Owls 3

Not the best quality, so I didn't want to use it as my main photo this morning. Seems ages since I last posted a photo of a Great Horned Owl. Also, Short-eared Owls, Northern Hawk Owl and Great Gray Owl have been my focus more recently. On 1 January 2016, I took part in the annual Fish Creek Provincial Park New Year's Day Bird Count. Unlike all the other recent Counts, this one was just half a day. It was SO cold when we all arrived at the parking lot, despite "only" being -12C (the rest of the cold must have been the windchill). The sun was shining and we had a very enjoyable walk from Bebo Grove to Bridge #6. Other participants covered other areas of the park.. It was so nice to see this rather sleepy Great Horned Owl down in our count area. After the Count, quite a few of the participants, me included, gathered at a Tim Horton's to hand in their lists and to chat over coffee and lunch about what had been seen. Always makes for an enjoyable time. This is our leader's final list of bird species seen in Fish Creek Provincial Park on the New Year's Day Bird Count, 2016. We had divided up into three groups, so each group may not have seen every species listed. "Fish Creek Prov. Park New Years Day Bird Count, Bebo Grove to Raven Rocks, Bridge #6. 0900-1215, 01Jan2016. Sunny, W. wind 15kph, -12 to -3°c. Fish Creek 98% frozen. 30 cm snow on ground. Best birds on our territory were the two Mountain Chickadees that Josias Grest has been seeing and feeding since 23Dec. Best Count area bird was a Hermit Thrush, first ever. It was at the Stormwater outlet, about ¼ km W of Macleod Trail, on the S side of Fish Creek, where we have seen American Dipper, Song Sparrow, Wilsons Snipe and Killdeer in past winters. Below is the list and numbers seen on our area today. 1. Canada Goose-16 2. Sharp-shinned Hawk-1 3. Merlin-1 4. Great Horned Owl-1 5. Downy Woodpecker-15 6. Hairy Woodpecker-1 7. Northern Flicker-1 8. Pileated Woodpecker-1 9. Northern Shrike-1 10. Black-billed Magpie-20 11. Common Raven-23 12. Black-capped Chickadee-130 13. MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE-2 14. Boreal Chickadee-13 15. Red-breasted Nuthatch-27, including Bob the white-headed leucistic individual. 16. White-breasted Nuthatch-1 17. Brown Creeper-2 18. Townsends Solitaire-2 19. Bohemian Waxwing-2500+ 20.Pine Grosbeak-20 21. White-winged Crossbill-80 22.PINE SISKIN-1 Red Squirrel-7+ Eastern Gray Squirrel-1 White-tailed Deer-5"

Zooming in almost fully (Focal Length, [35mm format] - 1080 mm) on an owl that has just dived into a tangle of tall grasses and dried plant stems gives a photographer quite the challenge. Most of the few shots I had time to take didn't work, so this is probably the only shot worth keeping. Can't remember if the owl was successful in catching a Meadow Vole in this particular attempt. So many little Voles give up their lives to feeding animals higher up on the food chain. My alarm clocks were set for 5:30 am on 28 February 2016, and I was full of hope that for once, I would actually get out of the house good and early. I have such a problem getting myself out very early when I go off for a drive by myself. I think it was something like 8:30 am by the time I dragged myself off the computer and out the front door. To my horror, I discovered that my car door locks had frozen shut and my car was totally covered in a thick layer of extremely stubborn ice, that took me a long time to remove. Half an hour or so later, I was finally ready to start on my trip NW of the city. It had been quite a long time since I saw my last Great Gray Owl. Some of my most recent sightings had been one that was in Fish Creek Park in Calgary for a while and my last photos of it were taken on 18 February 2014. There was also a Great Gray at Griffith Woods, Calgary, and some of my photos were taken on 10 February 2014. Saw another owl on our May Species Count out of the city on 25 May 2014. Many of my 'best' sightings and photos of Great Grays were taken NW of Calgary, the last dates being 28 March 2013 and 5 May 2013. So, after 25 May 2014 .... nothing! Seeing one on 28 February was such a thrill. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken, each owl is as exciting as the very first. "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl When I first reached my approximate destination, I could see two or three cars way down the road, pulled over at the edge of the road. Often a good sign : ) Sure enough, friends had found an owl, It was on a distant barbed-wire fence post at first, then dove into the snow to try and catch a Meadow Vole. It then flew off into the trees with it and didn't return. After a while, I drove some of the other roads in the area and later drove back to where the owl had been seen. Amazingly, assuming it was the same individual, it was in a distant tree, from where it hunted, moving to a different tree each time it made an unsuccesful dive. Eventually, it did catch a Vole. I left after a while, feeling that it was time to leave the owl 'in peace', and also knowing it was time for me to make the long drive home - approximately 246 km round trip. A good thing I went when I did, as we had fog, a bit of snow, hoarfrost and very slick roads overnight till the following afternoon. There were 234 reported accidents in the city during those hours, none with life-threatening injuries, thankfully.

