A backwards glance
Popcan-sized cutie
Eyes like Licorice Allsorts
Northern Pygmy-owl on snowy branch
Did anyone see what I caught?
Northern Pygmy-owl from January
Puffed up for warmth
Nature Calgary 2016 calendar
A tiny owl from the past
Fond memories of a popcan-sized owl
Vole brains for her afternoon snack
One year ago
Northern Pygmy-owl, one year ago
A blast from the past
A distant Northern Pygmy-owl
Yesterday's treat
Same tiny Northern Pygmy-owl
Way, way up
Northern Pygmy-owl
Ferocious hunter, but looking cute
The size of a popcan
Northern Pygmy-owl
False eyes and real eyes
Yesterday's absolute treat - the size of your fist…
Popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl, from January 2015
Another surprise on another gloomy day
It's the little guy/gal again
I spy with my little eye
Northern Pygmy-owl
Northern Pygmy-owl - from the archives
Northern Pygmy-owl - from the archives
Northern Pygmy-owl
Looks a long way down from up here
Northern Pygmy-owl
Tiny, bright-eyed Northern Pygmy-owl
Transformation of a preening owl
Hiding in a cavity
A surprise to all
The sacrifice made by Meadow Voles
Close watch
Getting ready to dive
High on the hill
Two of a kind
On a fence post, but no Vole
Northern Pygmy-owl with snack
Coughing up a pellet
A good stretch of the legs and wing
Northern Pygmy-owl from January
Tiny predator with prey
Just a different perch
Way, way up
It's mine!
Irresistibly cute
Like finding a needle in a haystack
Yesterday's well-earned treat
Temporarily puffed after preening
A ferocious hunter, popcan-size
Northern Pygmy-owl pellet
A tiny, ferocious hunter
False eyes
My sincere thanks
Every creature has to eat
Looking for its next meal
How cute can you get?
Concentration
Precious
Northern Pygmy-owl with Meadow Vole
What do I see?
Those piercing eyes
Well-fed Northern Pygmy-owl
Northern Pygmy-owl
Just for the record
Little cutie from the archives
The demise of a Meadow Vole
Looking for lunch
Partial compression
Northern Pygmy-owl
Northern Pygmy-owl
Northern Pygmy-owl
Northern Pygmy-owl
Northern Pygmy-owl
Northern Pygmy-owl
Northern Pygmy-owl / Glaucidium gnoma
Intense
Northern Pygmy-owl
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Northern Pygmy-owl
Saturday, 24 January 2015, was a great day for seeing the tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl in Fish Creek Park. For once, I was up really early so that I could go on a birding walk, which was being held at the same location. Other than the usual Black-capped Chickadee. Nuthatches and Downy Woodpeckers, the two main species that we saw were the Pileated Woodpecker (a male and a female together) and a very distant Cooper's Hawk. When we were at the furthest spot, we got news that the Northern Pygmy-owl had appeared back at our starting point. Needless to say, we were happy to see it that day.
Some time after getting back to where the owl was and seeing it on several different branches that were not particularly easy to photograph, it suddenly flew down to the mass and tangle of bushes right where all the photographers were now standing. A few people knelt or lay down in the cold, melting snow so that they could get a better view through the thin branches. There was no way I could do that, so my view was not as good. As far as actually seeing the owl at such close quarters was concerned, it was a great chance, and was not a case of people getting too close, but that the owl flew to where they were standing. It was amazing to see this tiny bird of prey up close, and it was really good to see how at ease it seemed. No sign of stress at all. It even caught a Meadow Vole and then flew up to a nearby, thin, forked branch, where it posed beautifully along with its catch and then began to eat the Vole's brains.
Soon, it was time to go home, especially as I had originally arrived at the park for the 3-hour bird walk earlier! Some people spend hours in the park and I don't know how they are able to do so. It requires so much patience, and I'd never be able to do it, even for the much shorter time that I'm there, if it weren't for friends to chat with while waiting. Two hours in the park, maybe three, is usually my maximum - and it's definitely not good for the back and knees! Normally, I just don't get down to the park, anyway, especially the last two years or more, but this tiny owl has been an attraction for people from all over the city and from other cities and provinces. Haven't been there other than for one very brief walk, in maybe two and a half or three weeks. I suspect that the owls left some time ago, to go to higher elevations in the mountains.
I also credit this beautiful little owl (and its mate) for helping me get through the weeks after my oldest daughter died. Without this, I would most likely have stayed home all the time, which would not have been good for me at all.
Some time after getting back to where the owl was and seeing it on several different branches that were not particularly easy to photograph, it suddenly flew down to the mass and tangle of bushes right where all the photographers were now standing. A few people knelt or lay down in the cold, melting snow so that they could get a better view through the thin branches. There was no way I could do that, so my view was not as good. As far as actually seeing the owl at such close quarters was concerned, it was a great chance, and was not a case of people getting too close, but that the owl flew to where they were standing. It was amazing to see this tiny bird of prey up close, and it was really good to see how at ease it seemed. No sign of stress at all. It even caught a Meadow Vole and then flew up to a nearby, thin, forked branch, where it posed beautifully along with its catch and then began to eat the Vole's brains.
Soon, it was time to go home, especially as I had originally arrived at the park for the 3-hour bird walk earlier! Some people spend hours in the park and I don't know how they are able to do so. It requires so much patience, and I'd never be able to do it, even for the much shorter time that I'm there, if it weren't for friends to chat with while waiting. Two hours in the park, maybe three, is usually my maximum - and it's definitely not good for the back and knees! Normally, I just don't get down to the park, anyway, especially the last two years or more, but this tiny owl has been an attraction for people from all over the city and from other cities and provinces. Haven't been there other than for one very brief walk, in maybe two and a half or three weeks. I suspect that the owls left some time ago, to go to higher elevations in the mountains.
I also credit this beautiful little owl (and its mate) for helping me get through the weeks after my oldest daughter died. Without this, I would most likely have stayed home all the time, which would not have been good for me at all.
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