Burrowing Owl

I happened to come across this photo of a little Burrowing Owl that I hadn't posted, so thought I'd upload today. It was taken on 23rd May 2009 at the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge, Southern Alberta. A delightful place to visit, and they do such a great job of rescuing and, whenever possible, releasing injured birds of prey. Those, whose injuries are too severe for them to be released back into the wild, remain at the Centre to educate children and adults. Such a thrill to see these birds up close.

This Centre is "Canada’s largest birds of prey facility. Situated on a 70-acre wetland area site, the centre is a celebration of nature featuring the hawks, falcons, eagles and owls of Alberta. Throughout the site and along the pathways, a number of birds of prey are sitting on their perches only feet away from visitors. These birds are all in various stages of training and receive lots of exercise in the daily flying programs. At the centre, they have one of North America's largest captive breeding populations for the endangered Burrowing Owl."

www.burrowingowl.com/

It rained a lot overnight and, so far, the day is overcast and lightless. Rain on and off today. I cancelled plans to go forest exploring ... sigh. Temperatures soared to a balmy 8C today and possible snow/frost are in the forecast for later this week. Oh, no : (