The next day, still overjoyed with our incredible owl sightings, I couldn’t stop thinking about one feathered friend—the elusive Snowy Owl. We had already seen three of the four legendary owls of the bog: the Great Gray Owl, the Northern Hawk-Owl, and the tiny but unforgettable Boreal Owl. Only one remained.

Determined, I asked my mom if I could borrow her phone and look into eBird, scanning recent sightings with hopeful anticipation. I held my breath as I clicked through the reports—and then, there it was. A Snowy Owl had been spotted… not in the bog, but two hours away, across Lake Superior, in Wisconsin a few weeks ago. Two hours was a long drive and it had been spotted weeks ago. It was quite the dilemma - two hours drive and coming in empty handed. Do we try it?

Without hesitation, we made our decision. This was our chance.

Snowy Owls are unlike most owls you find in the forest. These majestic birds come down from the Arctic tundra during the winter months, traveling thousands of miles in what’s known as an irruption. Depending on food availability up north—especially their favorite meal, lemmings—some years they come farther south in large numbers. This year, we were lucky. It was one of those winters.

As we drove toward the sighting location, I was buzzing with excitement.When we were almost there, we realized we were driving over Lake Superior and crossing into Wisconsin! The map said, “Welcome to Wisconsin!”. We all laughed. When we got there, we eagerly started looking on every pole, tree, and mound of snow. We looped the area three times and were about to head home when we saw a white blob on a mound of snow. Eager with anticipation, we looked at it and to our amazement, we realized that it was in fact the Snowy Owl! We played the song “Hedwig’s Theme” and somehow, the owl turned its head as if it was listening!

I’d always dreamed of seeing one in real life—not in a book or a movie—but standing there, in the snow, like a real-life Hedwig from Harry Potter. And now, that dream felt closer than ever.

The following day was our last day in Minnesota. We learnt through fellow birders and researchers that a Northern Saw-Whet Owl had been spotted. They are about 6-9 inches tall and like coniferous trees. There was a vast area with coniferous trees that could be a habitat for them. We decided to head on this adventure. When we got to the area, there was nobody around. We started looking in every coniferous tree, trying to find it for almost 25-30 minutes. We were getting tired and every tree looked the same. My dad discovered a path leading into the woods and We started following it taking one more chance. As we were about to turn back, my dad looked up one more tree, and it was right there, staring at us. It was as if it was saying, “Where were you? I’ve been waiting for you.” It was so cute. We were so thrilled that a small 6 inch owl was spotted in such a large area.

Encouraged with our sightings, we decided to try to spot the Long-Eared Owl. We had failed once, (and gotten lost), but we were going to try again. Last time, we were cold and unprepared to handle the freezing temperatures. We had not done enough research about the area to know which kind of trees or paths to take. With better gear and more research, we decided to attempt it once more. This time, we were more watchful of our surroundings, noting unique trees and plants. We were determined not to get lost again.

After 20 minutes of hiking, we found some other birders. We were overjoyed when we realized they had spotted the Long-Eared Owl recently! So, we were on the right track. We further went ahead and kept observing. We had to be very quiet as they are known to be wary of humans. We thought we would only see one owl but to our joy, we observed two owls, one male and one female. The female owl was very fidgety, constantly flying. The male was very calm and let us take pictures. I felt like it was the lord of the forest and it was granting us permission to come on its land.

With so much that had happened in one day, I was wondering whom to thank - for sure, my mom and my dad for taking all the efforts to plan the trip, my brother for keeping up the fun every day and being a sport owl whisperer, the fellow birders for their encouragement and stories and the guides and community members we met along the way. I was determined to write about this experience to spread this story and also to share how we learn along the journey. The first time we had tried, it wasn't the right day and today was very different.

Nature has its own plans and I have learnt to listen and adapt. I feel so fortunate to be able to see so much wildlife at such a young age, share my experience and stories with others

Exploring the Undiscovered Country - Meadowlands, Minneapolis - Part 2

Exploring the Undiscovered Country - Meadowlands, Minneapolis - Part 1