A great grey owl, photographed in the woodland, in low-light.

Great Grey Owls are a favourite bird of mine, living in parts of the world which catch my imagination such as Scandinavia & Canada's boreal forest. The largest species of owl, they're sometimes called the 'Phantom of the north', such is their ability to slip through the air and around the woodland in silence, hearing their small mamalian prey under deep snow. I find them a totally magical precence, with engaging faces and attractive mottled grey feathers. I've been fortunate to see a couple in the wild, both in Finland. But they were both brief, roadside encounters, so this photo was taken at a conservation centre in the UK.