Weaselhead

A friend took me looking for Ruffed Grouse this summer and this time we witnessed this male Ruffed Grouse doing his drumming courtship display on a log in a wooded area of Calgary. The drumming sound, made by beating the air with its wings, feels as if it is vibrating through your body. Sounds very much like a motor starting up. Males and females look similar. Thanks, David, as always!

I happened to walk through a wooded area where I had previously seen a pair of Great Horned Owls, when this youngster flew into a tree near me. Its parents stayed close by, and the baby seemed quite curious by my presence, giving me plenty of opportunity to photograph it. Such a spectacular bird - and those EYES!

Watched as this baby Great Horned Owl practiced its flying down in the Weaselhead natural area. Both adults were perched in nearby trees. Just the cutest thing!

This beautiful Mourning Cloak Butterfly was resting and warming up on what appeared to be a popular "warming branch", conveniently below eye level. Its wings act as solar collectors, warming the blood in the wing veins.

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This is one of the moths that we saw on a night time Moth Walk. Tree trunks were "painted" with a mixture of something like brown sugar, rum and whisky, which attracted the moths.

I happened to turn my head whilst talking to someone on a winter walk and found myself looking into the big round eyes of this tiny owl sitting on a nearby branch. Had to wipe the ice off my camera lens in order to try and get any photos. They are very poor quality but this is the only Northern Saw-whet Owl that I have ever seen. I believe the highest this photo got on Explore was #119 on 11th November 2006. Thanks, everyone!

This is a huge park in Calgary, stretching west from the western end of the Glenmore Reservoir.