Snowy Owl Effect

 Most birders in Newfoundland have learned to do a double-take on anything white along the roadway. This stems from the periodic Snowy Owl visits. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the white blob turns out to be a beef bucket or a garbage bag.

As I was driving along Petty Harbour Road, I spotted one of those strange white blips out of the corner of my eye. Fully expecting it to be a garbage bag caught up in the tree, I went back anyway to check it out.

There sat a Great Egret. This is precisely why I feel the need to raise the binoculars and stare at anything white along the roadway. It is this kind of intermittent reinforcement that keeps me alert.