Yesterday, my 60th birthday on a bitter cold day was capped off by a close encounter with this Great Grey Owl who had just taken flight and passed across my lens!

This was a vertical shot because he was perched nearby and my 500mm lens couldn't take him all in horizontally - so basically what I cropped to make this image horizontal is the empty background that was above his head as he took off.

Thanks to friends André, Gilles and others who helped me share this wonderful experience.

Cheers,

Mike