Great Gray Owl numbers are definitely down this season with reports from others indicating the same. Well I do feel fortunate that I managed to find at least one last week.
There is still well over a month before these owls head back into the forests in mid-March to begin the mating process.
The search will continue when weather and road conditions permit.

Pleasant day spent out-n-about…even in the cold temps it always seems warmer when you’re surrounded by bush.
When leaving there were options and over the years I’ve found that sometimes going with that “Gut Feeling” may bring rewards.

This time things fell into place. When first spotting this Great Gray on a cut off tree stump it appeared to just have finished a meal.
Then moved on to a dead tree branch just so I could take his picture before moving once more where it spent the rest of the afternoon.
Much like a human after a meal…you just want to relax.

Great Grays lend to more tolerant of humans than Snowy Owls and tend to just hang around if left alone.

And yes my “Clicker Finger” worked just fine in the cold.