A short drive east of the city, 7 February 2019

My actual reason for driving east of the city today was to go and introduce myself to one of the local landowners in that area. About a week ago, her Grandson had been curious about what we were doing, parked along the side of the road. He told me that his Grandmother was really nervous, wondering what we were up to. Understandably so, as there is plenty of crime in rural areas. I had reassured him that anyone in any cars were birders/photographers, interested only in seeing and photographing the special owls that were on their land. He invited me to go in and meet his Grandma, but I had to explain to him that my night vision for driving is bad and that I needed to try and get back to the city before it got dark (ended up driving in the dark!). I told him that I would call in another day and I wanted to make sure that I did this. So, today was the day. Last night, I had printed out a photo I had taken a week ago of one of these Short-eared Owls, perched on a post in their field. Also printed a Snowy Owl and a Great Horned Owl for them, and we had an enjoyable chat about the different kinds of owl. I do hope this lady feels safer now that she knows exactly what we are all doing. It was SO cold out there today, thanks to our ongoing deep freeze. Despite being just a few degrees 'warmer' (i.e. less cold) today, it was bitterly cold. Snow is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning. Again ..... Had a short search for Snowy Owls, but came up empty-handed. However, I did see a gorgeous Prairie Falcon (ID needs to be confirmed or corrected).

At least, I think it is a Prairie Falcon. Seems quite dark. Whatever it is, I was very grateful to see it this afternoon, even more so as I ended up finding no Snowy Owls at all in the short time I looked. My actual reason for driving east of the city today was to go and introduce myself to one of the local landowners in that area. About a week ago, her Grandson had been curious about what we were doing, parked along the side of the road. He told me that his Grandmother was really nervous, wondering what we were up to. Understandably so, as there is plenty of crime in rural areas. I had reassured him that anyone in any cars were birders/photographers, interested only in seeing and photographing the special owls that were on their land. He invited me to go in and meet his Grandma, but I had to explain to him that my night vision for driving is bad and that I needed to try and get back to the city before it got dark (ended up driving in the dark!). I told him that I would call in another day and I wanted to make sure that I did this. So, today was the day. Last night, I had printed out a photo I had taken a week ago of one of these Short-eared Owls, perched on a post in their field. Also printed a Snowy Owl and a Great Horned Owl for them, and we had an enjoyable chat about the different kinds of owl. I do hope this lady feels safer now that she knows exactly what we are all doing. It was SO cold out there today, thanks to our ongoing deep freeze. Despite being just a few degrees 'warmer' (i.e. less cold) today, it was bitterly cold. Snow is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning. Again .....

My actual reason for driving east of the city today was to go and introduce myself to one of the local landowners in that area. About a week ago, her Grandson had been curious about what we were doing, parked along the side of the road. He told me that his Grandmother was really nervous, wondering what we were up to. Understandably so, as there is plenty of crime in rural areas. I had reassured him that anyone in any cars were birders/photographers, interested only in seeing and photographing the special owls that were on their land. He invited me to go in and meet his Grandma, but I had to explain to him that my night vision for driving is bad and that I needed to try and get back to the city before it got dark (ended up driving in the dark!). I told him that I would call in another day and I wanted to make sure that I did this. So, today was the day. Last night, I had printed out a photo I had taken a week ago of one of these Short-eared Owls, perched on a post in their field. Also printed a Snowy Owl and a Great Horned Owl for them, and we had an enjoyable chat about the different kinds of owl. I do hope this lady feels safer now that she knows exactly what we are all doing. It was SO cold out there today, thanks to our ongoing deep freeze. Despite being just a few degrees 'warmer' (i.e. less cold) today, it was bitterly cold. Snow is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning. Again ..... Had a short search for Snowy Owls, but came up empty-handed. However, I did see a gorgeous Prairie Falcon (ID needs to be confirmed or corrected).

