Ural Owl

It was a great day. Spent five hours on my skies. Sun shone from a blue sky. I went to check a hill where my friend has seen Capercaillie. I could have driven there by car but it would have been 40 kilometer round the lake so instead I drove only about 10 km to the lake and skied the rest. It was totally17 km mostly in unbeaten snow. Didn't see the Capercaillie or any sign of it and was quite beaten myself when coming down from the hill where it should have been. Not a single picture taken. And then I saw this owl. It's not a magic picture but a first I've ever got of this one. It has been actually a great owl year. Four seen and four photographed so far.

Ural Owl, Viirupöllö, Strix uralensis