Winters up here in Ontario can bring unexpected visitors. Ever since I caught my first glimpse of a Northern Hawk owl perched waaaaay up a hydro tower (yes, tower, not pole) in Parc Gatineau back in Winter 2004, I have been intriqued by this species of owl. I was never close enough back then to get a decent look or photograph of one. Little did I know then you could actually get very close to one of these owls. Like many boreal owls they seldom have interaction with man in their habitat so are rather tame in character. Last winter, a Hawk Owl showed up in the east end of Ottawa but it met with an untimely end before I could get out to see it. So, when I heard there was one reported this winter about a 45 minute drive from downtown Ottawa I very much looked forward to seeing it. This time it did not disappoint. It was an interesting experience as I was able to observe it not only from up close but over a great period of time. Had plenty of opportunity to watch its behaviour and observe its habits and took some photos as well. I was up at Low, Quebec last Saturday (March 17th) during some windy, snowy weather and saw the silhouette of what looked like a Hawk Owl through my binoculars perched on a tree east of Legault. But the lighting wasn't good and it was too far away to see any detail for a positive ID. It could very well still be in the area. I will be adding some interesting info about the Hawk Owl to the images in the coming weeks. Many more images to come (yes, I have many more images but not enough time).