These are such beautiful owls and an absolute joy to see. Not sure when I'll get the chance to go east again - the deep freeze continues and it is most unpleasant to try and take photos in these temperatures. The risk of getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere in these frigid temperatures puts me off going. My actual reason for driving east of the city yesterday was to go and introduce myself to one of the local landowners in that area. About a week ago, her Grandson had been curious about what we were doing, parked along the side of the road. He told me that his Grandmother was really nervous, wondering what we were up to. Understandably so, as there is plenty of crime in rural areas. I had reassured him that anyone in any cars were birders/photographers, interested only in seeing and photographing the special owls that were on their land. He invited me to go in and meet his Grandma, but I had to explain to him that my night vision for driving is bad and that I needed to try and get back to the city before it got dark (ended up driving in the dark!). I told him that I would call in another day and I wanted to make sure that I did this. So, yesterday was the day. The night before, I had printed out a photo that I had taken a week ago of one of these Short-eared Owls, perched on a post in their field. Also printed a Snowy Owl and a Great Horned Owl for them, and we had an enjoyable chat about the different kinds of owl. I do hope this lady feels safer now that she knows exactly what we are all doing. Had a short search for Snowy Owls yesterday, too, but came up empty-handed. However, I did see a gorgeous Prairie Falcon perched high up on top of a power pole.

I was very grateful to see this Prairie Falcon yesterday afternoon, 7 February 2019, even more so as I ended up finding no Snowy Owls at all in the short time I looked. "The prairie falcon is classified as Sensitive in the current General Status of Alberta Wild Species report. See the Status of the Prairie Falcon in Alberta report at: General Status of Alberta Wild Species In a subsequent detailed status assessment, Alberta's Endangered Species Conservation Committee identified the prairie falcon as a Species of Special Concern — a species that without human intervention may soon become threatened with extinction. Issues Population is dependent on the availability of secure nest sites and an adequate base population of ground squirrels. Current management Like all raptors in Alberta, the prairie falcon is protected by the provincial Wildlife Act and classified as a non-game species. This species is a focal species of the MULTISAR (multiple species at risk) program. MULTISAR strives to conserve multiple species at risk by working cooperatively with landowners and lease holders to implement voluntary beneficial management practices on native prairie habitat. Surveying local populations, assessing the ecological status of the habitat, developing management recommendations and habitat enhancement projects, and monitoring the species' response over time are key elements of the program." aep.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/wild-species/birds/falcons-w... My actual reason for driving east of the city today was to go and introduce myself to one of the local landowners in that area. About a week ago, her Grandson had been curious about what we were doing, parked along the side of the road. He told me that his Grandmother was really nervous, wondering what we were up to. Understandably so, as there is plenty of crime in rural areas. I had reassured him that anyone in any cars were birders/photographers, interested only in seeing and photographing the special owls that were on their land. He invited me to go in and meet his Grandma, but I had to explain to him that my night vision for driving is bad and that I needed to try and get back to the city before it got dark (ended up driving in the dark!). I told him that I would call in another day and I wanted to make sure that I did this. So, today was the day. Last night, I had printed out a photo I had taken a week ago of one of these Short-eared Owls, perched on a post in their field. Also printed a Snowy Owl and a Great Horned Owl for them, and we had an enjoyable chat about the different kinds of owl. I do hope this lady feels safer now that she knows exactly what we are all doing. Not sure when I'll get the chance to go east again - the deep freeze continues and it is most unpleasant to try and take photos in these temperatures. The risk of getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere in these frigid temperatures puts me off going. This evening, at 10:45 pm, the temperature is -24C (windchill -36C)! Stay warm, everyone!

