Snowy Owl on a Misty Dune Crest

A pale owl stands on the crest of a low sand dune, small against a wide, overcast sky. Its white plumage is barred with dark brown flecks, and its face turns toward the camera. The sand is bare and grey-beige, patched with low green shrubs and dry grasses. Behind it, a band of dark scrub and leafless, tangled branches runs across the frame. The sky is a flat, even grey with no visible horizon line or sun. Colours are muted and the mood is quiet and cool.

Snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus) breed on the Arctic tundra and move south in winter, with some birds reaching the northern United States. Sightings on the southeastern coast, such as the one recorded here at Little Talbot Island State Park in Florida in January 2014, are unusual. Open dunes and beaches resemble the treeless ground they use at home, and they often perch on low rises to scan for prey. They hunt in daylight as well as at dusk. This image has a lot of empty sky and a small subject, so it suits a widescreen desktop monitor, where desktop icons can sit in the grey space above the dune.