This photo was taken on 5 March 2016, when I drove NW of Calgary again. The previous time, two days earlier, had proven to be a complete wash-out as far as finding any owls and I came home with just a few shots of a beautiful little country church. Made me decide to do the long drive again, in the hope that I would be luckier. It turned out to be successful, as we did get some distant views of a Great Gray Owl (or two). It's difficult to know if one is seeing the same individual each time or if they are different. Tremendous patience is needed to see one of these owls, though one can very occasionally be really lucky. On my last but one trip, there was no sign of an owl and I was the only person there. I spent my time slowly driving back and forth along the road, picking up all the empty beer cans and bottles - two Safeway plastic bags overflowing with them, so maybe around 50? I REALLY like to think that these discards have absolutely nothing to do with birders/photographers, but had been thrown out by local people! It just seems such a coincidence that there were so many in a popular birding area : ( Yesterday, I noticed that there were already several newly discarded cans. I really dislike seeing them, as the sun catches the metal and makes them gleam - so out of place in nature. Also, they can be dangerous to wildlife, especially if glass bottles are broken or sharp edges of metal cans get exposed. I wasn't sure if the Bottle Depot would accept filthy cans and bottles covered in dried mud. I called in at the recycle bins before the Bottle Depot and a youngish man was digging into the bins to find any cans and bottles. I told him I wasn't sure if they would be accepted, but that he was welcome to the ones I had in my car, and he gladly took them. Worked out perfectly in the end. Back to 5 March, it was such a beautiful day and just had to be spent outdoors. Two or three cars were pulled and friends had been watching a Great Gray Owl that had then flown off into the trees and disappeared. No luck with it returning, but we were told about another owl further along the road. This time, we got distant views of it in the trees at the edge of the forest. It made a couple of dives and was definitely successful in catching a Meadow Vole the one time. So, once again, some distant shots, but they were more than enough to make one feel very happy and grateful, and the long drive feel worthwhile. Always great to have a chance to catch up with friends, too, of course. "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl

Hard to believe that this was WINTER! What a wonderfully mild winter we have been having. Though this photo was taken on 19 February 2016, many of the fileds outside Calgary were bare, while others still had snow cover. I came across this beautiful old barn on 19th February, when I was exploring some backroads SE of Calgary. I think I first saw this barn in March 2014 and it was immediately one of my favourites. Unfortunately, it is way across a huge field, so I had to zoom right in from the road. The reason I wanted to make this drive was that friend Phil S. had posted a few photos of a beautiful little white country church; one that I hadn’t seen before. He told me where to find it and this was enough motivation for me to drive some roads that were new to me. Thanks so much, Phil! The church was the Davisburg Community Church, SE of Calgary. From this location, I drove further SE and covered some of the same roads and backroads that I drove on 15 February. It turned out to be more of a barn day than a birding trip, as the only birds I saw were several Pigeons and a number of Magpies. I really wasn’t looking for birds, though, as my attention was on the road and which direction I was going, trying not to get lost. The sun was shining early on, but more and more clouds gradually moved in, making quite a beautiful sight over the distant mountains. After a while, I realized that I could perhaps just make it as far as the Saskatoon Farm in time to order a home-made pizza to take home with me. However, when I got there, I was told that they had stopped making these several months ago. Instead, I decided to stay and have a meal there - quiche and sweet potato fries. Made a very pleasant ending to an enjoyable afternoon.

