A backwards glance

I'm still returning to my recent archives to find "new" photos to post of this tiny Northern Pygmy-owl. I think I've posted most of my better shots of him/her, but still have various others that I want to add to my album. I haven't been down to the park for maybe three weeks, and I haven't heard any reports of the owls being seen in that time, or seen any very recent photos, so I suspect the owls have left the park and flown to higher elevations to nest.

This photo was taken on 11 January 2015 (8 days after my oldest daughter passed away), when I called in at Fish Creek Park for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two for much-needed company. I was lucky with both. It was a Sunday and a lot of photographers had gathered to watch and photograph this tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl. There had been a segment on the TV NEWS about this owl, which brought out a lot of people.

I was impressed that all the photographers were very respectful of this tiny owl. Mind you, that day, apart from a couple of very brief, low landings in bushes (seen in this photo), the tiny owl stayed perched extremely high in very tall trees. Thankfully, it was still within my camera reach and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places. Bright blue sky completed the picture that day.

"The Northern Pygmy-Owl may be tiny, but it’s a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads, and piercing yellow eyes. They hunt during the day by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, songbirds often gather to mob sitting owls until they fly away. Mobbing songbirds can help you find these unobtrusive owls, as can listening for their call, a high-pitched series of toots." From AllAboutBirds.

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

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_pygmy_owl