl, but had to see for myself. For a couple of weeks I walked up and down the beach without any luck.

On a very cold New Year's day, I went back. I walked up and down several different beaches. Someone told me that they had seen her near the end of the island, so I headed there. I walked and walked, still not seeing the owl. I started to head back, but something inside me said to go on, so I decided to walk a bit more. And it paid off, because suddenly I spotted a little white spot sitting on top of a dune... !!! Suddenly, it wasn't that cold anymore, the excitement warmed me right up.. What a beautiful bird!! After getting some shots on the dune, she flew off towards the water... I took several shots, hoping for something good. It was too cold to stand there and look at my pictures.. When she flew too far off for me to follow, I headed home..

While uploading the images to my computer, I gasped when I saw the one shot I had captured! What a great "surprise" to see!