Owls 3

Yesterday, 25 January 2016, after staying away from the Short-eared Owls for a week, I decided I would go back and see if one of them might just happen to land on something a little bit closer. Also, the weather forecast for the day was for sunshine and cloud, but the forecast for later in the week was for more snow. I had somewhat better luck yesterday, but the owls were still some distance away, so I had to fully zoom (48x), which resulted in less than sharp photos. Needless to say, though, I was thrilled to get a few better looks at these beautiful owls. I was the only person around when I saw this owl down the road. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting. Even so, a tremendous amount of patience is needed : ) "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 "The short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is a species of typical owl (family Strigidae). Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. Asio flammeus will display its tufts when in a defensive pose. However, its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands. The short-eared owl is a medium-sized owl measuring 34–43 cm (13–17 in) in length and weighing 206–475 g (7.3–16.8 oz). It has large eyes, a big head, a short neck, and broad wings. Its bill is short, strong, hooked and black. Its plumage is mottled tawny to brown with a barred tail and wings. The upper breast is significantly streaked. Its flight is characteristically floppy due to its irregular wingbeats. The short-eared owl may also be described as "moth or bat-like" in flight. Wingspans range from 85 to 110 cm (33 to 43 in). Females are slightly larger than males. The yellow-orange eyes of A. flammeus are exaggerated by black rings encircling each eye, giving the appearance of them wearing mascara, and large, whitish disks of plumage surrounding the eyes like a mask." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-eared_owl "Short-eared Owls are one of few North American owl species that can be sexed easily by plumage colouration. Females (above) have pale brown undersides with heavy dark vertical barring. Their facial discs are also washed with the same pale brown. Males (above) have nearly white undersides and paler facial discs. The barring is usually lighter and less dense." From the Owl Foundation. www.theowlfoundation.ca/SpeciesInfo/speciesseow.htm

Two days ago, on 25 January 2016, after staying away from the Short-eared Owls for a week, I decided I would go back and see if one of them might just happen to land on something a little bit closer. Also, the weather forecast for the day was for sunshine and cloud, but the forecast for later in the week was for more snow. I had somewhat better luck, but the owls were still some distance away, so I had to fully zoom (48x), which resulted in less than sharp photos. Needless to say, though, I was thrilled to get a few better looks at these beautiful owls. Lol, I don't often try and take in-flight shots with my point-and-shoot camera, but this time I did. You are welcome to laugh at this image, but I couldn't bring myself to delete it! This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting. Even so, a tremendous amount of patience is needed. "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 "The short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is a species of typical owl (family Strigidae). Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. Asio flammeus will display its tufts when in a defensive pose. However, its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands. The short-eared owl is a medium-sized owl measuring 34–43 cm (13–17 in) in length and weighing 206–475 g (7.3–16.8 oz). It has large eyes, a big head, a short neck, and broad wings. Its bill is short, strong, hooked and black. Its plumage is mottled tawny to brown with a barred tail and wings. The upper breast is significantly streaked. Its flight is characteristically floppy due to its irregular wingbeats. The short-eared owl may also be described as "moth or bat-like" in flight. Wingspans range from 85 to 110 cm (33 to 43 in). Females are slightly larger than males. The yellow-orange eyes of A. flammeus are exaggerated by black rings encircling each eye, giving the appearance of them wearing mascara, and large, whitish disks of plumage surrounding the eyes like a mask." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-eared_owl "Short-eared Owls are one of few North American owl species that can be sexed easily by plumage colouration. Females have pale brown undersides with heavy dark vertical barring. Their facial discs are also washed with the same pale brown. Males have nearly white undersides and paler facial discs. The barring is usually lighter and less dense." From the Owl Foundation. www.theowlfoundation.ca/SpeciesInfo/speciesseow.htm

