Great Gray Owl

On 10 January 2014, I had to remove my vehicle from the parking lot for the whole day, so that snow removal people could remove some of the snow and ice. I decided that if I drove over to the west of the city and went for a walk, that would kill a few hours. A Great Gray Owl had recently been reported, so I knew I needed to keep my eyes open. Shortly after I started, I passed someone who had just seen the owl about 20 minutes earlier, so I felt hopeful that it was still there. Further into the park, several other people gradually appeared, and it's always useful to have extra pairs of eyes. Eventually, it was spotted, hidden within the trees - well hidden! While I was there, it flew along the outer edge of the trees and then in among the trees, giving us some good views each time. I've posted my "better" photos already, so this and any further ones are just odds and ends. It's always fascinating to watch how focused these owls are when hunting - it did catch a Meadow Vole and flew up to a broken tree stump deep within the trees to feed on it. A few other attempts were made, but when it landed, it was out of sight, so I don't know if it caught some other prey or not. I was exhausted by the time I got home, mainly from walking through the deep snow. So glad I was "forced" out of my home, though, otherwise I wouldn't have made the effort to drive across the city. We don't normally get Great Gray Owls within Calgary - I think one was reported something like 17 years ago - so this was an absolute treat. The owl was seen on several days over a period of maybe 10 days or so, but I don't think it has been seen since then, so presumably it has moved on. Always a shame when this happens and lots of people still hadn't had the chance to see it - but that's birding for you! This one may be a juvenile. A friend sent me the following information that she had received from Gus Yaki, a well-known Naturalist in the city. When asked about the possibility of the food supply having run out, he did not think the owl was feeding well because it was hunting during mid-day. It should have been hunting at dawn and dusk and sleeping during the day. He said they have excellent hearing. Also, he said he has not seen many small mammal tracks at this location and apparently the Meadow Voles have to surface to allow carbon dioxide to exit from their tunnels. He also said the owls see in ultraviolet which causes mouse urine to shine so they would see that." Thank you for passing on this interesting information, Bonnie.

Yesterday, 10 February 2014, I returned to Griffith Woods, where I had been lucky enough to see a Great Gray Owl on 10 January 2014. (Can't believe it has been a month. It feels more like a couple of weeks.) It had been seen on a number of days since then, so I thought I would give it another try, especially as friends were going on a birding walk there yesterday. As I walked into the area, I could see a large, dark object sitting on the top of a very tall tree. During the time I was there, the owl plunged twice into the deep snow and caught a Meadow Vole, as well as flying to several different trees. The photo above was taken after it had flown to a different tree and sat for a while. I had taken several shots and then, just as I was pressing the shutter button, it took off. I rarely ever try in-flight shots with my point-and-shoot, so this was a very lucky "accident". Though it was a lovely, sunny morning, the light was rather harsh and the sun not always in the best position. Not as sharp a photo as I would have liked, but I'll keep it : ) Great Gray Owls are not normally seen in Calgary, so this was a real treat.

Yesterday, 17 February 2014, was my lucky day for seeing this beautiful Great Gray Owl. Though I have seen many before, the special thing about this particular owl is that it was seen in Fish Creek Park, in the city. I believe a Great Gray Owl has only ever been seen in this local park on two occasions over the years, so this was a really special treat. Normally, we never even get this species of owl within the city at all, but 2014 has been different, with the sighting of this individual plus another Great Gray Owl seen at Griffith Woods, which I was also lucky enough to see and photograph. They are such amazing owls to watch, especially when they are hunting. Their focus and concentration is superb and we got to see this yesterday when we were there. Other than an occasional glance in our direction, the owl completely ignored us - you see this with GHOs everywhere, as they are quite tolerant, for the most part, of people. This owl was high in a tree, though it looks like it was very close and more or less at eye level. Today is THE day, when I have to take my computer to a store to have all the data transferred to a new machine that I bought a couple of months ago. See you in something like three days, when hopefully I will have figured out how to set everything up, once I get it back home.

It feels quite strange to be able to post any photos, but it sure feels good : ) After being without a computer for four days, I collected my old and new machines and, to my horror, discovered that there was not a single one of my thousands of photos on my new computer! The word "deleted" flashed through my mind and it wasn't till later yesterday that I was finally able to check my old computer to see if my photos were still on it. Relief flooded through me and I could physically feel my stress level plunge, lol. It took one and a half days of crawling under my computer table to plug and unplug the ever-growing tangle of cords to reach the point where I could actually use my old computer. What a nightmare! To say that I am not impressed with the service I got from the store this week is an understatement. Six years ago, the same people had done such a great job of transferring all the data from an old to a new computer, which is why I went back to them. However, now that the weekend is over and the store will be open again, I have to phone them and ask why they didn't transfer all my images. Tomorrow, I have minor surgery, so all this was supposed to have been done by now, so that I could spend my recovery time editing photos, learning Windows 7, etc.. I knew I would not be able to take or collect the heavy, awkward to carry hard drives or be bending and stretching under my desk for a while, so I am really annoyed, to say the least. For now, though, I am SO relieved that I was finally able to get the new monitor hooked up to the old computer, so that it works. Of course, someone who knows everything about computers would have solved all this many hours sooner : ) This is one of the photos I took a week ago, on 17 February 2014, in Fish Creek Park, in Calgary. We don't get Great Gray Owls within the city, so this beautiful bird has been such a rare treat. A few weeks ago, we were photographing another Great Gray Owl in Griffith Woods, again within city limits. Strange how this has happened - maybe there is just too much deep snow in the countryside and maybe a hard crust has developed, making it too difficult for the owls to find food? As you can tell, this owl is focused on hunting. They are so fascinating to watch - their concentration is amazing.

