Owls 3

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 9 January 2016, when I took part in a Mid-winter Bust-out trip east of the city, led by Terry Korolyk. Eight of us, plus our leader, took part in this day trip - maybe when everyone else saw what the temperature was first thing in the morning (-23C, not counting windchill, which would have made it much colder), they changed their mind about going! Everything was covered in a heavy layer of hoar frost, which turned everywhere into a beautiful winter wonderland. The sky was blue - what more could anyone want? Well, a few birds would be nice, of course : ) The highlight of the day was seeing 6 Short-eared Owls, in addition to 6 Snowy Owls (7 seen by the people in the other cars, when we split up at the end of the day). As a photographer, though, the only birds that were close enough were two of the Snowy Owls - the one in this photo and another one that was even further away. All the Short-eared Owls were tiny dots in the landscape. I don't know how anyone was able to spot them! We could have driven closer to this Snowy, but chose to keep our distance, meaning that 48x zoom and cropping were needed. I'm amazed (and thankful) that this photo came out OK, as most of the photos I took of anything yesterday are so blurry and not fit for use. Zoomed in shots, especially, suffered from heat distortion - and distorted they are! Our meeting place was right across the city; a drive that I never enjoy at all, but I really didn't want to miss this outing. Some of the roads we travelled were ones that I had driven several times before. Most of the time, though, I had no idea where we were : ) As always happens on any day that I go anywhere, I turned my camera lens to anything else of interest/beauty, even more so when the birds are way, way off in the distance. I will add the list of bird species seen that Andrew H. compiled. Many thanks, as always, for driving some of us - imuch appreciated! Thank you, Terry - it was a great day and greatly appreciated, as always! You did an excellent write-up of the whole day (not posted here). 3 Canada Goose 4 Rough-legged Hawk 6 SNOWY OWL 6 SHORT-EARED OWL 1 Downy Woodpecker 34 Black-billed Magpie 46 Common Raven 73 Horned Lark 1 Black-capped Chickadee 75 Snow Bunting 511 Common Redpoll 1 Hoary Redpoll 32 House Sparrow

I have been meaning to post one of these photos for almost a year now! I did post a different one ages ago, taken when this tiny (popcan or fist-sized) Northern Pygmy-owl flew up to this branch, but the colouring and light were different. By the time I took this particuar photo, the light was fading and the image is not quite as sharp as I would have liked. It's difficut to see, but the owl had already started on its meal - Meadow Vole brains on the menu. www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Glaucidium&species=ca... Another reason I felt like posting an owl photo is that yesterday, 13 January, I was all set to drive a short way east of the city to look for owls. I was desperately in need of taking a break, of something to take my mind off other things (mainly the fact that my daughter was just out of hospital the day before, after surgery, and knowing that she will likely need major surgery) for a short while. My maps were printed, and I had summoned up enough courage to make the trip and I wanted to do it before the forecast snow arrived (today!). Needed to fill up my car with gas and then off I could go. However, my car was making an almost constant squeaking/rubbing sound - not the kind of screeching sound made when a person's brakes are wearing out and they come to a slow stop at traffic lights. This squeaking sound was happening all the time I was driving. So, instead of escaping from the city and my worries, I found myself once again driving to the car place to have my car checked and fixed. Wonderfully, they were able to fit me in for today, though I dropped it off yesterday afternoon to save getting up very early today. Just waiting to hear what they found - and how much it will cost. Saturday, 24 January 2015, was a great day for seeing the tiny owl in Fish Creek Park. For once, I was up really early so that I could go on a birding walk, which was being held at the same location. Other than the usual Black-capped Chickadees, Nuthatches and Downy Woodpeckers, the two main species that we saw were the Pileated Woodpecker (a male and a female together) and a very distant Cooper's Hawk. When we were at the furthest spot, we got news that the Northern Pygmy-owl had appeared. Needless to say, we joined the photographers who were all lined up with their enormous camera lenses pointed upwards. A long time after getting back to where the owl was and seeing it on several different branches that were not particularly easy to photograph, it suddenly flew down to the mass and tangle of bushes right where all the photographers were now standing. A few people knelt or lay down in the cold, melting snow so that they could get a better view through the thin branches. There was no way I could do that, so my view was not as good. All my photos, except maybe two or three, were no good at all and needed to be deleted : ( However, as far as actually seeing the owl at such close quarters was concerned, it was a great chance. It was amazing to see this tiny bird of prey up close, and it was really good to see how at ease it seemed. It then flew down, caught a Meadow Vole and flew up into the thin, forked branch seen in this photo, where it posed beautifully along with its catch and then began to eat the Vole's brains. After about four hours of standing around, it was time to go home, especially as I had originally arrived at the park for the 3-hour bird walk seven hours earlier! Some people do this all the time and I don't know how they are able to do so. It requires so much patience (and free time!), and I'd never be able to do it if it weren't for friends to chat with while waiting and waiting. Two hours, maybe three, is my maximum - and it's definitely not good for the back and knees! It happens so rarely, though.

