Barn Owl

Our deep-freeze finally came to an end two days ago, on 18 December 2016! The temperature very early this morning is -1C, with a windchill of -7C. It's supposed to soar to +2C this afternoon.

This particular bird resides at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale, southern Alberta, a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures,and Golden Eagles. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, educating the public away from the Centre. In actual fact, we don't have Barn Owls in the wild in Alberta.

"Barn Owls have a notable shreee scream, ear-shattering at close range. They also hiss like snakes. When captured or cornered, they throw themselves on their backs and flail with sharp-taloned feet, an effective defence." The Barn Owl flies silently. Its ears are placed asymmetrically for maximum hearing, so the owls do not require sight to hunt. They can target and dive down to sink their talons through snow, grass or brush and seize rodents with deadly accuracy. Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, they consume more rodent pests than possibly any other creature. This makes the Barn Owl one of the most economically valuable wildlife animals to farmers (not in Alberta). Farmers often encourage Barn Owls to stay around by providing nest sites. They are fairly sedentary and nocturnal" From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_owl

It had been a few years since my last visit there - I've been maybe three or four times - and I had been longing to go back. Much too far and all new driving territory for me to even think about driving there myself. However, on 9 September 2016, that is exactly what I did.

I knew it would be a long day and further than I would normally drive - and in a brand new car that I was still learning to drive! It didn't look or feel quite as new after travelling 481 km! Only got lost twice, one minor and the other major. Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere down south and I ended up in the city of Lethbridge, that I had very carefully planned to avoid. After three and three-quarter hours, I finally arrived, to my huge relief.

Despite getting there later than I had hoped, I still had plenty of time to wander round the grounds and photograph the various raptors. Some were tethered out in a couple of grassy areas and others were in outdoor cages. Wonderful to get such a close look at the various majestic birds.

I took a slightly different way home via #845 (?) making absolutely sure that I didn't accidentally find myself in Lethbridge again and it wasn't too long before I found myself in the area that I had driven a few weeks before, when I went SW of Vulcan to look for Common Nighthawks (without any luck). Just so happy that I finally made myself do this drive. When I Googled the Centre's website, I had discovered that they were closing two days later for the winter. So, it was either a case of going when I did or not at all till next May onward.

The very next day, 10 September 2016, I took my daughter on a long drive in Kananaskis. This was yet another place that I had longed to be able to drive for many years - and finally I did it! I had been lots of times with various friends, but this was the very first time I had ever driven myself.