Got my eyes on you
Without its camouflage
Food for his babies
An over-the-shoulder glance
Purple Rain
One of my favourite birds to photograph
I think he caught a beautiful Tiger Moth : )
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel
Upland Sandpiper
A favourite bird to photograph
The cutest little furball
A brief moment of rest
The colours of fall
Light-coloured Pika
It's that little guy (gal) again
Sweet little thing
Bees, bees, and more bees
Joy for a deep-freeze day
It's those white birds again
Skull on a fence post
Little country school with company
Hanging on
Made my day : )
Mom and her babies
I LOVE Canola
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
An old grain elevator with character
Friendly visitor
Finally, the search is over
Snowy Owl - just close enough
Northern Pygmy-owl, one year ago
'Superman, where are you now?'
Wearing a heavy coat of hoar frost
Rough-legged Hawk
Emerald Lake
Winter wonderland with a bonus
One of yesterday's treats
Snow in the forecast - need colour
Follow the fence line
Ready to trap an unwary insect
A foggy, frosty sunrise
Frosted Cattails
Great Gray Owl in early morning light
Cute as always
The whites and blues of winter
Wonder what she's thinking
Julia Heliconian / Dryas iulia
Eurasian Lynx
Pretty in pink
Thank you for the pose
Maskinonge Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park
Blue and Brown Clipper / Parthenos sylvia
A view at Marsland Basin
Wood Nymph sp.
Emerald waters
European Skipper on Red Clover
White-tailed Deer at Akamina Lake, Waterton
Canoes at Cameron Lake, Waterton
Spread those wings
One of my favourites to photograph
Three days in Waterton Lakes National Park
A snack that is sure to tickle
Bleeding hearts
Glorious splash of colour
Puffed up for warmth
Himalayan Blue Poppy
Brewer's Blackbird
Grebes with the red "button" eyes
Little more than black silhouettes
How sweet is this?
The finest of feathers
Eyes like Licorice Allsorts
Close watch
Northern Pygmy-owl with snack
Tiny predator with prey
Irresistibly cute
A ferocious hunter, popcan-size
Looking for its next meal
A place of peace and beauty
Walking in a winter wonderland
Free car wash, anyone?
Yes, it's the little white guy again
The Hoodoo Trail, near Drumheller
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Love his glassy eyes
Seedpod of the Sacred Lotus
Female Taveta Golden Weaver
A sign of autumn
White Black Bear
Perfect gills
The Hoodoo Trail
See also...
See more...Keywords
Authorizations, license
-
Visible by: Everyone -
All rights reserved
-
290 visits
Great Gray Owl with its catch
Will be SO glad when Flickr finally fixes the "add to albums" problem and also the mess that Stats is in and has been in for a while! Finding it a bit hard to find motivation to post at the moment - plus I've been having to replace too many household appliances the last couple of months, which I don't really enjoy having to do. Thank heavens for owls and mild weather!
Not a good quality image, but I thought it gives an idea of what we sometimes see a Great Gray Owl do. It all happened so fast and I wasn't expecting this owl to suddenly swoop down this close to us. Mind you, EXIF data gives Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm, as my camera had been fully zoomed for very distant shots. Unfortunately, the little Meadow Vole's colouring is exactly the same as that of the owl., so it barely shows up - its head is right next to the owl's bill. So many of these little Voles give up their lives to feeding animals higher up on the food chain.
My alarm clocks were set for 5:30 seven mornings ago, 28 February 2016, and I was full of hope that for once, I would actually get out of the house good and early. I have such a problem getting myself out very early when I go off for a drive by myself. I think it was something like 8:30 am by the time I dragged myself off the computer and out the front door. To my horror, I discovered that my car door locks had frozen shut and my car was totally covered in a thick layer of extremely stubborn ice, that took me a long time to remove. Half an hour or so later, I was finally ready to start on my trip NW of the city.
It had been quite a long time since I saw my last Great Gray Owl. Some of my most recent sightings had been one that was in Fish Creek Park in Calgary for a while and my last photos of it were taken on 18 February 2014. There was also a Great Gray at Griffith Woods, Calgary, and some of my photos were taken on 10 February 2014. Saw another owl on our May Species Count out of the city on 25 May 2014. Many of my 'best' sightings and photos of Great Grays were taken NW of Calgary, the last dates being 28 March 2013 and 5 May 2013. So, after 25 May 2014 .... nothing! Seeing one four days ago was such a thrill. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken, each owl is as exciting as the very first.
"Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl
When I first reached my approximate destination, I could see two or three cars way down the road, pulled over at the edge of the road. Often a good sign : ) Sure enough, friends had found an owl, It was on a distant barbed-wire fence post at first, then dove into the snow to try and catch a Meadow Vole. It then flew off into the trees with it and didn't return.
After a while, I drove some of the other roads in the area and later drove back to where the owl had been seen. Amazingly, assuming it was the same individual, it was in a distant tree, from where it hunted, moving to a different tree each time it made an unsuccesful dive. Eventually, it did catch a Vole. I left after a while, feeling that it was time to leave the owl 'in peace', and also knowing it was time for me to make the long drive home - approximately 246 km round trip. The excitement plus the long drive (on less than three hours' sleep) totally wore me out and I felt so tired the next day.
A good thing I went when I did, as we had fog, a bit of snow, hoarfrost and very slick roads overnight till the following afternoon. There were 234 reported accidents in the city during those hours, none with life-threatening injuries, thankfully.
Not a good quality image, but I thought it gives an idea of what we sometimes see a Great Gray Owl do. It all happened so fast and I wasn't expecting this owl to suddenly swoop down this close to us. Mind you, EXIF data gives Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm, as my camera had been fully zoomed for very distant shots. Unfortunately, the little Meadow Vole's colouring is exactly the same as that of the owl., so it barely shows up - its head is right next to the owl's bill. So many of these little Voles give up their lives to feeding animals higher up on the food chain.
My alarm clocks were set for 5:30 seven mornings ago, 28 February 2016, and I was full of hope that for once, I would actually get out of the house good and early. I have such a problem getting myself out very early when I go off for a drive by myself. I think it was something like 8:30 am by the time I dragged myself off the computer and out the front door. To my horror, I discovered that my car door locks had frozen shut and my car was totally covered in a thick layer of extremely stubborn ice, that took me a long time to remove. Half an hour or so later, I was finally ready to start on my trip NW of the city.
It had been quite a long time since I saw my last Great Gray Owl. Some of my most recent sightings had been one that was in Fish Creek Park in Calgary for a while and my last photos of it were taken on 18 February 2014. There was also a Great Gray at Griffith Woods, Calgary, and some of my photos were taken on 10 February 2014. Saw another owl on our May Species Count out of the city on 25 May 2014. Many of my 'best' sightings and photos of Great Grays were taken NW of Calgary, the last dates being 28 March 2013 and 5 May 2013. So, after 25 May 2014 .... nothing! Seeing one four days ago was such a thrill. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken, each owl is as exciting as the very first.
"Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl
When I first reached my approximate destination, I could see two or three cars way down the road, pulled over at the edge of the road. Often a good sign : ) Sure enough, friends had found an owl, It was on a distant barbed-wire fence post at first, then dove into the snow to try and catch a Meadow Vole. It then flew off into the trees with it and didn't return.
After a while, I drove some of the other roads in the area and later drove back to where the owl had been seen. Amazingly, assuming it was the same individual, it was in a distant tree, from where it hunted, moving to a different tree each time it made an unsuccesful dive. Eventually, it did catch a Vole. I left after a while, feeling that it was time to leave the owl 'in peace', and also knowing it was time for me to make the long drive home - approximately 246 km round trip. The excitement plus the long drive (on less than three hours' sleep) totally wore me out and I felt so tired the next day.
A good thing I went when I did, as we had fog, a bit of snow, hoarfrost and very slick roads overnight till the following afternoon. There were 234 reported accidents in the city during those hours, none with life-threatening injuries, thankfully.
, Malik Raoulda, Pam J have particularly liked this photo
- Keyboard shortcuts:
Jump to top
RSS feed- Latest comments - Subscribe to the comment feeds of this photo
- ipernity © 2007-2024
- Help & Contact
|
Club news
|
About ipernity
|
History |
ipernity Club & Prices |
Guide of good conduct
Donate | Group guidelines | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Statutes | In memoria -
Facebook
Twitter
Anne Elliott club has replied to Pam J clubwww.ipernity.com/group/oiseaux_monde
Sign-in to write a comment.