We have blue sky at the moment, too, as well as on the day I took this photo. The difference is that today, it's -26C (windchill -37C), tonight will be -32C (windchill -42C) and tomorrow morning will be -29C (windchill -38C). Am I going out this weekend? NO! We are under a Wind Chill Warning for the whole weekend, as a very cold Arctic air mass and moderate winds are giving extreme wind chill values. These -40C wind chills are being experienced by much of Alberta this weekend. At these extreme wind chill values, frostbite on exposed skin may occur in less than 10 minutes. Taken from information on the Weather Network website. This photo of a beautiful Great Gray Owl was taken on 17 February 2014, at Bebo Grove in Fish Creek Park. Some days people see it; many other days it hides itself away and can't be found by anyone. We were so fortunate to see it that day, and to see it perched on an out-in-the-open, dead tree stump. With a beautiful blue sky as well, what more could one wish for?

On 10 February 2014, I returned to Griffith Woods, where I had been lucky enough to see a Great Gray Owl on 10 January 2014. Can't believe it has now (3 March 2014) been almost two months since the first time I saw this owl!. It had been seen on a number of days since 10 January, so I thought I would give it another try, especially as friends were going on a birding walk there. As I walked into the area, I could see a large, dark object sitting on the top of a very tall tree. During the time I was there, the owl plunged twice into the deep snow and caught a Meadow Vole, as well as flying to several different trees. Great Gray Owls are not normally seen in Calgary, so this was a real treat. The first link shows a cross-section of a Great Gray Owl, showing the small size of the skeleton compared to the bulk of the plumage: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Strix_n... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl

This Great Gray Owl, seen in Fish Creek Park on 17 February 2014, was such a treat. Normally, we never even get this species of owl within the city at all, but 2014 has been different, with the sighting of this individual plus another Great Gray Owl seen at Griffith Woods, which I was also lucky enough to see and photograph. They are such amazing owls to watch, especially when they are hunting. Their focus and concentration is superb. Other than an occasional glance in our direction, the owl completely ignored us - you see this with Great Gray Owls everywhere, as they are quite tolerant, for the most part, of people. This owl was high in a tree, though it looks like it was very close and more or less at eye level. We are back to snow again today, after recent brutally cold weather without snow. It's -15C as I type (windchill -24C), but tomorrow, it is supposed to get up to 3C by the afternoon. How good that will feel! I might be going out, the first time I will have left the house for any reason in 10 days! Cabin fever set in a few days ago : ) Flickr very kindly posted this image on their photostream on 7 March 2014, with the following description. I had no idea that Flickr ever did this. Much appreciated!! "Listening" by Anne Elliot, Flickr photographer spotlight for March 7, 2014. We're happy to feature this Great Gray Owl, taken by Anne Elliot in Fish Creek Park, Alberta, Canada. Elliot's photography chronicles the vast Alberta landscape and the animals that populate it. Learn more about Anne's owl photo here and be sure to follow her to see more of her images. www.flickr.com/photos/flickr/ www.flickr.com/photos/flickr/12984139293/

On 10 February 2014, I returned to Griffith Woods, where I had been lucky enough to see a Great Gray Owl on 10 January 2014. As I walked into the area, I could see a large, dark object sitting on the top of a very tall tree. During the time I was there, the owl plunged twice into the deep snow and caught a Meadow Vole, as well as flying to several different trees. Great Gray Owls are not normally seen in Calgary, so this was a real treat. "These birds wait, listen, and watch for prey, then swoop down; they also may fly low through open areas in search of prey. Their large facial disks, also known as "ruffs", focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt. On the nesting grounds, they mainly hunt at night and near dawn and dusk; at other times, they are active mostly during the night. They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath 60 cm (2.0 ft) of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense. They then can crash to a snow depth roughly equal to their own body size to grab their prey. Only this species and, more infrequently, other fairly large owls from the Strix genus are known to "snow-plunge" for prey, a habit that is thought to require superb hearing not possessed by all types of owls." From Wikipedia. The first link shows a cross-section of a Great Gray Owl, showing the small size of the skeleton compared to the bulk of the plumage: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Strix_n... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl

Another shot of the beautiful Great Gray Owl that some of us saw at Griffith Woods, in hunting mode. I was lucky enough to see it on 10 January 2014 and again in February. Normally, we don't get Great Gray Owls in Calgary, so this was such a treat. I haven't seen or heard any reports or photos of it since then, so maybe it has moved on. A few days after I saw the owl, friend Bonnie sent me the following information that she had received from Gus Yaki, a well-known Naturalist in the city. This owl hadn't been seen for three days, so maybe it had moved on. When asked about the possibility of the food supply having run out, he did not think the owl was feeding well because it was hunting during mid-day. It should have been hunting at dawn and dusk and sleeping during the day. He said they have excellent hearing. Also, he said he has not seen many small mammal tracks at this location and apparently the Meadow Voles have to surface to allow carbon dioxide to exit from their tunnels. He also said the owls see in ultraviolet which causes mouse urine to shine so they would see that. "These birds wait, listen, and watch for prey, then swoop down; they also may fly low through open areas in search of prey. Their large facial disks, also known as "ruffs", focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt. On the nesting grounds, they mainly hunt at night and near dawn and dusk; at other times, they are active mostly during the night. They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath 60 cm (2.0 ft) of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense. They then can crash to a snow depth roughly equal to their own body size to grab their prey. Only this species and, more infrequently, other fairly large owls from the Strix genus are known to "snow-plunge" for prey, a habit that is thought to require superb hearing not possessed by all types of owls." From Wikipedia. The first link shows a cross-section of a Great Gray Owl, showing the small size of the skeleton compared to the bulk of the plumage: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Strix_n... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/13311735493