I took these photos of the birders and photographers watching the Snowy Owl in eastern El Paso County, Colo last Saturday. After several discussions on the Colo birding listserve about the etiquette and ethics of watching and photographing the Snowy Owl, I took these photos of the birders and photographers who were watching the owl last Saturday when I was there (by the way, I don't know any of them but I think the pics are sufficiently distant). I took these pics with my point and shoot.
I agree with the saying that 'a picture is worth a thousand words'--and I think these photos show 'how to' watch a rare owl in a manner that is considerate to the owl, the neighbors and the other watchers. Everyone was standing/sitting and their vehicles were parked out of roadway (and on one side of the street) but not trespassing on private property, giving the owl the space it needs to conduct the activities of daily living with limited impacts by the watchers. The owl is out of view in the top pic and barely visible in the other two where it is the the small thing sticking up the right side on top of the house roof.
I included the bottom pic as it gives a better perspective on the very rural nature of this subdivision which is located in an area with large/larger acreage home-sites with a lot of fields/meadows/grassland that has not yet been developed. Unfortunately one person posted on the listserve that the "bird is in a human subdivision for crying out loud! He is obviously used to people coming and going!" I think this is quite misleading. The lots in this subdivision are about 5 acres and as can be seen there are hundreds of feet between the houses. And several of the lots are still vacant as are several of the houses so the Snowy Owl has a lot of space and is not being subjected to close contact with people. It perches on rooftops and antennas on top of roofs, which remove him from proximity with people and their pets by at least 20 feet and often much more and provides it with not only a good place to view it's surroundings (for prey and danger) but with safety from coyotes, dogs running free and other threats. SeEtta
I took these photos of the birders and photographers watching the Snowy Owl in eastern El Paso County, Colo last Saturday. After several discussions on the Colo birding listserve about the etiquette and ethics of watching and photographing the Snowy Owl, I took these photos of the birders and photographers who were watching the owl last Saturday when I was there (by the way, I don't know any of them but I think the pics are sufficiently distant). I took these pics with my point and shoot.
I agree with the saying that 'a picture is worth a thousand words'--and I think these photos show 'how to' watch a rare owl in a manner that is considerate to the owl, the neighbors and the other watchers. Everyone was standing/sitting and their vehicles were parked out of roadway (and on one side of the street) but not trespassing on private property, giving the owl the space it needs to conduct the activities of daily living with limited impacts by the watchers. The owl is out of view in the top pic and barely visible in the other two where it is the the small thing sticking up the right side on top of the house roof. 
I included the bottom pic as it gives a better perspective on the very rural nature of this subdivision which is located in an area with large/larger acreage home-sites with a lot of fields/meadows/grassland that has not yet been developed. Unfortunately one person posted on the listserve that the "bird is in a human subdivision for crying out loud! He is obviously used to people coming and going!" I think this is quite misleading. The lots in this subdivision are about 5 acres and as can be seen there are hundreds of feet between the houses. And several of the lots are still vacant as are several of the houses so the Snowy Owl has a lot of space and is not being subjected to close contact with people. It perches on rooftops and antennas on top of roofs, which remove him from proximity with people and their pets by at least 20 feet and often much more and provides it with not only a good place to view it's surroundings (for prey and danger) but with safety from coyotes, dogs running free and other threats. SeEtta
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