I’ve known about the Gyrfalcon for about a week now. I struggled with getting myself to get out to go look for this bird. You would think an extremely rare bird would have the ultimate motivation but it didn't. I ask myself what am I doing with photography. What does this all mean to me? This is a common feeling for any outing. I finally set out to go look for this bird. The sitting for hours, looking through binoculars. Scanning every bare tree, electrical pole, driving to new locations to repeat it all over again. Then as I was just going to call it a day. There it is was on top of an electrical pole. I respectfully got myself within 200 yrds. Then that feeling, the feeling of awe and excitement, heart racing. There is internal happiness. I captured a couple of photos and video. The only thing I want to do next is to go home and look at what was captured. I spent 30 mins with the Gyrfalcon before it flew off. The photos are not what I would call portfolio worthy but at the end of the day, I got to capture and document a rare occurrence which most people will not have the opportunity to for may be a long time. This is why I take photos.

Gyrfalcons are the largest falcon in the world. Their range consist of the Arctic coastlines and tundra. With some sparse residency within Canada but are rare for the continental US.