As you might guess from this image, the light was a challenge, at least for me and my camera : ) However, I was thrilled to bits to see this Great Gray Owl and its mate when I did another long drive NW of the city yesterday, 13 March 2016. I had been up there the previous day, but had seen absolutely nothing - several other people had also been looking, without success. I was so very lucky yesterday, as there was a car already pulled over at the edge of the road. I could see two guys standing in the road and, when I got there, I spotted a third man just a little way into the trees. They had seen an owl fly across the road and fly into the trees, landing on top of a tall, broken tree trunk. After sitting there for a while, it suddenly dove down to the ground, disappearing from my sight, and apparently caught a Meadow Vole, which it then carried back to the dense trees to give to its mate. We had a brief view of the two owls and then one flew off. I'm not sure if the owl in my photo is the male, but I think it could be. I'm also not sure about its colouring - it looks very dark blackish-brown, but I don't know if that is because of the way my camera dealt with the poor light or if that is close to the true colour. It also has a lot of white feathers either side of its bill. Doesn't have the usual bushy white eyebrows, either. After sitting for quite a while, it, too, flew off. My thanks definitely go to these three guys, whom I didn't know, for being the reason that yesterday was not a complete wash-out like the previous day! I really didn't feel like doing a long drive again yesterday, but the number 13 is my lucky number, so I reckoned I would make myself do it. Also, at that time, the forecast for the coming week was for snow and rain, so I thought I had better make the most of such a beautiful, sunny day. After seeing these two owls, I saw absolutely nothing for the rest of my time out there. Met a lovely young woman out there, who had never seen a Great Gray Owl and was so hoping to see one. We tried to find one, but no luck. Nice to meet you, Barbara : ) Hope you get a chance to come to Calgary again and manage to see one. By the way, everyone, don't forget to change the clock in your camera, if it doesn't change itself. I totally forgot until late last night.

This, I believe, is the same owl as in the photo I posted yesterday. This is where it was perched when I first saw it. Again, not in the best light (in the shade) and I had to brighten the photo quite a lot. I was thrilled to bits to see this Great Gray Owl and its mate when I did another long drive NW of the city two days ago, on 13 March 2016. I had been up there the previous day, but had seen absolutely nothing - several other people had also been looking, without success. I was so very lucky the day before yesterday, as there was a car already pulled over at the edge of the road. I could see two guys standing in the road and, when I got there, I spotted a third man just a little way into the trees. They had seen an owl fly across the road and fly into the trees, landing on top of this tall, broken tree trunk. After sitting there for a while, it suddenly dove down to the ground, disappearing from my sight, and apparently caught a Meadow Vole, which it then carried back to the dense trees to give to its mate. We had a brief view of the two owls and then one flew off. I'm not sure if the owl in my photo is the male, but I think it could be. After sitting for a while, it, too, flew off. My thanks definitely go to these three guys, whom I didn't know, for being the reason that this day was not a complete wash-out like the previous day! I really didn't feel like doing a long drive again, but the number 13 is my lucky number, so I reckoned I would make myself do it. Also, at that time, the forecast for the coming week was for snow and rain, so I thought I had better make the most of such a beautiful, sunny day. After seeing these two owls, I saw absolutely nothing for the rest of my time out there. Met a lovely young woman out there, who had never seen a Great Gray Owl and was so hoping to see one. We tried to find one, but no luck. Nice to meet you, Barbara : ) Hope you get a chance to come to Calgary again and manage to see one.

All three photos posted today were taken the day before yesterday, 15 March 2016. I drove NW of Calgary again, hoping that maybe one of the Great Gray Owls might just be seen. When I arrived, a car was pulled over at the side of the road and the occupants were photographing an owl. It was hidden from my view by a group of bushes and I only saw it when it flew over to the distant trees. This particular photo was taken a bit later, after watching the owl hunt for a while. I am sure I would never have spotted the owl in this setting, as it was a long way away and the owl blended in with its surroundings. I hadn't been sure whether to do such a long drive that day (roughly 250 km round trip) as the weather forecast wasn't exactly the best. Just after I left home, a few snowflakes fell for maybe five minutes, but not enough to settle. When I got closer to my destination, the roads were snow-covered and not very pleasant to drive on. However, I'm glad I did decide to go, as I did get to see this owl on several different trees while it hunted. Eventually, it flew off into the forest and didn't return. "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl Last night, we had some proper snow - March does tend to be the snowiest month here. The temperature is -1C early this afternoon and the sun is trying to burst through the overcast sky.

I did post a similar photo of this Snowy Owl earler this year, with the head turned in a different direction. I still haven't driven myself east of the city to look for Snowies, though I have seen a few very, very distant ones this winter. This photo was taken on 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 that day 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

This photo makes it look as if this Northern Hawk Owl was right in front of me, but the EXIF data shows Focal Length (35mm format) - 1050 mm. Actually, I don't even remember the owl flying in our direction and landing on a branch out in the open like this, but it obviously did. This owl gave us a few occasions of being seen, but has not been reported for maybe a month now. It had 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 one on 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. It was like a spring day that day, sunny, pleasant and not cold. I really wanted to get over there before we got 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 fairly close to the road just before I arrived, but had now disappeared way across a huge field. "You just missed it!" - 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