Continuing the hunt
Better than nothing - this is NOT my main photo!
Snowy Owl along the fenceline
Always glad to see a Snowy
A most welcome find
Snowy Owl number 5
Two male Snowy Owls in the same field
You never know where you'll see a Snowy Owl
Male Snowy Owl
Male Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl 1st year male, Snowy Owl Prowl 2019
Snowy Owl male, Snowy Owl Prowl 2019
Snowy Owl 1st year male, Snowy Owl Prowl 2019
That owl is watching me
Snowy Owl harassed by Snow Buntings
Tropical Birdland (36) - 7 September 2016
Tropical Birdland (35) - 7 September 2016
Tropical Birdland (34) - 7 September 2016
Tropical Birdland (33) - 7 September 2016
One of my few Snowy Owls of 2016
Snowy Owl - just close enough
One of yesterday's Snowy Owls
High wire act
On a bitterly cold, hoar frosty day
The only one
So far away, but better than nothing
Beware!
A different pose
Snowy Owl with mountain bokeh
Snowy Owl and pellet
On a cold and windy day
Making sure we go the right way
Touched by the sun
The challenge of photographing Snowy Owls
On the way to pure whiteness
So beautiful
White against blue
My Christmas present to my daughter : )
The day before Christmas
Some white patches have eyes : )
Is it a Snowy? ... no, it isn't ... yes, it is!
Just for my records
A beautiful setting
Always a thrill
The long and the short of it : )
Snowy Owl
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185 visits
Snowy Owl in rehab
![Snowy Owl in rehab Snowy Owl in rehab](https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/10/60/44131060.04f1a815.640.jpg?r2)
![](https://s.ipernity.com/T/L/z.gif)
This morning, 10 January 2017 (already!), the temperature is -19C (windchill -26C), an improvement on our recent deep-freeze weather. Three more days, and the forecast is for a few days above freezing, +2 to +4, which will be amazing if it actually happens. I'll be able to come out of hibernation!
This particular bird resides at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale, southern Alberta, a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures,and Golden Eagles. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, educating the public away from the Centre. I'm not sure if this Snowy Owl was a permanent resident or there because of a temporary injury.
"The regal Snowy Owl is one of the few birds that can get even non-birders to come out for a look. This largest (by weight) North American owl shows up irregularly in winter to hunt in windswept fields or dunes, a pale shape with catlike yellow eyes. They spend summers far north of the Arctic Circle hunting lemmings, ptarmigan, and other prey in 24-hour daylight. In years of lemming population booms they can raise double or triple the usual number of young." From Cornell's AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Owl/lifehistory
I have only been out looking for Snowy Owls once this winter, when I found two rather distant ones. I didn't get out much last winter, 2015/2016, either. Same with the Short-eared Owls - and hopefully all the photographers won't cause them to move further away or disappear before I get a chance to get out to look for them.
It had been a few years since my last visit there - I've been maybe three or four times - and I had been longing to go back. Much too far and all new driving territory for me to even think about driving there myself. However, on 9 September 2016, that is exactly what I did.
I knew it would be a long day and further than I would normally drive - and in a brand new car that I was still learning to drive! It didn't look or feel quite as new after travelling 481 km! Only got lost twice, one minor and the other major. Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere down south and I ended up in the city of Lethbridge, that I had very carefully planned to avoid. After three and three-quarter hours, I finally arrived, to my huge relief.
Despite getting there later than I had hoped, I still had plenty of time to wander round the grounds and photograph the various raptors. Some were tethered out in a couple of grassy areas and others were in outdoor cages. Wonderful to get such a close look at the various majestic birds.
I took a slightly different way home via #845 (?) making absolutely sure that I didn't accidentally find myself in Lethbridge again and it wasn't too long before I found myself in the area that I had driven a few weeks before, when I went SW of Vulcan to look for Common Nighthawks (without any luck). Just so happy that I finally made myself do this drive. When I Googled the Centre's website, I had discovered that they were closing two days later for the winter. So, it was either a case of going when I did or not at all till next May onward.
The very next day, 10 September 2016, I took my daughter on a long drive in Kananaskis. This was yet another place that I had longed to be able to drive for many years - and finally I did it! I had been lots of times with various friends, but this was the very first time I had ever driven myself.
This particular bird resides at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale, southern Alberta, a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures,and Golden Eagles. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, educating the public away from the Centre. I'm not sure if this Snowy Owl was a permanent resident or there because of a temporary injury.
"The regal Snowy Owl is one of the few birds that can get even non-birders to come out for a look. This largest (by weight) North American owl shows up irregularly in winter to hunt in windswept fields or dunes, a pale shape with catlike yellow eyes. They spend summers far north of the Arctic Circle hunting lemmings, ptarmigan, and other prey in 24-hour daylight. In years of lemming population booms they can raise double or triple the usual number of young." From Cornell's AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Owl/lifehistory
I have only been out looking for Snowy Owls once this winter, when I found two rather distant ones. I didn't get out much last winter, 2015/2016, either. Same with the Short-eared Owls - and hopefully all the photographers won't cause them to move further away or disappear before I get a chance to get out to look for them.
It had been a few years since my last visit there - I've been maybe three or four times - and I had been longing to go back. Much too far and all new driving territory for me to even think about driving there myself. However, on 9 September 2016, that is exactly what I did.
I knew it would be a long day and further than I would normally drive - and in a brand new car that I was still learning to drive! It didn't look or feel quite as new after travelling 481 km! Only got lost twice, one minor and the other major. Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere down south and I ended up in the city of Lethbridge, that I had very carefully planned to avoid. After three and three-quarter hours, I finally arrived, to my huge relief.
Despite getting there later than I had hoped, I still had plenty of time to wander round the grounds and photograph the various raptors. Some were tethered out in a couple of grassy areas and others were in outdoor cages. Wonderful to get such a close look at the various majestic birds.
I took a slightly different way home via #845 (?) making absolutely sure that I didn't accidentally find myself in Lethbridge again and it wasn't too long before I found myself in the area that I had driven a few weeks before, when I went SW of Vulcan to look for Common Nighthawks (without any luck). Just so happy that I finally made myself do this drive. When I Googled the Centre's website, I had discovered that they were closing two days later for the winter. So, it was either a case of going when I did or not at all till next May onward.
The very next day, 10 September 2016, I took my daughter on a long drive in Kananaskis. This was yet another place that I had longed to be able to drive for many years - and finally I did it! I had been lots of times with various friends, but this was the very first time I had ever driven myself.
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