Damon
Point State Park, Ocean Shores Washington, January 31st – February 3rd
2013. That was my destination for a two
day photography outing with Snowy Owls, a first for me with this species.As
with new species that you first capture, the fact that I have never encountered
one makes it all that more special to me.
Damon Point is a 61 acre State Park on the southeastern tip of Ocean
Shores.In 2012 there was an irruption year for these Snowy Owls. I was unable to make it out to Damon Point
last year. So when I heard this winter
the area was experiencing a rare “echo” irruption I made every effort to make
it out there in hopes of capturing my first Snowy. Accompanying me on this journey were two
friends of mine, Don Hamilton and Tinman Lee.
**Before I get to my
experience, I do have to disclose the travel aggravations that I endured. The aggravations ultimately made my
experience even more unforgettable in the end.** So flashback to a couple weeks ago when I
was sitting in Akron/Canton airport waiting to fly out on an undisclosed
airline with a 6:30am departure time to Detroit then on to Seattle. My plane ended up being delayed because of
mechanical problems. So I was bumped to
fly into Atlanta instead of Detroit. During
the flight down to Atlanta I wondered if they had switched my luggage between
the two planes. I would have my answer
to that when I land in Seattle. So I
land in Atlanta, and find out my connecting gate is on “the other side of the
world”, clear across the airport and was about to begin boarding. So here I am speed walking with my Gura Gear
bag on my back fully loaded with my gear as I felt like a running back in the
NFL sprinting through the airport dodging incoming linebackers for the opposing
team. Guess all the running with the
heavy load would prepare me for my adventures at Damon Point though. J I made it to the gate in Atlanta and get my
assigned seat at the check-in.
Whew! Should be an easy ride now
into SeaTac now and was relieved to finally be on the last leg of my flight
into SeaTac. My friend was to land at
noon and I was originally supposed to land shortly after 11am. We had hoped to get in a couple hours of
shooting that day that would not come to be as I found out after I landed in
SeaTac. So, fast forward to SeaTac, I
finally land at the airport shortly after noon PST (an hour later then I was
supposed to land). Boy was I glad to be
in Washington to begin my Snowy journey.
I wonder if my bags arrived with me or if they were clear across the USA
still getting snowed on?? I would come
to find out from the agent at the gate that my bags were in Detroit on my
original plane and would not arrive until 5:30pm! Dang, there goes my shooting with my friend
for the day as I had my tripod and head in the luggage. Forget the clothes; I can pick up extra
clothes at the store, a Gitzo tripod…well not so much. So I was told go to baggage claim and they
would deliver my luggage to my hotel.
Cool I thought, that works for me!
I should have known it would not work out like that on what was the
worst traveling experience for me ever.
I come to find out Ocean Shores (where I was staying) was outside their
delivery radius and they would have to go through FedEx and my luggage would not
arrive until Saturday morning sometime.
WHAT!!!!! Those were
approximately my words. Trying to
contain my cursing at the poor lady that was trying to help me. “That isn’t going to work for me, I flew
across the country for Snowy Owls, to photograph them and I have photography
gear in that luggage that I need, “ I said.
I might as well stay at the airport until my luggage arrives, which is
ultimately what I ended up doing. I was
given a $25 voucher for airport food for my headaches, which I split with my
friend since they gave him nothing because he wasn’t “affected” by the
situation. Yeah right, he was stuck
there with me as the rental car was in my name.
We got something to eat with the voucher (which was another story in of
itself). Off to get the rental car,
thinking to myself what are the odds I don’t have a rental car or hotel
room. In the end, I had both. We killed time at REI (a sporting goods
store) where I bought myself something to make me feel better after the day I
had, an upgraded headlamp which I needed for the Snowy Owls anyways even though
I had brought one with me from home.
This one is 2x brighter though, that
headlamp will always have a special place with me. J Finally we get to the hotel at 8:30pm.
Off
for an early start the next morning. After
a short breakfast at the hotel we were off.
BTW…if you are traveling out to Ocean Shores, I HIGHLY recommend staying
at the Guesthouse Inn & Suites.
After we found were we had to park, onward we began what ended up being
4-5 miles of walking in a span of two days as we zig-zagged across the
Point. Sooooo worth all the effort and
soreness that I endured and I’d do it all over again!. We came to our first of many Snowy Owls just
as the sun was rising and I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief knowing all my
aggravation was going to be well worth it.
We had some clouds in the morning that burned off as the day went
on. We were lucky in that the first owl
we encountered the sun seemingly broke through a clear patch in the horizon to
give us that stellar light before it disappeared again for about another
hour.
 |
| Was so happy to see our first Snowy Owl on Friday morning! |
We
found some Snowy Owls in some interesting perches on the first day. Found a lot of them perched atop of
evergreens and found one that was almost cradled in one. It was nice to be able to mix up different
habitats with them.
 | ||
| We worked around looking for some higher ground to get near eye level for Mr. Sleepy here. |
Both
days we left for the Snowy Owls walking to them in darkness and left them in
darkness being guided by our headlamps.
The
second day there we had some strong winds.
On an open piece of land like Damon Point there was nothing to break the
wind. I would guess 25 mph winds. Temps were warmer then Ohio so can’t complain
there. J The
winds died off as the day wore on. We
found the Snowy Owls closer to the ground that day as they tried to shield
themselves from the wind. We really
lucked out with the weather as this time of year in that part of the country it
is usually overcast and raining.
Abundant Snowy Owls on various perches, fantastic weather, and met some
great local photographers out there as well.
Can’t go wrong with that recipe! Heeding
the warnings of fellow photographers Tinman and Conrad Tan we brought lots of
water with us. What I took out with me I
slimmed down on by the second day.
Ditching my backpack on the second day to cut down on some of the weight
I was hauling around and only taking two lens and my fanny pack with me that
was so packed it was bulging.
We
took a short rest in the afternoons.
This was taken by my one of my friends, Tinman. A pair of Snowy Owls had just left this piece
of driftwood. I decided to take a snack
break and to stretch my back where they were.
It was so a cool feeling to be in the exact location where they had just
been resting. Sounds weird, but I almost
felt their presence there still.
 |
| Photographing Snowy Owls can be exhausting! Photo taken by my friend Tinman Lee. |
The
scenery around Damon Point was breath taking.
On a clear day you can take in great views of Grays Harbor, the Olympic
Mountains, and Mount Rainier.
My
first Snowy Owl experience will definitely go down in the books as one of my
more memorable photography trips.
