Mandrill
Entrance to a ranch
Great Gray Owl, focused
Meadow Vole for a late lunch
Northern Pygmy-owl
False eyes and real eyes
Aloe Vera / Aloe Barbadensis Miller, Blue Waters I…
Trinidad Motmot / Momotus bahamensis, Tobago
It's hard work, but someone's got to do it
Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Tobago, Day 2
Purple Honeycreeper / Cyanerpes caeruleus, Asa Wri…
Green Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright Nature Centre,…
Crested Oropendola / Psarocolius decumanus, Asa Wr…
Cacao tree (chocolate!), on way to Brasso Seco, Tr…
Wilson's Snipe
Hummingbird wings
Nariva Swamp afternoon, Trinidad, Day 6
Yellow Oriole / Icterus nigrogularis, Nariva Swamp…
Lotus seedpod, Nariva Swamp afternoon, Trinidad
Hairy Woodpecker / Picoides villosus
Springtime colour
Shooting stars / Dodecatheon sp. (and Dandelions)
Masked Cardinal / Paroaria nigrogenis, Trinidad
Collecting food for his babies
Watching the watchers
Purple Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright Nature Centre…
Lilium martagon - the beauty of a Lily
I LOVE Canola
A lucky find
Wildflower meadow, Waterton
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Blonde curls
Red-winged Blackbird
Nemophila sp.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird female
Celosia sp.
American Robin with food for his babies
Forever cute
Here comes dessert!
Common Nighthawk
Evening Grosbeak
Who can resist a Burrowing Owl?
I fell in love ....
Curious
Crested Oropendola, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trin…
Small and fast .... and adorable
Handsome Wood Ducks
Blue-gray Tanager / Thraupis episcopus, Asa Wright…
A filtered Poppy
Yellowlegs
Swainson's Hawk juvenile
American Goldfinch eating Sunflower seeds
Wood Ducks
Beauty of an old barn, Alberta
The Saskatoon Farm
Four in a row
Our precious Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta…
Swainson's Hawk
Lasting beauty
An old grain elevator with character
A fine old barn
Old tractor, Pioneer Acres
Lichen on the rocks at Rock Glacier
Peacefully waiting
Just needed colour
Northern Hawk Owl
Sleepy Great Horned Owl
Great Gray Owl in early morning sunlight
Northern Pygmy-owl
Turkey Vulture preening
A touch of blue
'Barn' Owl, alias Great Horned Owl
Yesterday's treat
That majestic look
Two's company
Following the fenceline
Joy for a deep-freeze day
With a twinkle in its eye
Peekaboo - whooo are yooo?
Black eyes and beaks are a give-away
Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans, everywhere!
Gray Jay - Canada's new National Bird
A brief close encounter
Waiting for me
A gleam in the eye
01 The glory of fall
Deadly duo - Amanita muscaria
It's that little guy (gal) again
An odd colour in nature
Young Spruce Grouse
Sharp-tailed Grouse / Tympanuchus phasianellus
Hiding in the Canola field
I think he caught a beautiful Tiger Moth : )
Busy parent
Hoverfly on European Pasque Flower
Black-capped Chickadee on Judy's hand
Strange but beautiful
Great Gray Owl - breathtaking
Tall Lungwort / Mertensia paniculata
On the hunt
Sweet little poser
Rough-legged Hawk
One of yesterday's treats
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Burrowing Owl
There are 43 images in my Burrowing Owl album - this photo shows one of the first and only Burrowing Owls that I have ever been fortunate enough to see in the wild. To say that it was a thrill is an understatement! These endangered owls are tiny and so difficult to see, especially when they are down in the grasses. They are a true delight when or if they are seen on a fence post, so that the whole of the bird can be seen, not just a bright yellow eye peering out between the blades of grass. We saw two different individuals, possibly three, and for a brief moment both were perched on distant fence posts at the same time. Most of the time, though, they were mainly hidden in the grass, so my photos tend to be of "eyes". Such a great pity that this is an endangered species!
Without the help of two friends (Ron and Joyce) who helped us know where we might find these birds, and friends Cathy and Terry who invited me to go with them on a wonderful three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, I would never have had this amazing sighting. For years, I had longed to see a wild Burrowing Owl, but never thought it would actually happen! Same for Cathy and Terry, so all three of us are SO grateful for the help we received!