I have been hoping to get a reasonably close photo of a Short-eared Owl on a fence post in the wild for the last few years. Finally, I got the chance on 7 February 2019 - not too bad, though it could have been a bit sharper. They are such beautiful owls and an absolute joy to see. Not sure when I'll get the chance to go east again - the deep freeze continues and it is most unpleasant to try and take photos in these temperatures. The risk of getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere in these frigid temperatures puts me off going. My actual reason for driving east of the city yesterday was to go and introduce myself to one of the local landowners in that area. About a week ago, her Grandson had been curious about what we were doing, parked along the side of the road. He told me that his Grandmother was really nervous, wondering what we were up to. Understandably so, as there is plenty of crime in rural areas. I had reassured him that anyone in any cars were birders/photographers, interested only in seeing and photographing the special owls that were on their land. He invited me to go in and meet his Grandma, but I had to explain to him that my night vision for driving is bad and that I needed to try and get back to the city before it got dark (ended up driving in the dark!). I told him that I would call in another day and I wanted to make sure that I did this. So, yesterday was the day. The night before, I had printed out a photo that I had taken a week ago of one of these Short-eared Owls, perched on a post in their field. Also printed a Snowy Owl and a Great Horned Owl for them, and we had an enjoyable chat about the different kinds of owl. I do hope this lady feels safer now that she knows exactly what we are all doing. Had a short search for Snowy Owls yesterday, too, but came up empty-handed. However, I did see a gorgeous Prairie Falcon perched high up on top of a power pole.

On the day I took this photo, my actual reason for driving east of the city was to go and introduce myself to one of the local landowners in that area. About a week ago, her Grandson had been curious about what people were doing, parked along the side of the roads. He told me that his Grandmother was really nervous and afraid, wondering what we were up to. Understandably so, as there is so much crime in rural areas. I had reassured him that anyone in any cars were birders/photographers, interested only in seeing and photographing the special owls that were on their land. He invited me to go in and meet his Grandma, but I had to explain to him that my night vision for driving is bad and that I needed to try and get back to the city before it got dark (ended up driving in the dark!). I told him that I would call in another day and I wanted to make sure that I did this. So, the night before I returned, I had printed out a photo that I had taken a week ago of one of these Short-eared Owls, perched on a post in their field. Also printed a Snowy Owl and a Great Horned Owl for them, and we had an enjoyable chat about the different kinds of owl. I do hope this lady feels safer now that she knows exactly what we are all doing. I am going to add, for the last time, the following, that I have posted for the last two or three days. "I think the very first Long-eared Owl that I ever saw was seen on 13 October 2006. SInce then, I have been very fortunate to have seen several other individuals (see my Album) - including the day before yesterday. These owls are very secretive and many birders go years between sightings. It is so important not to give the location of this species. Be careful that there is nothing in your photos that gives away the location. Various people had been posting photos of a Long-eared Owl recently, but I had no idea where they were seeing it. Someone had posted a photo and labelled it "Calgary" (totally untrue!), so I had thought it must have been seen in one of our local city parks. Two days ago, I decided to go for a short drive and get a bit of sunshine and fresh air. Our deep freeze has lasted for more than four weeks, and I have been home for most of that time. It was a milder day, so I decided to make the most of it, especially with more snow forecast for today. Imagine my surprise when a stranger told me just where it was, and my absolute horror when I came upon a huge crowd of photographers with their lenses raised! So how did they all know about this owl?? Apparently, Facebook has such a bad reputation for people trolling everyone's photostream there, finding out locations for all sorts of things (old barns included!). Then, of course, some people phone others, to ask or to tell. Others follow ebird religiously, dashing out to see every more 'special' bird that is reported and location given. I don't post many photos on Facebook and I certainly don't post the same photo to three groups. It gets so very boring to see the same photos everywhere. These people flood their own Facebook pages and the groups! The only reason I can see is to get as many Likes as possible. Anyway, most people were down in the ditch at the fenceline, so no doubt they were able to get stunning close shots, especially those with enormous lenses. My photos were taken from the road, which was twice as far away, with a point-and-shoot. I'm not out to try and get better photos than anyone else : ) As always, there is so much competition among photographers. I was also not out there all day, like various people always are, and often day after day after day. So, after saying those things, perhaps you can imagine how extremely upset (devastated, actually) I am to have been told (when I arrived at the owl) by a couple of friends (both of whom are superb photographers) that my photograph had been taken, along with two other people in it, standing at the edge of a road earlier in February. These friends thought it was hilarious and I sure was teased a lot. As they said, my "goody two-shoes" image was gone. They both know I have very high ethics, including when it comes to photography. This photo was posted on Facebook on a provincial birding page, pointing out how dangerous it is for people to stand by the road. This thread turned into a string of comments about people harassing the owls, etc., etc., etc. Actually, the other two people in the photo are both seen taking photos (when I was told they already had taken thousands). There's me, camera not raised, looking disgusted that an owl had been flushed so that they could take flight images. The reason I was out of my vehicle was that these two people were out of theirs and racing down the road at top speed to get yet more shots. When I was sitting in my car, these photographers blocked my view of the owl, so out I got and caught up with them. To prove that I was not planning on getting out of my car this trip, I was wearing just my thin summer jacket (over fleece) in a windchill in the minus 20C's. Sorry to rant, but it just upsets me so much that this photo was taken and posted on Facebook. Have barely slept the last two nights! The very last thing I would ever want is to be connected with bad ethics!! Of course, I must be such a bad person to actually stand by the road - ha, you should see all the dozens of people who do exactly the same (without being photgraphed)! That day, I took maybe 30 photos of the Long-eared Owl, and maybe a couple of dozen of a Short-eared Owl, almost every single one of the latter needing to be deleted, because they were all totally blurry, thanks to taking the photos from inside my car. You can be sure that most of the others went home with yet another memory card containing thousands of photos. Sorry for the rant, but I am hoping that now I won't be stressing out over it quite as much, every second of the day! Ain't life fun? To the man who took my photo (as far as I know, I have never met him), how about taking a few photos of the crowds of people, especially those who were as close as they could get to the LEO. Or those who stress out the owls day after day after day, often from morning till evening! You might just get lots of likes and comments on photos of those repeat "offenders". How about giving it a try? PS: I rarely allow people (i.e. friends) to photograph me. Not sure what right this man thinks he has, to take my photo and especially to then post it on a very popular Facebook group page. I would like it removed from Facebook, or at the very least, to have myself totally blurred out of the image. When this sort of thing happens, it can totally destroy a person's joy of photography! Actually, on a more serious note, something that I'm sure most people don't think of. You really need to be careful about taking a photo of someone and then posting it (without signing a consent form). For various security reasons, doing this could actually put someone in danger. For example, a woman (or vice versa) might not want their photo being advertised in this way, not wanting an abusive spouse/partner to know where they go sometimes or what they do. Just something to keep in mind."