Five days ago, on 25 January 2016, after staying away from the Short-eared Owls for a week, I decided I would go back and see if one of them might just happen to land on something a little bit closer. Also, the weather forecast for the day was for sunshine and cloud, but the forecast for later in the week was for more snow. I had somewhat better luck this day, but the owls were still some distance away, so I had to fully zoom (48x), which resulted in photos that could have done with being sharper. Needless to say, though, I was thrilled to get a few better looks at these beautiful owls. When this owl landed on this fence post way down the road, there was already one car that happened to be parked right there. I was able to inch my way closer, holding my breath, but needed to be so careful not to flush the owl. The photographer in front knew he had the best possible spot and he wasn't going anywhere : ) This was such a beautiful sight with the snowy, frosty setting. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, as they are being seen at all sorts of locations, which is exciting. Even so, a tremendous amount of patience is needed : ) "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 "The short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is a species of typical owl (family Strigidae). Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. Asio flammeus will display its tufts when in a defensive pose. However, its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands. The short-eared owl is a medium-sized owl measuring 34–43 cm (13–17 in) in length and weighing 206–475 g (7.3–16.8 oz). It has large eyes, a big head, a short neck, and broad wings. Its bill is short, strong, hooked and black. Its plumage is mottled tawny to brown with a barred tail and wings. The upper breast is significantly streaked. Its flight is characteristically floppy due to its irregular wingbeats. The short-eared owl may also be described as "moth or bat-like" in flight. Wingspans range from 85 to 110 cm (33 to 43 in). Females are slightly larger than males. The yellow-orange eyes of A. flammeus are exaggerated by black rings encircling each eye, giving the appearance of them wearing mascara, and large, whitish disks of plumage surrounding the eyes like a mask." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-eared_owl "Short-eared Owls are one of few North American owl species that can be sexed easily by plumage colouration. Females have pale brown undersides with heavy dark vertical barring. Their facial discs are also washed with the same pale brown. Males have nearly white undersides and paler facial discs. The barring is usually lighter and less dense." From the Owl Foundation. www.theowlfoundation.ca/SpeciesInfo/speciesseow.htm

On 25 January 2016, after staying away from the Short-eared Owls for a week, I decided I would go back and see if one of them might just happen to land on something a little bit closer. Also, the weather forecast for the day was for sunshine and cloud, but the forecast for later in the week was for more snow. I had somewhat better luck, but the owls were still some distance away, so I had to fully zoom (48x), which resulted in less than sharp photos. Needless to say, though, I was thrilled to get a few better looks at these beautiful owls. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting. Even so, a tremendous amount of patience is needed. "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 "The short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is a species of typical owl (family Strigidae). Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. Asio flammeus will display its tufts when in a defensive pose. However, its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands. The short-eared owl is a medium-sized owl measuring 34–43 cm (13–17 in) in length and weighing 206–475 g (7.3–16.8 oz). It has large eyes, a big head, a short neck, and broad wings. Its bill is short, strong, hooked and black. Its plumage is mottled tawny to brown with a barred tail and wings. The upper breast is significantly streaked. Its flight is characteristically floppy due to its irregular wingbeats. The short-eared owl may also be described as "moth or bat-like" in flight. Wingspans range from 85 to 110 cm (33 to 43 in). Females are slightly larger than males. The yellow-orange eyes of A. flammeus are exaggerated by black rings encircling each eye, giving the appearance of them wearing mascara, and large, whitish disks of plumage surrounding the eyes like a mask." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-eared_owl "Short-eared Owls are one of few North American owl species that can be sexed easily by plumage colouration. Females have pale brown undersides with heavy dark vertical barring. Their facial discs are also washed with the same pale brown. Males have nearly white undersides and paler facial discs. The barring is usually lighter and less dense." From the Owl Foundation. www.theowlfoundation.ca/SpeciesInfo/speciesseow.htm

On 17 January 2016, I finally got out for a much-needed drive out of the city. It seemed 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 fence line. 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. 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. If only people would put the well-being of the owls (and any wildlife) before their 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 drove a few other backroads, 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

I have been unlucky (so far) in getting even a fairly close, recent shot of a Short-eared Owl, so thought I'd post a close-up of a tiny, popcan-sized or fist-sized Northern Pygmy-owl from almost a year ago, taken in not the best light. On 22 February 2015, we got another chance to see the tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl in Fish Creek Park. When I arrived, people who had been there for some time had already found the owl, perched in a smallish tree. Within a very short time, it suddenly flew down to where we were standing, maybe six feet away from my feet, and then returned to the tree. We were surprised that it sat for so long before eating the brains of its prey and then we began to wonder if perhaps it needed to bring up a pellet first. Sure enough, eventually, that is what it did. "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... "The Northern Pygmy-Owl may be tiny, but it’s a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads, and piercing yellow eyes. They hunt during the day by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, songbirds often gather to mob sitting owls until they fly away. Mobbing songbirds can help you find these unobtrusive owls, as can listening for their call, a high-pitched series of toots." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_pygmy_owl On my way out of the park, an enormous flock of Bohemian Waxwings swarmed around the tall coniferous trees along the edge of the road. Hundreds of them landed at the tops of these trees and then they would swoop down to the snow-covered ground and eat the snow for a few seconds before flying to the other side of the road and back again.