During our three days away, we saw so many things, I hardly know where to start. Perhaps I will simply mention some of the things and then add more detail to each photo as I add them to my photostream. Of course, we couldn't have had a more beautiful area to explore! Waterton Lakes National Park has amazing scenery and wildlife.
The weather forecast that I saw before we left Calgary said that we were in for three beautiful days of sunshine - too often, it can be rainy weather. So, luck was on our side, giving us warm, sunny days - until the BIG STORM hit, lol! We drove eastwards from the park, hoping to see Yellow-bellied Marmots and, if we were really lucky, a Burrowing Owl. Then an enormous storm cloud moved in. It was like nothing I had ever seen before - a menacing shelf (?) cloud that was travelling fast and furious. Despite trying our best to get away from it, it eventually engulfed our car, surrounding us with more or less zero visibility, pounding hail, thunder and lightning. There was nothing to do but stop the car and sit tight, hoping that the hail would not break the car windows and that this severe thunderstorm would not develop into a tornado! This storm was very scary, but at the same time, exciting (only because all turned out OK in the end!). Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Someone from the Alberta Tornado Watch told me that this particular storm was a Mesocyclone.
So, a few of the things we saw - fantastic scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including the Burrowing Owls, a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me!), a few different insect species, and a family of Dusky Grouse (uncommon in Waterton Lakes National Park). I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators.
"As a result of the Burrowing Owl's ENDANGERED Species status in 1995, it has the focus of a variety of conservation efforts. Operation Burrowing Owl and other projects involving habitat preservation with landowners have been created. Populations are monitored by Fish and Wildlife departments. They have been reintroduced into the British Columbia interior, where it was extirpated. Outlook would improve if larger areas of habitat were preserved and harmful pesticides were banned in all areas of their range. Numbers could increase if an increased tolerance to burrowing mammals develops (i.e. badgers) – provides homes for the Burrowing Owl. Outlook: perilous." From burrowingowl.com.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrowing_Owl
Without the help of two friends (Ron and Joyce) who helped us know where we might find these birds, and friends Cathy and Terry who invited me to go with them on a wonderful three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, I would never have had this amazing sighting. For years, I had longed to see a wild Burrowing Owl, but never thought it would actually happen! Same for Cathy and Terry, so all three of us are SO grateful for the help we received!
During our three days away, we saw so many things, I hardly know where to start. Perhaps I will simply mention some of the things and then add more detail to each photo as I add them to my photostream. Of course, we couldn't have had a more beautiful area to explore! Waterton Lakes National Park has amazing scenery and wildlife.
The weather forecast that I saw before we left Calgary said that we were in for three beautiful days of sunshine - too often, it can be rainy weather. So, luck was on our side, giving us warm, sunny days - until the BIG STORM hit, lol! We drove eastwards from the park, hoping to see Yellow-bellied Marmots and, if we were really lucky, a Burrowing Owl. Then an enormous storm cloud moved in. It was like nothing I had ever seen before - a menacing shelf (?) cloud that was travelling fast and furious. Despite trying our best to get away from it, it eventually engulfed our car, surrounding us with more or less zero visibility, pounding hail, thunder and lightning. There was nothing to do but stop the car and sit tight, hoping that the hail would not break the car windows and that this severe thunderstorm would not develop into a tornado! This storm was very scary, but at the same time, exciting (only because all turned out OK in the end!). Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Someone from the Alberta Tornado Watch told me that this particular storm was a Mesocyclone.
So, a few of the things we saw - fantastic scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including the Burrowing Owls, a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me!), a few different insect species, and a family of Dusky Grouse (uncommon in Waterton Lakes National Park). I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators.
"As a result of the Burrowing Owl's ENDANGERED Species status in 1995, it has the focus of a variety of conservation efforts. Operation Burrowing Owl and other projects involving habitat preservation with landowners have been created. Populations are monitored by Fish and Wildlife departments. They have been reintroduced into the British Columbia interior, where it was extirpated. Outlook would improve if larger areas of habitat were preserved and harmful pesticides were banned in all areas of their range. Numbers could increase if an increased tolerance to burrowing mammals develops (i.e. badgers) – provides homes for the Burrowing Owl. Outlook: perilous." From burrowingowl.com.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrowing_Owl
, Malik Raoulda have particularly liked this photo
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