Yesterday, 17 January 2016, I finally got out for a much-needed drive out of the city. It seems ages since I did this, but I had some time, the sun was making its way through the clouds, and I had plucked up the courage to go east from the city. Recently, I was out that way on a birding trip with a group and we had seen a total of 6 extremely distant Short-eared Owls (3 pairs) at different locations. So, I was really hoping that my courage would be rewarded by spotting at least one owl : ) As you might guess from this photo, all the birds were far away. I didn't crop this any further, as I think some people, when they crop, forget that some people have a larger screen than they do, and that photos on a larger screen look far worse than on a small one : ) These birds were way across a field and didn't once come close and perch on a fence post. However, I can't believe that I was lucky enough to see three of them perched together like this. How beautiful they are. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting. Standing in -15C (windchill -22C) weather is NOT fun, trust me! It was SO cold. Fortunately, people were standing right by their cars and could climb back in when the pain became too unbearable. Five minutes occasionally of running the engine was barely enough to keep me going, plus a handwarmer inside my right glove. My feet finally thawed out once I arrived back home. It was all worth it, though, just for the chance to see these beautiful owls. When I left this area, I made a turn down a backroad, as i had noticed a red barn in the distance. Quite a nice old barn with a collapsing roof, seen in my third photo posted this morning, with another barn next to it. "A bird of open grasslands, the Short-eared Owl is one of the most widely distributed owls in the world. It is found across North America, South America, and Eurasia, and on many oceanic islands." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Short-eared_Owl/id

If it wasn't for the bright yellow of this Short-eared Owl's open eyes, it might not have been spotted at all. Friend, Bonnie, did an amazing job of seeing this bird tucked in amongst the tree trunks and dried grasses yesterday afternoon. People were concentrating on a different individual in the same clump of trees, but Bonnie was quite convinced that she had seen a second owl. Sure enough, she eventually managed to help the rest of us see the owl in this photo. It was quite a distance away and my photo is fully zoomed and cropped. Seen at the original distance, it was almost impossible to find, despite Bonnie's clear directions. I would imagine that this bird was one of the three seen in a photo I posted yesterday. So, yes, yesterday, I made a second trip out east of the city. Two days in a row is most unusual for me to make a drive like this. I had two reasons - now that I had been brave enough to do this drive, I wanted to go again while I could still make myself do it. The more times I go somewhere, the more confident I feel. Secondly, needless to say, I was hoping to see some owls again, maybe even closer. The 'closer' part never happened, at least not in the couple of hours I was out there. People who spend the day, or at least many hours, are far more likely to get the shots they want, but at the risk of stressing the birds. Unfortunately we are seeing, or hearing about, the same thing happening as happened a year ago with the tiny Northern Pygmy-owls. In the short time I've spent there, the owls have never come close and I would guess that that is because there are just too many cars and people. Yesterday, we even noticed footprints in the snow, showing that someone (or more than one) had climbed over the barbed-wire fence to get a closer shot. Unbelievable! I could almost guarantee that it was someone with a huge, long lens, who didn't even need to get closer! Just leaves me shaking my head. Please put the well-being of the owls (and any wildlife) before your obsession to get a closer shot.

