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1/160 f/4.0 108.0 mm ISO 100

Panasonic DMC-FZ200

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Keywords

nature
Excellence
AvianExcellence
Strix
Strix nebulosa
Strigidae
Great Grey Owl
Strigiformes
Great Gray Owl
NW of Calgary
very large owl
Alberta
Canada
birds
bird
bird of prey
owl
ornithology
evening light
fence post
perched
talons
avian
leaning forward


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Changing positions

Changing positions
This beautiful Great Gray Owl was a little different from most of the Great Grays that I see. Somehow, its eyes didn't seem as vibrantly yellow - no idea if this could be an age thing. I wondered if it might be one of last year's young ones, also because it didn't seem quite as "relaxed" as Great Grays tend to be. It seemed to be a little more curious, perhaps. I had spent a long time trying to spot one of these magnificent birds of prey on 5 May 2013, and had just given up, trying not to feel too disappointed (yeah, right!) at seeing nothing but a Raven and a Killdeer on my long drive. Two minutes later, I rounded a bend in the road and caught sight of this owl perched on a fence post way ahead of me. Amazing how the sight of one of the large owls changes ones emotions in a split second : ) It stayed perched there for quite a while, at one point getting into this pose, which made my heart miss a beat. There's just something about when an owl is looking right at you and does this - maybe it's the size of those very powerful talons, lol? It often means that the owl is about to fly, but this time it just straightened itself up. It eventually flew over to my side of the road and moved to a couple of trees. Thank you, Owl, for making my day!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/id

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