Great Gray Owl

This is one of the Great Gray Owls in the aviary at the Calgary Zoo, and she has recently had two adorable babies. These owls are rare to uncommon year-round in Alberta. I have seen several in the wild, but nowhere near this close.

This gorgeous Great Grey Owl sat out in the open on a tall, thin, dead tree branch/trunk when I visited the Calgary Zoo a week ago. It proceeded to preen itself, which was interesting to witness. It is such an amazing feeling to have these Owls flying or perched just a matter of feet away, with nothing between them and you.

As you can tell by the lush green surroundings, this is not a new photo, but one that I took back in June : ) I tend to post closer shots than this, but I thought it was kind of nice to see a bit of the area which this Great Gray Owl called/calls "home". This fence and post were right by the road : ) The only thing of interest for this Owl was watching intensely for "food" - not a bit concerned that I was there.

This gorgeous Great Gray Owl was perched just above one of the massive, iron gates that leads into the Owl aviary at the Calgary Zoo. As each Zoo visitor opened the gate and entered the aviary, this owl would turn its head and peer downwards, watching all the movement. I really like the feather pattern around those amazing, piercing eyes. No matter how many times I see these owls, I am always in complete awe when I am lucky enough to be standing so close with nothing between the two of us. This species of owl tends to be quite approachable in the wild in Alberta. It is the largest owl in Alberta, but the Snowy Owl and Great Horned Owls are heavier.

LOL, these Great Gray Owls look so serious! This photo was taken on 27th June - passed that way yesterday morning, but there was no sign of him/her. This amazing owl wasnt interested in us at all - just sat there and watched and listened intently, practically the whole time. It also flew off into the wooded area in the background and occasionally would be seen flying along the outside edge of the trees. Thought the barbed-wire was kind of interesting, too : )

One of the large Great Grey Owls in the aviary at the Calgary Zoo. Sometimes, they can be sitting 8' or 10' away from you, with nothing between them and you. Quite a feeling looking into those small, piercing eyes. I think I counted four of these Owls - along with a Barred Owl and a rescued Snowy Owl.

I was thrilled to bits to see Mom and her two babies at the Calgary Zoo a few days ago. These Great Gray Owls live in one of the aviaries at the Zoo - one of my favourite places to be, as there is a tiny path through the area and there are no fences between you and the owls. This pair of Great Grays nested on this rocky ledge just a few feet away from the path, but behind a couple of trees. There is an opening that you can see through, though the lighting is atrocious for taking photos. These babies are absolutely adorable - they have SO much character, as do all young creatures : ). I'll post a closer photo of just one of the little ones soon. I have seen a few Great Gray Owls in the wild, but I only have distant, poor quality photos of them. It's amazing to see these captive owls up so close.

Bumped into Flickr friend, Ron, yesterday evening, along one of the gravelly side roads southwest of the city. He was just heading out to the area where we had both seen a Great Gray Owl previously, so I followed him back to where I had been maybe an hour or two earlier. This time, this magnificent owl was perched on a fence post in glorious evening light! So amazing to see and watch this large bird of prey! Hope s/he doesn't eat any of the baby Mountain Bluebirds that I found down in the grass just along the road! (Note to self: this image was included in the book, "Owls of the World; a Photographic Guide", by Heimo Mikkola.)

Two days ago, I visited the Calgary Zoo and, as always, headed for the aviaries. This Great Gray Owl was perched in a tree by the path through the aviary, just a few feet away from me, with nothing between it and me. I have taken a handful of photos of these owls in the wild, but never had a chance to get this close. I love being able to see the fine detail in the Zoo owls. Those small, piercing eyes never miss a thing!