Flickr - Bad, bad Panda. A fully zoomed and cropped shot of this beautiful female or juvenile Snowy Owl, so it's far from the greatest quality. However, I did want to add this record of it to my owl albums. This owl has quite a few dark feathers on top of its head. Ten days ago, on 9 January 2016, I took part in a Mid-winter Bust-out trip east of the city, led by Terry Korolyk. Eight of us, plus our leader, took part in this day trip - maybe when everyone else saw what the temperature was first thing in the morning (-23C, not counting windchill, which would have made it much colder), they changed their mind about going! Everything was covered in a heavy layer of hoar frost, which turned everywhere into a beautiful winter wonderland. The sky was blue - what more could anyone want? Well, a few birds would be nice, of course : ) The highlight of the day was seeing 6 Short-eared Owls, in addition to 6 Snowy Owls (7 seen by the people in the other cars, when we split up at the end of the day). As a photographer, though, the only birds that were just close enough were two of the Snowy Owls - the one in this photo and another one that was a bit closer. All the Short-eared Owls were tiny dots in the landscape. I don't know how anyone was able to spot them! We could have driven closer to this Snowy, but chose to keep our distance, meaning that 48x zoom and cropping were needed. I'm amazed (and thankful) that this photo came out at all, as most of the photos I took of anything that day are so blurry and not fit for use. Zoomed in shots, especially, suffered from heat distortion - and distorted many of them are! Our meeting place was right across the city; a drive that I never enjoy at all, but I really didn't want to miss this outing. Some of the roads we travelled were ones that I had driven several times before. Most of the time, though, I had no idea where we were : ) As always happens on any day that I go anywhere, I turned my camera lens to anything else of interest/beauty, even more so when the birds are way, way off in the distance. I will add the list of bird species seen that Andrew H. compiled. Many thanks, as always, for driving some of us - imuch appreciated! Thank you, Terry - it was a great day and greatly appreciated, as always! You did an excellent write-up of the whole day (not posted here). 3 Canada Goose 4 Rough-legged Hawk 6 SNOWY OWL 6 SHORT-EARED OWL 1 Downy Woodpecker 34 Black-billed Magpie 46 Common Raven 73 Horned Lark 1 Black-capped Chickadee 75 Snow Bunting 511 Common Redpoll 1 Hoary Redpoll 32 House Sparrow

All three photos posted this morning are from my archives. Our forecast is for snow today, so I thought I would post photos with colour. Almost a year ago, on 24 February 2015, I called in at Fish Creek Park to see if anyone had been able to find the tiny (less than 6" in length) Northern Pygmy-owl(s). I was in luck and, although the light was bad, the little owls put on quite a performance. This included a few things that I had missed on other days, such as perched on a fence post and both owls very briefly sitting on a branch, side by side (got a couple of really bad shots from behind, but I did post ne ages ago, just for the record). There were long periods of waiting in between the various bits of activity, so one needs a huge amount of patience : ) This photo was taken shortly before I left the park, after watching and waiting and hoping that this little female would eventually fly down and catch a Meadow Vole. Instead, she simply flew over to a fence post, which in itself was a real treat. I love the background colour from patches of dead leaves still hanging on the bushes. "Northern Pygmy Owls are 'sit and wait' predators, that hunt mainly by vision, diving down onto prey on the ground and driving the talons into the prey's throat. They will also attack birds in shrubs, crashing into the hapless victims. Most prey is carried off in the feet to feeding sites. Birds are usually plucked before being consumed. They often eat only the brains of birds and the soft abdomen of insects. One of these little owls can carry prey weighing up to 3 times its own weight. The Northern Pygmy Owl feeds on a wide range of small prey including small mammals, birds, and reptiles and amphibians. Voles make up the bulk of their diet, with birds comprising most of the rest (mainly songbirds, but as large as a California Quail). Other small mammals include shrews, mice, chipmunks, bats, moles, young rabbits, and weasels. Insects may be very important when they are most abundant. Other prey taken are toads, frogs and small lizards and snakes. During winter, surplus prey is cached in a cavity, often in large quantities. Summer caches are usually much smaller. Pellets are very small, averaging about 3cm long. They are formed only occasionally as these owls don't consume large amounts of fur, feathers, or bone. The pellets tend to fall apart shortly after ejection." From OwlPages. www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Glaucidium&species=ca...

