Great Gray Owl on the hunt

Yesterday, 21 March 2018, this was one of the beautiful Great Gray Owls I was lucky enough to see. There is still so much deep snow in the fields and there could be a crust on top after the recent melting and freezing. Also, apparently, so few Meadow Vole tracks have been seen this winter, so maybe food is in shorter supply. I didn't see any of the owls dive down in an attempt to catch a snack. I think this was perhaps the best view of this owl that I was lucky enough to get, captured at Focal Length (35mm format) - 810 mm.

"The great grey owl or great gray owl (Strix nebulosa) is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length..... In terms of length, the great grey owl is believed to exceed the Eurasian eagle-owl and the Blakiston's fish owl as the world's largest owl. The great grey is outweighed by those two species as well as several others, including most of the Bubo genus. Much of its size is deceptive, since this species' fluffy feathers, large head and the longest tail of any extant owl obscure a body lighter than that of most other large owls. The length ranges from 61 to 84 cm (24 to 33 in), averaging 72 cm (28 in) for females and 67 cm (26 in) for males. The wingspan can exceed 152 cm (5 ft 0 in), but averages 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) for females and 140 cm (4 ft 7 in) for males. The adult weight ranges from 580 to 1,900 g (1.28 to 4.19 lb), averaging 1,290 g (2.84 lb) for females and 1,000 g (2.2 lb) for males. The males are usually smaller than females, as with most owl species." From Wikipedia. The link below shows how small the skeleton is, compared to the size of the bird.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl

I thought the weather was supposed to be sunny yesterday, but it was overcast, at least while I was there. The forecast for today, and for both Saturday and Sunday, was for yet more snow, so I really wanted to get out there before everywhere turns freshly white. After checking, I now see the weekend has an improved forecast, though we are under a Fog alert this morning - "Widespread fog has developed over a large portion of southern Alberta. The fog is expected to dissipate later this morning. Travel is expected to be hazardous due to reduced visibility in some locations." From The Weather Network.

This week has been full of appointments of one kind or another, so convenient time has been very limited. Another one today and, very annoyingly, I got notice yesterday afternoon that everyone has to move their vehicle for five hours so that some snow removal can take place. No street parking without a parking pass, which I don't have, so I will have to kill most of those hours one way or another, before my appointment.