Just for the record

I already had lots of much better images than this of a Northern Pygmy Owl, so I am posting this new one just for my records. Feeling totally lethargic after Christmas Day and Boxing Day, I finally made myself go to Fish Creek Park yesterday afternoon, 27 December 2014. A few people had been seeing a fist-sized or popcan-sized Northern Pygmy Owl recently and so I thought I'd go and see if anyone else was there and if they had found this tiny owl. In fact, there were two people there who were looking at the owl, perched way in the distance near the top of a very tall coniferous tree. It flew to another tall coniferous and to a tall, dead tree. The word "tall" is never a good word when it comes to searching for one of these tiny owls, lol. However, I was just thrilled to bits to see it at all. I think my first photos of this owl species were taken on 6 December 2007,

At one point, the owl flew off and disappeared. We started walking in the rough direction that we thought it might have flown and stopped in our tracks when we heard a Pileated Woodpecker in the area. Thinking that maybe it had been harassed or annoyed by the owl's presence, we went to look for the Woodpecker. It flew to a tall, dead tree and after a few minutes, made its way round the back of the tree and out of sight. There were several holes in the back and there it was, hiding inside one of them, peering out at regular intervals. Such a treat to see, even if from afar.

A word of warning about the paths yesterday - they were absolutely treacherous. I was wearing good ice grabbers on my winter boots and they did absolutely nothing. They simply slid over the remaining ice that had been covered with a light dusting of snow. It snowed here again last night and is still snowing.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_pygmy_owl

"Fish Creek Park is a provincial park located in the southern part of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is one of the largest urban parks in North America, stretching 19 km (12 mi) from east to west. At 13.48 km2 (5.20 sq mi), it is over three times the size of Vancouver's Stanley Park.

The growth of Calgary has left the park bordered on all sides by the city. It is also bordered on the west by the territory of the Tsuu T’ina Nation (Sarcee), a First Nation.

The Bow River as well as the Fish Creek pass through the park, which used to span the width of the city but because of growth the city has surpassed the edges of the park." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_Creek_Provincial_Park