03 Short-eared Owl / Asio flammeus
Just a splash of colour
A sky filled with clouds
Mountain Bluebirds have no blue pigment
A white barn from yesterday
Mountain Bluebird
Yellow-headed Blackbirds in every direction
Still standing
Wilson's Snipe, seen from afar
Dandelions - of course : )
McDougall Memorial United Church
01 Spic and span
The old barn at the Ellis Bird Farm
Entrance to the Ellis Bird Farm
Female Mountain Bluebird / Sialia currucoides
Along a country back road
I think he caught a beautiful Tiger Moth : )
Such good parents
Female Bobolink / Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Beautiful wings of a female Mountain Bluebird
My first Bald Eagle on a fence post
This old house
Bright and cheery in its old age
Collecting food for her babies
A well-decorated fence
Eastern Kingbird
Nest-building Dad
Mt Lorette Ponds, Kananaskis
Swainson's Hawk on an early morning hunt
A bright splash of blue in August
McDougall Memorial United Church
The beauty of fall
02 Two young Moose
01 Red-winged Blackbird - female or juvenile
Clematis after the rain
One spectacular fall day
Old barn at the Ellis Bird Farm
Following the fenceline
Christmas star
Sunrise colour over the mountain peaks
A well looked after barn
Nanton Christmas Bird Count
Winter walking
Snow turns something ordinary into beautiful
Our beautiful Alberta
A touch of blue
Barn with a mural
Afternoon light on the foothills
Northern Shrike / Lanius excubitor
Better than nothing - this is NOT my main photo!
The peace of a prairie farm - my main photo today
Red-winged Blackbird female or juvenile
Snowy Owl along the fenceline
Winter textures
Dreaming of spring
A mix of textures
Skull on a fence post
Greenish sky beneath a Chinook Arch
One of my favourite views
Well-protected
A distant shot from my archives
Rough-legged Hawk / Buteo lagopus
Mallard female
A snack for his babies
And they call this winter (in Alberta)?
A cluster of red barns
Little church in the valley
A view through the bushes
Narrow strip of light
Four more months to wait
Old barn with a different style
A friendly greeting
'Superman, where are you now?'
Time for an old barn again
Taking the quieter road
Short-eared Owl
A fence without an owl
The best colour to see in winter
Home of the Snowshoe Hare
A winter day in southern Alberta
Fenced in
Christmas remnants
The donkeys with reflector eyes
Outlined in frost
In the bleak midwinter
Golden Eagle along the fenceline
A road less travelled
A touch of frost
A frosty view from Frank Lake blind
So far away, but better than nothing
Pine Grosbeak male / Pinicola enucleator
Fence line in the fall
CL Ranches, Alberta
Dark-eyed Junco / Junco hyemalis
All decked out
Petunias
Bluebird of happiness
Mountain Bluebird female
A snack that is sure to tickle
American Goldfinch female with Sunflower seed
A lovely splash of colour
Eastern Kingbird
One of three
Changes by new owners in "The Famous Five" field
Little red barn on Mother's Day
Vibrant colour of spring
Simple but bright
Strong winds on the prairies
Red barn in a field of gold
A favourite tree
Off limits
Delicate damselfly
Wrinkled sky
Gently falling snow
Red barn on a sunny day
Horse on the prairie
The wonder of hoar frost
A prairie view
Do you see what I see? Look very closely at the w…
Made to feel welcome
Red
The prairies in winter
Aged beauty
Driving in a winter wonderland
Frosty fence and fields
See also...
See more...Keywords
Authorizations, license
-
Visible by: Everyone -
All rights reserved
-
234 visits
Natural beauty
My alarm clocks were set for 5:30 eight mornings ago, 28 February 2016, and I was full of hope that for once, I would actually get out of the house good and early. I have such a problem getting myself out very early when I go off for a drive by myself. I think it was something like 8:30 am by the time I dragged myself off the computer and out the front door. To my horror, I discovered that my car door locks had frozen shut and my car was totally covered in a thick layer of extremely stubborn ice, that took me a long time to remove. Half an hour or so later, I was finally ready to start on my trip NW of the city.
