Owls 3

This little (actually, not so little!) ball of fluff was 45 days old when I photographed it on 20 July 2014. Lol, a face that perhaps only a mother could love? I have added a previously posted close-up photo of the owl's face in a comment box below. We don't have Barn Owls in the wild in Alberta, but this was seen at an exhibit. That day, I plucked up courage to do a drive that I’d never done before. I had been that route once before that I can think of, when I carpooled with others. A good part of the drive was in familiar territory, but I’d never driven the last part of the journey myself. I had met my youngest daughter at 9:00 a.m. and we were both eager to see a display of birds of prey that had been brought up from the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre. This year, there were fewer birds, but it was great to see any at all. There was a Burrowing Owl, a Barn Owl, a Great Horned Owl, and a Golden Eagle. Another real treat that was an amusing one, was seeing this baby Barn Owl that was just 45 days old! This little ball of fluff was acting as a great ambassador, letting young kids get a close view and ask questions, and fall in love with it – and to hopefully, in the future, do everything they can as adults to protect our precious wildlife. The enjoyment of seeing these birds up close reminds one that the reason these birds are not free to live in the wild, is because of some kind of interaction with humans – such as permanent injuries from being hit by a vehicle, pesticide use, or even worse, being shot by a human! This is what happened to “Spirit”, the magnificent Golden Eagle, shot and blinded by someone. This exhibit was our first destination in the park, though on the drive from Calgary, we had stopped at the small McDougall Church at Morley (photos posted the last two days). After seeing and photographing the birds of prey, we then drove to Middle Lake that’s in a different part of the park. We walked the very short distance to the edge of the lake, but didn't walk around it. From there, we drove to Many Springs Trail and did a very slow walk around the lake, stopping to look at different wildflowers and photograph a few butterflies. Certain wildflowers were already finished, including various Orchid species, but there were still plenty of other species to see and enjoy. Even the weather cooperated, though the forecast had been for isolated showers. Not too hot, nice clouds in the sky and lovely to have my daughter’s company for the day. Thanks so much to the people down at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre (near Lethbridge, down towards the Canada/US border) for bringing your gorgeous birds of prey for us to see! I have been south to the Centre three times I think, and always long to go back again, but it's not somewhere I can drive to, so this was a much-appreciated treat! Posting really late again today - early afternoon.

Towards the end of last year, I had been longing to get out to look for Snowy Owls, especially to the E and NE of the city. I finally got out, after my youngest daughter asked if I wanted to go looking for Snowies on our Christmas get-together on 20 December 2014. She had never seen a Snowy Owl, so I was really, really hoping that we'd find one! As it turned out, we saw 10 definite individuals, plus two others that we weren't quite sure about - one certainly looked like a very distant Snowy and the other was possibly a repeat of an owl we had seen earlier in more or less the same area. Part way through the day, almost as if it were meant to happen, a car came from the opposite direction - it was my friends, Cathy and Terry! For the rest of our trip, we followed behind them, thoroughly enjoying every new find. Late afternoon, we went home different ways and my daughter and I saw our last two owls. My daughter was so thrilled to see all these breathtaking birds - she was quite happy and content after seeing the very first, distant one. Three of the owls gave us close or reasonably close views, the rest were very distant. The owl in this photo is either a female or young one, as it has so much dark streaking. It was the very last owl that we saw that day. After these wonderful sightings, we returned to Calgary and went back to my daughter's place to exchange Christmas gifts. I reckon the Snowy Owls were the "best" gifts she received that day : ) www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/snowy_owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_owl

This photo was taken on 3 February, when I called in at Fish Creek Park again for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two. I was lucky with both - some of the time there were just the three of us, watching and photographing this tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl (uncommon in Alberta). It gave us a few good views, including when it flew down to the bushes right in font of us (love it when that happens!). This photo shows how focused the tiny owl is when it's hunting. The EXIF data for this photo gives Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm. There had just been quite a few days that there had been no sign of the owl, so I always feel very fortunate if it appears when I am there. "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 It's a fairly sunny morning today, temperature 5C (windchill 1C). I'm without a vehicle for the day (actually, just heard that they need to keep it in for tomorrow, too), as it is in for repairs. The driver's door and the front passenger door both need new locks (wow, expensive!). Hmm, I wonder if having to use lock de-icer plays any part in that. Was also due for a timing belt replacement. Add an oil change to all that and the final cost is grim. So much for not wanting to put any/much money into my 16-year-old car! Flickr views have been stuck all morning (not just mine) - hopefully, they will get this fixed soon. People have been losing a huge number of views.

"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 These owls also have a taste for Meadow Voles and during the past few weeks, photographers have seen this bird catch numerous Voles, including this unlucky little one, seen on 23 February 2015. This particular day was very quiet while I was there, with not much owl activity at all. We just lucked out when it caught this Meadow Vole.