Four days ago, on 17 January 2016, I finally got out for a much-needed drive out of the city. It seems ages since I did this, but I had some time, the sun was making its way through the clouds, and I had plucked up the courage to go east from the city. Recently, I was out that way on a birding trip with a group and we had seen a total of 6 extremely distant Short-eared Owls (3 pairs) at different locations. So, I was really hoping that my courage would be rewarded by spotting at least one owl : ) Those of us who were out there saw 7 of these Short-eared Owls in this area, though as you might guess from this photo, all the birds were far away, a few just a llittle closer. The owl in my photo was way down this curving fence line, actually with two others who were perched on fence posts some distance apart. I did go back to the area the next day, knowing that if I did that drive again straight away, I would start getting a bit more comfortable doing it. That was my main reason for going again, though of course I was also hoping to see an owl (or two). None of the owls on 18 January came close either. My first visit was on a Sunday, so I knew there would be people out there who had found the owls. The next day's drive was a Monday, so I was expecting far fewer people, as it was a work day. Made no difference! Just down the road, there were 4 other owls who were a little bit closer. None of these birds came to a close post during the time I was there. However, I can't believe that I was lucky enough to see three of them perched on a curved branch not much above the snow-covered ground (photo posted the other day). Not a clear view of them, though, and I had to find a small opening in the trees through which to take a few shots. How beautiful these owls are. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting. People who spend the day, or at least many hours, are far more likely to get the shots they want, but at the risk of stressing the birds. Unfortunately we are seeing, or hearing about, the same thing happening as happened a year ago with the tiny Northern Pygmy-owls in the city. It does make you ask yourself if they didn't come close because there are just too many cars and people. We even noticed footprints in the snow, showing that someone had climbed over the barbed-wire fence to get a closer shot. Unbelievable! I could almost guarantee that it was someone with a huge, long lens, who didn't even need to get closer! Just leaves me shaking my head. Please put the well-being of the owls (and any wildlife) before your obsession to try and get a closer shot than anyone else. Standing in -15C (windchill -22C) weather is NOT fun, trust me! It was SO cold. Fortunately, people were standing right by their cars and could climb back in when the pain became too unbearable. Five minutes occasionally of running the engine was barely enough to keep me going, plus a handwarmer inside my right glove. My feet finally thawed out once I arrived back home. It was all worth it, though, just for the chance to see these beautiful owls. When I left this area, I made a turn down a backroad, as i had noticed a red barn in the distance. Quite a nice old barn with a collapsing roof, with another barn next to it. "A bird of open grasslands, the Short-eared Owl is one of the most widely distributed owls in the world. It is found across North America, South America, and Eurasia, and on many oceanic islands." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Short-eared_Owl/id

