A good vantage point

Another shot of the beautiful Great Gray Owl that some of us saw at Griffith Woods, in hunting mode. I was lucky enough to see it on 10 January 2014. Normally, we don't get Great Gray Owls in Calgary, so this was such a treat. I think it was seen over a period of about 10 days, though many people weren't so lucky when they went there to try and find it. There have been no reports or photos of it since then, so we reckon it must have moved on.

A few days after I saw the owl, friend Bonnie sent me the following information that she had received from Gus Yaki, a well-known Naturalist in the city. This owl hadn't been seen the last three days, so maybe it has moved on. When asked about the possibility of the food supply having run out, he did not think the owl was feeding well because it was hunting during mid-day. It should have been hunting at dawn and dusk and sleeping during the day. He said they have excellent hearing. Also, he said he has not seen many small mammal tracks at this location and apparently the Meadow Voles have to surface to allow carbon dioxide to exit from their tunnels. He also said the owls see in ultraviolet which causes mouse urine to shine so they would see that.