Great Gray Owl - breathtaking

Note: THIS IS MY MAIN photo of the three (i.e. the very last photo posted) I'm posting today! Flickr is messing up yet AGAIN, showing my photos in a different order from what I post when some people look at them, which drives me nuts! Often, my second and third photos are much poorer quality (sometimes downright awful, lol), so that is what people see instead of what is usually the best of the three. They are always displayed in the right order on my photostream. I can tell this image is not being seen, as there are already 11 or 12 views on my second and third photo and nothing on this one. I've just deleted it and uploaded it again to see if that helps, but I suspect not. OK, so yes, it is at least now being seen : )

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After a long day out at Frank Lake on Saturday and then checking the upcoming weather forecast, Sunday, 20 March 2016, looked like it was going to be the only decent day of the coming week. Of course, we all know that weather forecasts can change. So, my alarm clocks were all set ridiculously early, though I still left home a bit later than I had intended, and I took myself NW of the city again to see if I could see an owl. Just a handful of friends were there and we got a few moments of great views of this Great Gray Owl, including a very brief stop (seen in this photo) on top of a small coniferous tree right in front of us while it was hunting. I think it took all of us by surprise. During the rest of the time, I did see an owl fly off into the trees a couple of times, but the rest of the time was spent waiting and chatting with my friends. Patience .....

While we were waiting, someone spotted a beautiful male Mountain Bluebird way down the road. I am pretty sure I had caught a quick glimpse of another Bluebird on my drive to my destination. Also, I seem to remember catching a quick sight of another one recently, but can't for the life of me remember where or when. It's always such a thrill to see a Bluebird, especially the very first of the season. That flash of bright blue takes ones breath away. Two beautiful birds to see on this first day of spring!

"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