For the last four days we have had a beautiful snowy owl take up residence at the Grand Marais Coast Guard Station. Since she has a lot of barring it is probably a female. Mature males are whiter. She has provided a lot of fun for countless visitors and photographers hiking out to Artist Point. 

For a couple of days, you could see her sitting on the roof of one of the Coast Guard Buildings either resting or listening for voles. Since the station is closed the grass hasn’t been maintained providing habitat for voles which snowy owls feed on while migrating along the shore. Every year we have a few snowy owls show up in Grand Marias but this is kind of early. Maybe like last year it will be another good year for owl viewing.

I really enjoyed sharing the experience with other photographers and families that came by. I would ask them if they have ever seen a snowy owl and then point it out. For a while it was against the white building so people wouldn’t see it at first. It was fun seeing their expressions when they made contact. Put a lot of smiles on people’s faces. I used to do that for a living. Fun to do it now that I am retired. Most had not seen a snowy owl before and thanked Katie Slanga and I many times for giving them the opportunity. 

Watching her dive off the top of the buildings for mice was a treasure. Their facial disc collects the sounds sending it back to their ears so they can hear a mouse half a football field away. 

We could tell she was catching voles as she coughed up a pellet while we were watching her.  They can’t digest the bones and fur so that’s what forms into a pellet that owl’s cough up. 

The next day I couldn’t find her by the station so I scanned the west break wall with my binoculars.  There she was taking a nap on the orange lichen covered rocks. 

I found a rock ledge that was a perfect chair that even had a backrest. I settled in and spent the next hour or so just watching her. Between the lapping of the waves, the view of the owl, lighthouse and the color changes with the setting sun made for a memorable afternoon. She would look at me now and then but showed no concern about me being there. 

After the sun started to go down, she was getting restless and I could tell she was about to start hunting. As the lighthouse turned on, she did fly to the top of the rocks. Then to my surprise she flew right over and landed next to me. It was too dark to get any photos but what a cool experience. I just put my camera down and started to talk to her. What a way to end the day. Talking to a snowy owl! 

If you want to see more photos here is the link.

https://www.paulsundbergphotography.com/Photo-of-the-Week/Photo-of-the-Week-2025/November-16-2025

Paul Sundberg