A quick glance

This photo was taken on 5 March 2016, when I drove NW of Calgary again. The previous time, two days earlier, had proven to be a complete wash-out as far as finding any owls and I came home with just a few shots of a beautiful little country church. Made me decide to do the long drive again, in the hope that I would be luckier. It turned out to be successful, as we did get some distant views of a Great Gray Owl (or two). It's difficult to know if one is seeing the same individual each time or if they are different.

Tremendous patience is needed to see one of these owls, though one can very occasionally be really lucky. On my last but one trip, there was no sign of an owl and I was the only person there. I spent my time slowly driving back and forth along the road, picking up all the empty beer cans and bottles - two Safeway plastic bags overflowing with them, so maybe around 50? I REALLY like to think that these discards have absolutely nothing to do with birders/photographers, but had been thrown out by local people! It just seems such a coincidence that there were so many in a popular birding area : ( Yesterday, I noticed that there were already several newly discarded cans. I really dislike seeing them, as the sun catches the metal and makes them gleam - so out of place in nature. Also, they can be dangerous to wildlife, especially if glass bottles are broken or sharp edges of metal cans get exposed. I wasn't sure if the Bottle Depot would accept filthy cans and bottles covered in dried mud. I called in at the recycle bins before the Bottle Depot and a youngish man was digging into the bins to find any cans and bottles. I told him I wasn't sure if they would be accepted, but that he was welcome to the ones I had in my car, and he gladly took them. Worked out perfectly in the end.

Back to 5 March, it was such a beautiful day and just had to be spent outdoors. Two or three cars were pulled and friends had been watching a Great Gray Owl that had then flown off into the trees and disappeared. No luck with it returning, but we were told about another owl further along the road. This time, we got distant views of it in the trees at the edge of the forest. It made a couple of dives and was definitely successful in catching a Meadow Vole the one time. So, once again, some distant shots, but they were more than enough to make one feel very happy and grateful, and the long drive feel worthwhile. Always great to have a chance to catch up with friends, too, of course.

"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