Eyes like Licorice Allsorts

Saturday, 24 January 2015, was a great day for seeing the tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl in Fish Creek Park. This species is rare to uncommon in Alberta. 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. When we got back to the start, we found a lot of photographers who were all lined up with their enormous camera lenses pointed upwards.

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 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 good. However, as far as actually seeing the owl at such close quarters was concerned, it was a great chance. All my photos, except this one and maybe two or three others, were no good at all and need to be deleted : ( It was amazing to see this tiny bird of prey up close, and it was really good to see how at ease it seemed. Most definitely a case of the owl coming to where we were, and not a case of photographers trying to get as close as possible. I did remove a very thin branch that lay over the forehead, close to the eye on the left. Can't remember if the owl had just caught a Meadow Vole before I took these photos or whether it caught one and then flew up into a thin, forked branch where it posed beautifully along with its catch.

Eventually, it was time to go home, especially as I had originally come to the park for the 3-hour bird walk. Some people do this all the time and I don't know how they manage to do it. It requires so much patience, and an awful lot of "free" time.

"Northern Pygmy Owls are 'sit and wait' predators, that hunt mainly by vision, diving down onto prey on the ground and driving the talons into the prey's throat. They will also attack birds in shrubs, crashing into the hapless victims. Most prey is carried off in the feet to feeding sites. Birds are usually plucked before being consumed. They often eat only the brains of birds and the soft abdomen of insects. One of these little owls can carry prey weighing up to 3 times its own weight.

The Northern Pygmy Owl feeds on a wide range of small prey including small mammals, birds, and reptiles and amphibians. Voles make up the bulk of their diet, with birds comprising most of the rest (mainly songbirds, but as large as a California Quail). Other small mammals include shrews, mice, chipmunks, bats, moles, young rabbits, and weasels. Insects may be very important when they are most abundant. Other prey taken are toads, frogs and small lizards and snakes.

During winter, surplus prey is cached in a cavity, often in large quantities. Summer caches are usually much smaller.

Pellets are very small, averaging about 3cm long. They are formed only occasionally as these owls don't consume large amounts of fur, feathers, or bone. The pellets tend to fall apart shortly after ejection." From OwlPages.

www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Glaucidium&species=ca...