MA - local Snowy - 12/31

Inspired by ebird reports of a male Snowy Owl in Deerfield, we took a family visit down to Deerfield Meadows, just 20 minutes south of our home in Gill. We didn't see any other birders in the area so assumed we might be in the wrong place, but we hadn't been there long before Susannah casually mentioned "got one". There sitting on a piece of rusty old farm machinery was my first Pioneer Valley Snowy Owl.  Since it was quite heavily barred on the upper and underparts, I wasn't entirely sure if we were looking at the same bird referenced on ebird. No matter, it sat seemingly content as we admired it for thirty minutes from a comfortable distance with a scope. What a stunner to see in "the valley".

Snowy Owl - Old Deerfield, Franklin Co., MA. December 31st, 2013,