A friendly moment

Our high temperature today is expected to be PLUS 1C (windchill -8C) with roughly the same for the next four days - and then the snow returns yet again. We have had a few beautifully sunny days and yesterday, 24 February 2018, I made the most of it and went for a 3-hour walk at Griffith Woods with friends, and then I went for a long drive NW of the city. A drive that turned out to be very unrewarding, especially photo-wise.

Into my archives for this photo of a little White-breasted Nuthatch. It was another dreary, overcast day on 10 October 2017, but I decided to join friends for a three-hour walk - that included a fair bit of standing - at the east end of Fish Creek Provincial Park. I was hoping that there might still be some fall colour to be seen. Strong winds and snow had removed a lot of the leaves from the trees, but there were still enough to give a golden glow to photos.

We had a few good sightings, including a Great Blue Heron that seemed to have a problem with swallowing a very tiny fish it had caught. It would catch the fish, and then drop it back in the water, and repeated this several times. I don't think it ever did catch and actually eat it. Another fun thing to see was a male Downy Woodpecker that suddenly flew down to someone's hand. Chickadees and Nuthatches were also very aware that we were standing there. They are so busy searching for and collecting food to store away for the long, harsh winter months.

Great Horned Owls nest each year at the east end of the park and have done so for years. I don't know how on earth someone spotted the one we saw. It was perched far away in a wooded area and was almost impossible to see. If I moved two or three inches to the left or right, the owl was hidden from view. Even though I have seen endless owls over the years, it is always a good feeling to see one again. I guess I missed seeing the owls in this area back in March of 2017 - I was too busy with preparations for my trip to Trinidad & Tobago.