Crazy, crazy weather! We have only just come out of an awful deep-freeze that lasted for many weeks. "The chance for some 20 degree weather extends across southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan early next week including the city of Calgary, where some daily temperature records are in jeopardy. The record to beat on Monday and Tuesday is 18.3°C and 18.9°C, which were both set on March 18 and 19 back in 1928." From the Weather Network on 16 March 2019. I am going to be taking a break from posting photos on Flickr soon - decided to grab three photos to post this morning after all. Will return when I don't have to keep going into my archives. As I have been doing the last few days, I will add the description that I added under a previously posted photo from the same day. "My actual reason for driving east of the city today, 7 February 2019, was to go and introduce myself to one of the local landowners in that area. About a week ago, her Grandson had been curious about what we were doing, parked along the side of the road. He told me that his Grandmother was really nervous, wondering what we were up to. Understandably so, as there is plenty of crime in rural areas. I had reassured him that anyone in any cars were birders/photographers, interested only in seeing and photographing the special owls that were on their land. He invited me to go in and meet his Grandma, but I had to explain to him that my night vision for driving is bad and that I needed to try and get back to the city before it got dark (ended up driving in the dark!). I told him that I would call in another day and I wanted to make sure that I did this. So, today was the day. Last night, I had printed out a photo I had taken a week ago of one of these Short-eared Owls, perched on a post in their field. Also printed a Snowy Owl and a Great Horned Owl for them, and we had an enjoyable chat about the different kinds of owl. I do hope this lady feels safer now that she knows exactly what we are all doing. It was SO cold out there today, thanks to our ongoing deep freeze. Despite being just a few degrees 'warmer' (i.e. less cold) today, it was bitterly cold. Snow is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning. Again ..... Had a short search for Snowy Owls, but came up empty-handed. However, I did see a gorgeous Prairie Falcon."