It had been quite a long time since I saw my last Great Gray Owl. Some of my most recent sightings had been one that was in Fish Creek Park in Calgary for a while and my last photos of it were taken on 18 February 2014. There was also a Great Gray at Griffith Woods, Calgary, and some of my photos were taken on 10 February 2014. Saw another owl on our May Species Count out of the city on 25 May 2014. Many of my 'best' sightings and photos of Great Grays were taken NW of Calgary, the last dates being 28 March 2013 and 5 May 2013. So, after 25 May 2014 .... nothing! Seeing one four days ago was such a thrill. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken, each owl is as exciting and breath-taking as the very first.
"Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl
When I first reached my approximate destination, I could see two or three cars way down the road, pulled over at the edge of the road. Often a good sign : ) Sure enough, friends had found an owl, It was on a distant barbed-wire fence post at first, then dove into the snow to try and catch a Meadow Vole. It then flew off into the trees with it and didn't return.
After a while, I drove some of the other roads in the area and later drove back to where the owl had been seen. Amazingly, assuming it was the same individual, it was in a distant tree, from where it hunted, moving to a different tree each time it made an unsuccesful dive. Eventually, it did catch a Vole. I left after a while, feeling that it was time to leave the owl 'in peace', and also knowing it was time for me to make the long drive home - approximately 246 km round trip. The excitement plus the long drive (on less than three hours' sleep) totally wore me out and I felt so tired the next day.
A good thing I went when I did, as we had fog, a bit of snow, hoarfrost and very slick roads overnight till the following afternoon. There were 234 reported accidents in the city during those hours, none with life-threatening injuries, thankfully.
It had been quite a long time since I saw my last Great Gray Owl. Some of my most recent sightings had been one that was in Fish Creek Park in Calgary for a while and my last photos of it were taken on 18 February 2014. There was also a Great Gray at Griffith Woods, Calgary, and some of my photos were taken on 10 February 2014. Saw another owl on our May Species Count out of the city on 25 May 2014. Many of my 'best' sightings and photos of Great Grays were taken NW of Calgary, the last dates being 28 March 2013 and 5 May 2013. So, after 25 May 2014 .... nothing! Seeing one four days ago was such a thrill. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken, each owl is as exciting and breath-taking as the very first.
"Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl
When I first reached my approximate destination, I could see two or three cars way down the road, pulled over at the edge of the road. Often a good sign : ) Sure enough, friends had found an owl, It was on a distant barbed-wire fence post at first, then dove into the snow to try and catch a Meadow Vole. It then flew off into the trees with it and didn't return.
After a while, I drove some of the other roads in the area and later drove back to where the owl had been seen. Amazingly, assuming it was the same individual, it was in a distant tree, from where it hunted, moving to a different tree each time it made an unsuccesful dive. Eventually, it did catch a Vole. I left after a while, feeling that it was time to leave the owl 'in peace', and also knowing it was time for me to make the long drive home - approximately 246 km round trip. The excitement plus the long drive (on less than three hours' sleep) totally wore me out and I felt so tired the next day.
A good thing I went when I did, as we had fog, a bit of snow, hoarfrost and very slick roads overnight till the following afternoon. There were 234 reported accidents in the city during those hours, none with life-threatening injuries, thankfully.
, Malik Raoulda, have particularly liked this photo
- Keyboard shortcuts:
Jump to top
RSS feed- Latest comments - Subscribe to the comment feeds of this photo
- ipernity © 2007-2024
- Help & Contact
|
Club news
|
About ipernity
|
History |
ipernity Club & Prices |
Guide of good conduct
Donate | Group guidelines | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Statutes | In memoria -
Facebook
Twitter
www.ipernity.com/group/oiseaux_monde
Anne Elliott club has replied to Ken DiesSign-in to write a comment.