Snowy Owl photoshoot

A few weekends ago a group of us Guelphites (plus Alvan and Mira from Waterloo) headed over to Niagara to see what was around. We had a fair bit of success along the river, with Fish Crow, Black Vulture, 8 species of gulls and 4(!) Purple Sandpipers. Most of these were pretty distant so I didn't really bother taking the camera out but afterward we headed inland to St. Catharine's where a Snowy Owl had been hanging out. When we got there, a bunch of photographers were standing around and had just lured the owl in with a mouse. After a quick scope view we decided to head out but our other car was still there so I went back to inform them of our decision to keep going. Right when I did that, the owl came back in for another mouse so I decided to stay for a minute and take advantage of the situation. Although I did get some nice shots out of it, I'm still not sure I condone the baiting of owls - especially right beside a road where they can be hit by cars.... Anyway, here's the pics:

Hovering right in front of us!