On 22 February 2015, we got another chance to see the tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl in Fish Creek Park. When I arrived, it was perched in a smallish tree, but within a very short time, it suddenly flew down to where we were standing, maybe six feet away from my feet. You can see the little Meadow Vole it caught, in this photo. Have to smile at the look on this little female's face. Not sure who was more surprised, the owl or the photographers - or the Meadow Vole! "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.

If this was a nesting cavity, I would not be posting this photo. However, it is one of the tree cavities used for stashing Meadow Voles that have been caught. The owls eat the rodent's brains and then stash the rest of their prey in cavities - or sometimes draped over a branch. Several years ago, a lot of us witnessed similar behaviour from a pair of these owls - who knows if it's the same pair or different ones. People were hoping that they would nest and have young ones. However, one day, they suddenly disappeared. I believe I'm right when I say that these tiny birds of prey don't nest in Calgary. It would be a good thing if they don't nest here, as many people would want to watch them raise their young. This photo was taken on 24 February 2015. I had called in again at Fish Creek Park to see if anyone had been able to find the tiny, popcan-sized 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 a perched on a fence post shot, and both owls very briefly sitting on a branch for just a few seconds, side by side. Unfortunately, I was standing the "wrong" side of the tree, so only saw them from behind. Luckily, the female did turn her head for just a moment. There is quite an obvious difference in colour with this pair, with the male being a more rusty colour, and he's smaller than the female. There were long periods of waiting in between the various bits of activity, so one needs a huge amount of patience : ) "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...

This photo was taken on 12 February 2015, which was spent SE of the city, with friends Cathy and Terry. They picked me up around 7:00 am and I think I was home somewhere around 7:30 pm, after a great day of searching for owls, barns, and anything else that caught our eye. The weather was beautiful. The temperature reached a brief high of 13C around 1:00 and 2:00 pm, which felt so good, especially for mid-winter. There was an unusual layer of white haze along the foot of the mountains for much of the day. Many of the roads we travelled along were roads that I had driven on myself, some of them a number of times. A few of the roads were new to me, which was a treat, including a "trail" that was so deeply rutted and snow-covered that I'm amazed that we ever got out of there! This track and another backroad that was new to me led to a few old barns that I really appreciated being shown. I think my friends were amused that I fell asleep on this very rough track - after only an hour and a half's sleep the previous night, on top of always being very sleep-deprived, I'm really not surprised. It's strange how some fields in the whole area were more or less bare and yet others had a lot of snow covering the stubble, with piles of snow lining the edges of the road. As far as wildlife was concerned, we saw 11 owls - 8 Snowy Owls and 3 Great Horned Owls. The Snowies, other than the one perched on a "Wrong Way" sign in the dark, were all extremely distant, so my photos are of white specks in a nice setting, ha. If I hadn't been with two people who can spot "everything", I'm sure that I would never have found most of these owls! This photo was taken at 48x, focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm. We had to deal with a lot of heat distortion during the day, so some photos are far from sharp. Other birds included a flock of Snow Buntings, plus two individuals that were perched on a fence. Another bird we saw was a beautiful Falcon perched on an electricity pylon - not a large bird, so presumably a Prairie Falcon, not a Gyrfalcon. Also a group of Grey Partridge that suddenly flew before we had noticed them. Many thanks, as always, Cathy and Terry, for a great day out, including the delicious chili you made and brought along. A fun and rewarding day! Really appreciated being with you, doing what we all enjoy so much. Thanks, too, for giving me time to photograph the various barns we came across!

This photo was taken on 11 January 2015, when I called in at Fish Creek Park again for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two. I was lucky with both. It was a Sunday and a lot of photographers had gathered to watch and photograph this tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl. I was impressed that all the photographers were very respectful of this tiny owl. That day, apart from a couple of very brief, low landings in bushes, the tiny owl stayed perched extremely high in tall trees. Thankfully, it was still within my camera reach and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places. Bright blue sky completed the picture. In this photo, we were treated to a short preening session that resulted in a temporarily puffed ball of feathers. "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

A couple of mornings ago, on 10 March 2015, I went on a birding walk with friends at Mallard Point in Fish Creek Park. As usual these days, I did most of the walk, but not quite to the furthest destination, so of course I missed a few bird species. Sad to again see all the damage caused by the last devastating flood. This bridge over the Bow River has been repaired, so we were able to cross the river and walk southwards. Every year, I tell myself that I must photograph more of the water fowl, as most of my photos are quite old. Each year, I don't seem to do it. It was sunny and calm during the almost three-hour walk, with a temperature of 2C to 11C. After the walk, I called in to see one of the Great Horned Owls in Fish Creek Park. I had heard about it and thought I knew which tall tree it was in. In fact I had called in recently, but could see no sign of it. This time, it took me a little while, but, just as I was about to give up, I found the female. All you can see is her head or part of it, depending on which way she is sitting.