Wildlife photographer Julie Maggert has been taking pictures of snowy owls for years. So when she heard that a strange, orange-colored snowy owl had been spotted flying around Michigan’s Thumb area, she knew she had to see the bird for herself.

Maggert drove two hours out to where the owl had been observed. Before long, she spotted her in the middle of a field. She couldn’t believe her eyes — she really was orange.

…

Maggert stayed in one spot all day, waiting for the owl to fly onto a pole so she could get a clear photo. But when it was almost dusk, the owl flew away into a tree, out of Maggert’s sight, and stayed there until it was totally dark.

All of Maggert’s photos from that day ended up being unusable. But she didn’t let that stop her; she returned shortly after, determined to photograph the elusive, mysterious animal.

The second time she returned to the owl’s home turf, the same thing happened: Maggert arrived at first light, only for the owl to fly out of view when it started getting dark. The third time Maggert visited the owl, she managed to capture some photos of the owl in flight.

Some people would have given up at that point. But not Maggert. She really wanted some photos of the owl sitting still that clearly showed off her distinctive orange feathers.

…

On the fourth day, as Maggert was driving around, following the owl, the bird finally perched on top of a utility pole, and the photographer was able to capture the pictures she’d been dreaming of.

“I went home feeling on cloud nine because I worked so hard and put so many hours into this owl,” Maggert told The Dodo.

In her quest to photograph the orange owl, whom she nicknamed Creamsicle, Maggert ended up logging 900 miles of driving and nearly 30 hours of sitting in her car. It was all worth it, though, because no one has ever seen an owl like Creamsicle before.

…

Many animal species have rare but documented genetic color variants, like blue lobsters and white orcas. But for the orange owl, not only is it the first time one has been photographed, but no one knows exactly why she’s orange. Kevin McGraw, biology professor at Michigan State University, suspects the owl or her mother got exposed to something in the environment that disrupted her genetic code.

As for Maggert, she’s not sure which theory she believes: “I just really don’t know if anybody’s ever going to find out,” Maggert said.

Since Creamsicle may very well be the only owl of her kind, Maggert is honored to not only have gotten to observe her firsthand, but also to have shared her with the world.

“It may be a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Maggert said.

…