Five days ago, on 17 January 2016, I finally got out for a much-needed drive out of the city. It seems ages since I did this, but I had some time, the sun was making its way through the clouds, and I had plucked up the courage to go east from the city. Recently, I was out that way on a birding trip with a group and we had seen a total of 6 extremely distant Short-eared Owls (3 pairs) at different locations. So, I was really hoping that my courage would be rewarded by spotting at least one owl : ) Those of us who were out there saw 7 of these Short-eared Owls in this area, though as you might guess from this photo, all the birds were far away, a few just a llittle closer. The owl in my photo was way across a field, so this is a heavily cropped image. I did go back to the area the next day, knowing that if I did that drive again straight away, I might start getting a bit more comfortable doing it. That was my main reason for going again, though of course I was also hoping to see an owl (or two). None of the owls on 18 January came close either. My first visit was on a Sunday, so I knew there would be people out there who had found the owls. The next day's drive was a Monday, so I was expecting far fewer people, as it was a work day. Made no difference! None of these birds came to a close post during the time I was there. However, I can't believe that I was lucky enough to see three of them perched on a curved branch not much above the snow-covered ground (photo posted a few days ago). Not a clear view of them, though, and I had to find a small opening in the trees through which to take a few shots. How beautiful these owls are. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting. People who spend the day, or at least many hours, are far more likely to get the shots they want, but at the risk of stressing the birds. Unfortunately we are seeing, or hearing about, the same thing happening as happened a year ago with the tiny Northern Pygmy-owls in the city. It does make you ask yourself if these Short-eared Owls didn't come close because there are just too many cars and people. We even noticed footprints in the snow, showing that someone had climbed over the barbed-wire fence to get a closer shot. Unbelievable! I could almost guarantee that it was someone with a huge, long lens, who didn't even need to get closer! Just leaves me shaking my head. Please put the well-being of the owls (and any wildlife) before your obsession to try and get a closer/better shot than anyone else. Standing in -15C (windchill -22C) weather is NOT fun, trust me! It was SO cold. Fortunately, people were standing right by their cars and could climb back in when the pain became too unbearable. Five minutes occasionally of running the engine was barely enough to keep me going, plus a handwarmer inside my right glove. My feet finally thawed out once I arrived back home. It was all worth it, though, just for the chance to see these beautiful owls. When I left this area, I made a turn down a backroad, as i had noticed a red barn in the distance. Quite a nice old barn with a collapsing roof, with another barn next to it. "A bird of open grasslands, the Short-eared Owl is one of the most widely distributed owls in the world. It is found across North America, South America, and Eurasia, and on many oceanic islands." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Short-eared_Owl/id

On 17 January 2016, I finally got out for a much-needed drive out of the city. It seems ages since I did this, but I had some time, the sun was making its way through the clouds, and I had plucked up the courage to go east from the city. Recently, I was out that way on a birding trip with a group and we had seen a total of 6 extremely distant Short-eared Owls (3 pairs) at different locations. So, I was really hoping that my courage would be rewarded by spotting at least one owl : ) Those of us who were out there saw 7 of these Short-eared Owls in this area, though the birds were far away, a few just a llittle closer. I went back to the area the next afternoon, 18 January, knowing that if I did that drive again straight away, I might start getting a bit more comfortable doing it. That was my main reason for going again, though of course I was also hoping to see an owl (or two). None of the owls on 18 January came close either - this 48x zoomed and cropped photo was taken on this second day, and this was the closest view I had. How beautiful these owls are. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting. My first visit was on a Sunday, so I knew there would be people out there who had found the owls. The next day's drive was a Monday, so I was expecting far fewer people, as it was a work day. Made no difference! I haven't been back in the 6 days since then, but I'm sure it has been a zoo out there. People who spend the day, or at least many hours, especially if they go back on many days, are far more likely to get the shots they want (most likely perched on a close fence post), but at the risk of stressing the birds. Unfortunately we are seeing, or hearing about, the same thing happening as happened a year ago with the tiny Northern Pygmy-owls in the city. It does make you ask yourself if the owls didn't come close because there are just too many cars and people. We even noticed footprints in the snow, showing that someone had climbed over the barbed-wire fence to get a closer shot. Unbelievable! I could almost guarantee that it was someone with a huge, long lens, who didn't even need to get closer! Just leaves me shaking my head. Please put the well-being of the owls (and any wildlife) before your obsession to try and get a closer shot than anyone else. Standing in -15C (windchill -22C) weather is NOT fun, trust me! It was SO cold on 17 January. Fortunately, people were standing right by their cars and could climb back in when the pain became too unbearable. Five minutes of running the engine was barely enough to keep me going a couple of times, plus a handwarmer inside my right glove. My feet finally thawed out once I arrived back home. It was all worth it, though, just for the chance to see these beautiful owls. "A bird of open grasslands, the Short-eared Owl is one of the most widely distributed owls in the world. It is found across North America, South America, and Eurasia, and on many oceanic islands." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Short-eared_Owl/id