Northern Pygmy-owl

Talk about being on a natural high right now!!! Though we had already seen one of these tiny, popcan-sized owls in Fish Creek Park on two occasions this fall, today was the first time to get a better look at it. This is a heavily cropped image, by the way! Rare to uncommon in Calgary, they have been seen in this park the last few years. I think it was three (?) winters ago, 3-4 of these tiny owls provided birders and photographers with many hours of pure delight and awe : ) They are such attractive little guys. A short while earlier, I was with friends and had seen this owl swoop down and catch a little Meadow Vole for lunch, hence its blood-stained beak. I'll have to check my photos and see if I managed to get a shot of this that is fit to be posted, ha. On our walk back to the parking lot, I couldn't stand it any longer - I just HAD to go back to the location to see if the owl was still there, LOL. That's when I got this shot. By the way, I did "remove" a very thin twig that just overlapped the owl's side. There is nothing that could compare to a natural high like this!! I've been SO lucky this week, what with the rare Long-eared Owl on 7th November and now today's little owl. "This tiny owl of western North America may be found in the southern boreal forest and adjacent foothills and mountains of west-central Alberta. Heavy coniferous forests or mixed forests dominated by conifers where there are nearby meadows or other clearings are the preferred habitat for this diminutive owl. Primarily a daytime feeder, this fierce little owl will take prey much larger than itself, including many birds and rodents. A pair of Northern Pygmy-Owls seeks out an abandoned hairy woodpecker or flicker cavity in which to lay their three to six white eggs. After a 28-day incubation, the owlets spend another 27 or 28 days in the nest cavity before they are ready for their first flight." From talkaboutwildlife. There are also four of my older photos of a Northern Pygmy-owl on the talkaboutwildlife page. talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/?s=164

One of the highlights of a walk this morning was this tiny Northern Pygmy-owl. It is the size of a popcan and is rare to uncommon year-round in Alberta. It was perched in a tree with a million small branches (of course!), so no uncluttered photos. Three of us witnessed something that I hadn't seen before - twice when a Chickadee was heard nearby, the owl compressed its round, fluffy body and it became long and slender and nowhere near as cute. Facial details also changed completely, as can be seen in my next photo. White eyebrows appeared and even small ear-tufts. We were also very lucky to see an American Three-toed Woodpecker in the same park.

One of the highlights of a walk this morning was this tiny Northern Pygmy-owl. It is the size of a popcan and is rare to uncommon year-round in Alberta. Perched in a tree with a million small branches (of course!), so no uncluttered photos. Three of us witnessed something that I hadn't seen before - twice when a Chickadee was heard nearby, the owl compressed its round, fluffy body (seen in the previous photo) and it became long and slender and nowhere near as cute. Facial details also changed completely, as can be seen in this photo. White eyebrows appeared and even small ear-tufts. "Despite their small size, Northern Pygmy Owls are quite fierce, and will attack prey or drive off intruders several times their own size. When one of these owls is threatened, it will puff up its feathers and spread its tail to make itself look larger. When hiding, it tries to look thin, faces the danger, and closes its eyes into slits." From OwlPages.com. Thanks, Tanya, for sending me the link. Believe it or not, I had checked that website, skimming the page, but obviously missed the important line or two!! I thought this was the reason, as I know the Long-eared Owl, too, puffs up or compresses, depending on the situation. I guess this poor guy/gal didn't want to be mobbed by Chickadees and so tried to look like a branch! Even a Hairy Woodpecker flew to this tree to a nearby branch and there were about six Chickadees annoying the owl.

I went back to Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, yesterday afternoon. Found the rare Black-backed Woodpecker again immediately (also again today). Then I walked back towards the parking lot to photograph a group of five Mule Deer. Noticed two gentlemen with their enormous lenses focussed on "something". They said they had found a tiny Northern Pygmy-owl. These owls are rare to uncommon year-round in Alberta. Think I've only ever seen one twice in the city and once in the mountains. They can be mobbed by little songbirds and the owls have a pair of "false eyes" on the back of their head to help intimidate these songbirds, such as Chickadees. Though Pygmy-owls are small, they are fierce and often catch birds that outweigh themselves. They usually feed at night, but we did see this little guy swoop a few times this afternoon. They are such cute little owls to look at! Only 18 cm long and about the size of a person's fist or a popcan. I'm surprised that any of my photos came out as the sky was clouding over and I was looking into the trees. Extremely "noisy" shots and well cropped, but I'm still so happy to have them!

Another photo of the gorgeous, little, rare to uncommon Northern Pygmy-owl that was seen at Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park a few days ago. Why do trees have to have such a tangle of tiny twigs?

Another photo of the rare to uncommon tiny Northern Pygmy-owl that I was lucky enough to photograph on Tuesday around noon. Sorry, but I will probably end up posting a number of photos of this fascinating and beautifully detailed little owl. Absolutely priceless! Note the heart pattern on its breast, specially for Valentine's Day today!

This rare, tiny Northern Pygmy-owl (the size of a popcan) was nothing more than a small, dark blob perched on a very high branch in the woods of Fish Creek Park this overcast morning. The miracle of PhotoShop (in my very inexperienced and rather unwilling hand) has allowed me to crop and lighten, etc. this image until it was recognizable, LOL! Still a crummy photo, but I wanted to share this amazing little owl. Last winter in Fish Creek Park, there were either two or three of these rare owls and my photos of them were somewhat better than this one.

I was so lucky this morning to see two Northern Pygmy-owls (rare to uncommon), one at each of two different locations in the park. I started out with my usual group, but ended up staying at the second location with several photographers that I had met up with. The birds were high up and quite a distance away, but I am posting my photos because the two birds are in different surroundings compared to various previous images of these teeny owls. Remember that they are only the size of a popcan, so when they are far away, that blob of brown is VERY small, LOL! Often, I can't really even see which way the bird is facing, so it is rather hit and miss as far as photos are concerned. In this photo, a blurry Northern Pygmy-owl has just swooped down low to catch its prey. I suspect that my camera focussed more on that blade of grass that just happened to end up being in front of the flying bird : )

We had such a wonderfully mild day today, with gorgeous blue sky. Took myself off to the park for a Family Day walk and was thrilled when I found one, and then a second, of the teeny Northern Pygmy-owls again, just a few minutes into my walk! After a short walk, I retraced some of my steps, passed a couple with a camera and asked if they had seen the owl. They told me to go and join a small group of people who were looking at it. This time, one of the owls was perched high up in tree. After a lot of watching and waiting, it suddenly swooped down near us, scooped up a tiny Meadow Vole and perched on a nearby fence post. It stayed a short while and then off it flew. I was shooting right into the sun and my few photos came out so pale, it almost looked like there was no image there. A bit of gamma brought out the picture, but it's very poor quality. Thought you might like to see it with its catch, though. I need to compare various photos, as I think that one of the owls (the female?) has a more orangy bill. I can't believe how lucky I have been this week - one treat after another.