Great Gray Owl

I had been watching a Great Gray owl yesterday, when a young couple stopped on the gravel road to let me know that they had seen another Great Gray on a fence post. I checked it out and I'm not sure if this was the first owl's mate or a separate owl. Managed to get a few photos before it flew too far down the road, and then returned to the Great Gray that I had been watching first. The sun came out for a while, which made such a wonderful change from all our rainy days. On my way home, I decided to call in and try and get a few different photos of the beautiful Stinkhorn fungi that I photographed the day before, June 24th. What a sorry sight - they had all "died" and shrivelled up. Apparently, they don't last long! When I eventually got home, I found that the roofers had packed up and left. For another day on which I was "forced" to keep myself and my car away from the building for the whole day, I ended up having a great day! (I found a street parking permit in my mailbox when I got home! Too late for the roofing, but will still be needed for when the windows are all replaced.) Not sure if the roofers still have further things to do, but whether they have finished or not, all the new windows for the building were delivered sometime yesterday, so it won't be long before my eight windows and patio door are ripped out and replaced - waited 13+ years for this to happen! There are so many things that I need to try and get done before they knock on my door and say "We're here!" Soon, it will all be over : ))))

I took too many photos of these two Great Gray Owlets the day before yesterday and just haven't had time to go through them all - so, I quickly grabbed one of them for today. Heavily zoomed and cropped and not the best quality, but they were the cutest things to watch.

I love watching Great Gray Owls - they are so focused on seeing/hearing their next prey, that they ignore you, other than an occasional quick glance in your direction. These owls look huge, but in fact much of the bulk is made up of feathers and there is just a smaller bird within. On Wikipedia (link below), there are two photos next to each other of a Great Gray Owl - a diagram has been added to the second image, showing the actual size of the skeleton - quite interesting to see. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl

One of many photos of various Great Gray Owls and owlets that I hadn't uploaded. This youngster is one of four owlets, and the photo was taken on 4 July 2012, the day before three of the siblings were banded by a licenced Owl Bander. Thank goodness for powerful zoom! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl Today, I am finally getting eight windows and my patio door replaced, so it will be a long day for the contractors, and for me : ) I'm sure they will be so glad when they have finished all mine, as I am the last place to be done. I'm kind of hoping that it doesn't flow over to tomorrow, too, but we'll have to see. Also really hoping that it doesn't rain on either day, as it would have to be postponed yet again. I can't wait to have windows that can finally be opened after all these years, especially at the moment, as it is unbearably hot and humid.

This is an "old" photo of this beautiful Great Gray Owl, taken NW of the city on 25 June 2012, that I hadn't got round to posting. The owl was so completely focused on watching and listening, that I was ignored. Easy to forget that buried deep inside all that amazing plumage is, in fact, a much smaller bird than you imagine. I did an early post and run this morning, as a handful of us had made plans to return to the Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve to search for rare plants, mosses and lichens, to add to the existing list. You need permission to drive up there and the friends I was with have this permission. However, it was raining when we gathered at the meeting place early this morning - and it has rained all day long : ) So, plans changed, and we ended up driving south to the Longview area, slowing down or stopping at various sloughs along the way. One of the sloughs had 6 (?) Soras in it, feeding in the mud. Unusual to see these birds out in the open like that - usually, they are very secretive. Unfortunately, my lens was rain spotted and the focus must have gone on the spots instead of the birds. We also called in at the Archie & Janet Hogg Park, near Longview, and had a short walk along the edge of the river to look for lichens and wildflowers - and anything else, as usual. Still raining. The drive down to Longview passes through such beautiful rolling hills. On the way back, the highlight was calling in at the Navajo Mug cafe, located on Highway 22 in Longview, for coffee. Country singer, Ian Tyson, was the original owner of the Navajo Mug. So enjoyable to have a coffee and just relax and chat. We got back to Calgary mid-afternoon after a good day, despite the change of plans. Still raining, harder than ever, ha. Only 12C (54F) and windy - and this is August! Thanks so much for driving, Heide - greatly appreciated! "In 2001, Tyson bought the land and building where The Navajo Mug currently resides. It was previously a saddle shop before being converted into a coffee house, but the little wooden building has a history that dates back much further. Built in the early 1920's, it served as a schoolhouse for children in the Cayley area. In the mid 1940's, the building was moved to Hartel, Alberta, to replace a church that had burned down. Eventually the building was moved to it's current location in Longview, Alberta, where it was used as retail space." thenavajomug.com/ian-tyson.php www.iantyson.com/pages/navajomug.asp

Yesterday was sunny, after two or three weeks of horribly overcast, dreary weather, so I went for a drive to take some snowy scenery shots. I was surprised to find that there was not as much snow out in the countryside as I had expected. Found myself on a road where I had seen a Great Gray Owl before and was hoping and hoping that I might just be lucky again - and there it was! Unfortunately, it was perched on the side of the road that wasn't in the sun, but I was so happy to just see an owl : ) Still had a smile on my face at midnight.

About a week ago, on 10 November 2012, after two or three weeks of horribly overcast, dreary weather, I went for a drive to take some snowy scenery shots. I was surprised to find that there was not as much snow out in the countryside as I had expected. Found myself on a road where I had seen a Great Gray Owl before and was hoping and hoping that I might just be lucky again - and there it was! Still had a smile on my face at midnight.

A photo of a beautiful Great Gray Owl from my archives, taken on 25 June 2012, on a drive NW of Calgary. They have tremendous concentration, barely taking their tiny eyes off the ground when they are in hunting mode. "The owl has been called a wise bird for the same reason that some men are thought to be wise — he looks wise. One reason he looks so steadily at you that you think he is studying you is because the light is so strong in the daytime that his sight is bad. But the owl is not as wise as he is said to be." From www.birdnature.com/feb1899/owls.html "In ancient Greece, owls were associated with Athena, the goddess of wisdom. She was thought to be accompanied by one at all times, and owls eventually gained their own reputation based on their connection with the goddess a myth that continues to this day. There is also the common belief that owls simply "look" smart! Unlike most birds, owl eyes are placed on the front of their heads (versus on the sides) to help them focus on prey when hunting. This wide-eyed glance gives them the impression of thinking really hard when, in reality, they are most likely just thinking about their next meal!" From www.whyzz.com/why-do-people-think-owls-are-smart