One of yesterday's two Great Gray Owls

No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken of them, each owl is as exciting as the very first. I don't remember seeing a Great Gray Owl SW of the city since our May Species Count in 2014.

Before early 2016, the most 'recent' Great Grays that I had seen and photographed was one that was a rare visitor to the city - found in Fish Creek Park 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 SW 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 until early 2016, and then YESTERDAY evening!!!

I decided that for once, I would go out in an evening to look for one of these magnificent birds of prey. Unfortunately, heavy black clouds were already starting to build, with patches of blue sky still showing. Once I hit the main highway, the rain started and continued till I got back home. I was determined to go and check out the various places where I had seen these owls just a few years ago. The two separate owls I found were not far from previous sightings - one along the main road and the other was flying over a distant field. Both were focused on hunting. The owl in this photo flew from post to post, searching for prey. Not a place I particularly wanted to stop, as a number of cars did drive by - had my blinkers turned on. Almost the whole time, I was sitting in my car, with rain pouring in through the open passenger window - but, hey, it's for an OWL! I did get out for maybe three or so minutes, as I know from too much experience that many shots taken from inside my car don't come out. Must have looked rather silly, standing in the rain, to people going by, lol.

Feeling so happy, I decided to drive a second time along a different area, just to check one last time before going home. That's when I noticed a large bird way off in the distance, flying over a field. I was amazed when it eventually flew to a tree within camera reach and then even more surprised when it flew to a fairly close fence post. The owls looked rather wet and a little wind-blown in most of my photos, but, needless to say, I went home feeling thrilled to bits. I don't remember ever seeing an owl shake the rain off its feathers just like a dog shakes off water.

"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