Wonderful observation.  I can picture the bird exactly!

Thanks,

Ian
========================
On 12/30/2013 3:03 PM, Roy Pilcher wrote:
> Of interest with today's sighting of a Killington Snowy Owl was its reflexive behavior as it perched at the top of an~ 40 foot Black Spruce.  With wind gusts approaching 20 mph the horizontal arc of sway at the top of the spruce was 3-5 feet during which the vertical displacement was estimated to be about 6-10 inches.  With this constant motion the Snowy Owl compensated for the vertical up and down by raising and lowering its head so that the owl's vertical line of sight remained constant.
>
> With the wind chill the effective temperature was approaching zero! Bitterly cold!
>
> Cheers, Roy Pilcher
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: do-not-reply <[log in to unmask]>
> To: shamwariVT <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Mon, Dec 30, 2013 2:48 pm
> Subject: eBird Report - Killington, Dec 30, 2013
>
>
> Killington, Rutland, US-VT
> Dec 30, 2013 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM
> Protocol: Stationary
> Comments:     Temperature 20 degrees F.  North wind ~15-20 mph.  Bitterly cold.
> 1 species
>
> Snowy Owl  1     Single bird.  Photographed, perched precariously on swaying top
> of 40' Black Spruce (?).
>
> View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16129888
>
> This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/vt)
>
>