{"id":16781,"date":"2014-11-10T17:25:40","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T00:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=16781"},"modified":"2026-02-13T13:20:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T19:20:45","slug":"wildlife-in-a-blizzard-two-years-ago-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/10\/wildlife-in-a-blizzard-two-years-ago-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildlife In A Blizzard Two Years Ago Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreatGreat Horned Owl in a snow storm<\/span><\/p>\n

From one year to the next you can never tell what the weather might do on the same date each year.\u00a0 Today there are great big clouds with small patches of blue sky but two years ago it was very different, we were having a blizzard. I mean stiff winds, blowing snow and very poor visibility but despite that I was on Antelope Island photographing any way.<\/p>\n

This Great Horned Owl was near the first bridge of the causeway to Antelope Island State Park<\/span><\/a> hunkered down on top of a snow-covered boulder. I know it had its feathers to keep it warm but I still felt badly for this owl.<\/p>\n

\"HerdHerd of bison and one raven in a blizzard<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the strong winds, the icy temperatures and the falling snow the American Bison on the island were pushing their muzzles through the snow to get at the grasses underneath it.<\/p>\n

The raven didn’t seem bothered by the wind or the snow as it flew over the herd calling. Maybe it couldn’t see its mate and was calling for it, I am not sure but do know I couldn’t see very far into the distance either.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo Bison and blowing snow<\/span><\/p>\n

Down near the group campgrounds at White Rock Bay there were more Bison and even though these two are standing side by side it wasn’t so peaceful between the two of them just moments before when they were butting their heads into each other. Perhaps the cold temperatures made them feel frisky.<\/p>\n

It just made me feel chilled to the bone. Going home and grabbing a hot cup of coffee helped to thaw out my fingers while I previewed the snow images I took two years ago today.<\/p>\n

Neither snow nor wind nor lack of light will keep this photographer from nature’s delights or stop me from seeing wildlife in a blizzard.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Bison photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Great Horned Owl photos plus facts and information about this species.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today there are great big clouds with small patches of blue sky but two years ago it was very different, we were having a blizzard. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[443,511,27,219,209,26],"tags":[4463,745,2757,1926,4203,4350,11102,4257,11978,4108,4050,4509,373],"class_list":["post-16781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bison","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-common-ravens","category-great-horned-owls","category-utah","tag-american-bison","tag-bison-bison","tag-blizzard","tag-blowing-snow","tag-bubo-virginianus","tag-buffalo","tag-common-ravens","tag-corvus-corax","tag-desert-island","tag-great-horned-owl","tag-snow","tag-snow-storm","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-blizzard-mia-mcpherson-7382.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-4mF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31830,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/11\/06\/great-horned-owl-in-a-blizzard\/","url_meta":{"origin":16781,"position":0},"title":"Great Horned Owl in a blizzard","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Almost three years ago I photographed this adult Great Horned Owl in a blizzard near the entrance to Antelope Island State Park.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owl in a blizzard, Antelope Island State Park, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-snow-mia-mcpherson-7391.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-snow-mia-mcpherson-7391.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-snow-mia-mcpherson-7391.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-snow-mia-mcpherson-7391.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49375,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/11\/10\/birds-and-beasts-in-a-november-2012-snow-storm-on-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":16781,"position":1},"title":"Birds and Beasts in a November 2012 Snow Storm on Antelope Island","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The birds and beasts on Antelope can survive the harsh winters here but as each years passes I wonder how they will be able to adapt to our changing climate. I can't help but be concerned.","rel":"","context":"In "American Bison"","block_context":{"text":"American Bison","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/bison\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk in a November blizzard, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-blizzard-mia-mcpherson-7522.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-blizzard-mia-mcpherson-7522.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-blizzard-mia-mcpherson-7522.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-blizzard-mia-mcpherson-7522.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6526,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/11\/07\/birds-and-mammals-from-the-past-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":16781,"position":2},"title":"Birds And Mammals From The Past Week","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a few images from this past week.","rel":"","context":"In "American Bison"","block_context":{"text":"American Bison","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/bison\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult White-crowned Sparrow on a wild Rose bush in northern Utah.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-6965.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-6965.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-6965.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-6965.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10089,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/03\/a-ticked-off-bison-bull\/","url_meta":{"origin":16781,"position":3},"title":"Ticked Off Bison Bull","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Yep, the bison is ticked off because I didn't give him the honor he was due. Now I guess I have stepped in bison pooh.","rel":"","context":"In "American Bison"","block_context":{"text":"American Bison","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/bison\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ticked off American Bison bull, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/american-bison-bull-ticked-off-mia-mcpherson-1481.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/american-bison-bull-ticked-off-mia-mcpherson-1481.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/american-bison-bull-ticked-off-mia-mcpherson-1481.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/american-bison-bull-ticked-off-mia-mcpherson-1481.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":166260,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/01\/01\/bringing-in-2026-with-a-great-horned-owl\/","url_meta":{"origin":16781,"position":4},"title":"Bringing in 2026 With A Great Horned Owl","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"My first bird of the year was a Great Horned Owl I heard around 4:35 this morning. I never saw them, but that call cut through the New Year darkness.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owl adult on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-adult-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8190.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-adult-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8190.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-adult-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8190.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-adult-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8190.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4621,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/03\/13\/feathers-fur\/","url_meta":{"origin":16781,"position":5},"title":"Feathers & Fur","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I thought I would post a few images taken this past week from Antelope Island State Park and the west desert in Tooele County. 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