It has been almost four years since many of us were fortunate enough to make visits to a family of Northern Hawk Owls, NW of Calgary. I was so thrilled to see this adult yesterday, again NW of the city. It's a one and a half hour drive for me to get there, so not a drive I care to do very often - roughly 220 km round trip. Great to see a few familiar faces up there, too : ) It was like a spring day yesterday, sunny, pleasant and not cold. I really wanted to get over there before we get our next snowfall and yesterday seemed a perfect day to go. There were three or four cars parked at the side of the road when I arrived at the area and everyone let me know that the owl had been close to the road just before I arrived, but had now disappeared way across a huge field. Never words one wants to hear, lol! However, I was assured it would be back - and that is what happened. "The type of prey the Hawk-Owl catches will determine its eating strategy. For mammalian prey the ritual is generally the same: the Northern Hawk-Owl will eviscerate its prey, eats the head first (especially for prey like the red squirrel, whose head is fairly large), and then—when tackling larger prey—it will eat the organs and cache the remains; with smaller prey, the owl will simply swallow the body whole." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Hawk-Owl "The Northern Hawk Owl can detect prey by sight at a distance of up to 800 meters (half a mile). Though it is thought to detect prey primarily by sight, the Northern Hawk Owl can find and seize prey under 30 cm (1 foot) of snow." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_hawk_owl/lifehistory

It has been almost four years since many of us were fortunate enough to make visits to a family of Northern Hawk Owls, NW of Calgary. I was so thrilled to see this adult two days ago, 8 February 2016, again NW of the city. It's a one and a half hour drive for me to get there, so not a drive I care to do very often - roughly 220 km round trip. Great to see a few familiar faces up there, too : ) It was like a spring day that day, sunny, pleasant and not cold. I really wanted to get over there before we get our next snowfall and it seemed a perfect day to go. There were three or four cars parked at the side of the road when I arrived at the area and everyone let me know that the owl had been close to the road just before I arrived, but had now disappeared way across a huge field. Never words one wants to hear, lol! However, I was assured it would be back - and that is what happened. "The type of prey the Hawk-Owl catches will determine its eating strategy. For mammalian prey the ritual is generally the same: the Northern Hawk-Owl will eviscerate its prey, eats the head first (especially for prey like the red squirrel, whose head is fairly large), and then—when tackling larger prey—it will eat the organs and cache the remains; with smaller prey, the owl will simply swallow the body whole." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Hawk-Owl "The Northern Hawk Owl can detect prey by sight at a distance of up to 800 meters (half a mile). Though it is thought to detect prey primarily by sight, the Northern Hawk Owl can find and seize prey under 30 cm (1 foot) of snow." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_hawk_owl/lifehistory

On 25 January 2016, after staying away from the Short-eared Owls for a week, I decided I would go back and see if one of them might just happen to land on something a little bit closer. Also, the weather forecast for the day was for sunshine and cloud, but the forecast for later in the week was for more snow. I had somewhat better luck this day, but the owls were still some distance away, so I had to fully zoom (48x), which resulted in photos that could have done with being sharper. Needless to say, though, I was thrilled to get a few better looks at these beautiful owls. When this owl landed on this fence post way down the road, there was already one car that happened to be parked right there. I was able to inch my way closer, holding my breath, but needed to be so careful not to flush the owl. The photographer in front knew he had the best possible spot and he wasn't going anywhere : ) This was such a beautiful sight with the snowy, frosty setting. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, as they are being seen at all sorts of locations, which is exciting. Or shoild I say, they WERE being seen - seems like they haven't been seen for a while now (added 11 February 2016). "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 "The short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is a species of typical owl (family Strigidae). Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. Asio flammeus will display its tufts when in a defensive pose. However, its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands. The short-eared owl is a medium-sized owl measuring 34–43 cm (13–17 in) in length and weighing 206–475 g (7.3–16.8 oz). It has large eyes, a big head, a short neck, and broad wings. Its bill is short, strong, hooked and black. Its plumage is mottled tawny to brown with a barred tail and wings. The upper breast is significantly streaked. Its flight is characteristically floppy due to its irregular wingbeats. The short-eared owl may also be described as "moth or bat-like" in flight. Wingspans range from 85 to 110 cm (33 to 43 in). Females are slightly larger than males. The yellow-orange eyes of A. flammeus are exaggerated by black rings encircling each eye, giving the appearance of them wearing mascara, and large, whitish disks of plumage surrounding the eyes like a mask." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-eared_owl "Short-eared Owls are one of few North American owl species that can be sexed easily by plumage colouration. Females have pale brown undersides with heavy dark vertical barring. Their facial discs are also washed with the same pale brown. Males have nearly white undersides and paler facial discs. The barring is usually lighter and less dense." From the Owl Foundation. www.theowlfoundation.ca/SpeciesInfo/speciesseow.htm