Irresistibly cute

It snowed here overnight and it's still snowing this morning (6 February 2015). Everywhere is white and the trees look like they are covered in frost. The temperature is -13C (windchill -17C) this morning, but it's supposed to get up to +8C (windchill +4C) this afternoon. We have been so spoilt for weeks now, with temperatures that have been wonderfully mild for mid winter, but the last few days have seen a return to winter.

Yesterday was about as gloomy and overcast as one could get. I knew there would be no point in going out with my camera, so I stayed home the whole day. The temperature doesn't bother me too much, as long as the sun is shining, but there was no sign of sunshine or blue sky all day long. I ended up watching more TV than usual and it seemed that every channel I turned to had some sad program playing! Movie or News, people were getting injured or killed and families were sitting around in hospital rooms. Not what I needed - tomorrow, it will have been five weeks since our oldest daughter passed away, so scenes like this were all too familiar and painful. I ended up getting migraine twice yesterday - I've only had it about six times in quite a few years. So, today, I must clear the snow off my car and get out for a while.

This photo was taken on 3 February, when I called in at Fish Creek Park again for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two. I was lucky with both - some of the time there were just the three of us, watching and photographing this tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl (uncommon in Alberta). It gave us a few good views, including when it flew down to the bushes right in font of us (love it when that happens!). Couldn't get a completely clear view of it, so I did very roughly remove a branch that went right across the body near the bottom edge of the photo. Telemacro (Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm), so the owl is much smaller than it appears in this photo. There have been quite a few days recently that there has been no sign of the owl, so I always feel very fortunate if it appears when I am there.

"The Northern Pygmy-Owl may be tiny, but it’s a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads, and piercing yellow eyes. They hunt during the day by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, songbirds often gather to mob sitting owls until they fly away. Mobbing songbirds can help you find these unobtrusive owls, as can listening for their call, a high-pitched series of toots." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_pygmy_owl