Owl Swimming Lake Michigan: Video Catches Owl’s Lake Michigan Swim

Owl swimming in Lake Michigan is caught on video and the result is amazing. Last month, a photographer named Steve Spitzer, filmed an extraordinary 10-second clip of an owl swimming in Lake Michigan after it was forced down by falcons. The Lake Michigan swimming owl footage has gone viral, but Spitzer has refused to sell it.

Owl Swimming Lake Michigan

Owl swimming in Lake Michigan clip is simply beautiful. On November 30th, a photographer named Steve Spitzer, who is also a birdwatcher, was enjoying a morning walk at Loyola Park Beach near his home in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, when he saw a group of people focusing on Lake Michigan.

He moved closer and discovered that a great horned owl had been forced down into the lake by two peregrine falcons. Spitzer, who had his camera and was hoping to film few rare gulls, shared:

“I said, ‘That’s an owl.The falcons were dive-bombing it still.”

Using his Panasonic camera, Steve Spitzer filmed for about 10 minutes, including the magical 10 seconds where the owl was swimming in Lake Michigan.

The owl repeatedly pushed its wings through the water in a swimming motion. Spitzer explained that after the swim, the owl rested for about 15 minutes on the shore and it eventually flew to a nearby tree.

The birder and others at Lake Michigan tried to scare the falcons away as the owl recuperated. Spitzer said that bird rescue was called to the scene, but their help was not needed.

The man added that his wife was waiting for him in church for over an hour, so he was glad to have the video of the the swimming owl to explain why he was late.

The retired professional photographer titled the Lake Michigan swimming owl clip “Great Horned Owl Doing Breast Stroke,” shared it on YouTube and Facebook on December 2nd.

It rapidly went viral with thousands of views and Spitzer was also contacted by several local television stations that were interested in purchasing the clip. He has refused to sell it. He added:

“Nobody I’ve talked to has ever seen anything like that.”

Check out the video of an owl swimming in Lake Michigan below.

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