Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Northern Saw-whet Owl

This tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl with an injured or amputated wing looked so "sad" when I saw it at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre on 16th May. I've only ever seen one of these owls in the wild, a few years ago. They like forested areas, including many wooded parks and ravines in the city, but they are heard more than seen.

Yesterday was such a great day! I had been invited (and could bring a couple of friends) to go and see a family of tiny Northern Saw-whet Owls (with 6 owlets) and a family of Barred Owls (2 owlets) up near Edmonton. It's a three-hour drive from Calgary north to Edmonton, and then the owls were a further half-hour drive. (We had just a very short drive between the two owl familes, that were on private property). Worth every minute of it to see these two species of beautiful owls! Thanks so much, Rob, for driving Phil and I up there - I appreciate it SO much! Good to have the company of you guys - made the journey seem shorter : ) The owls were a little younger than they might have been, but still so precious to see! Richard's work (paid - his endless work with owls and other raptors is all voluntary) gets busier from now on, plus his summer weekends will be spent with his family (good for him!), so really this was the last chance he'd be able to do this. As usual, we felt so privileged to get this wonderful chance! Richard showed us two of the six Saw-whet babies (and banded one of these that he hadn't banded with the others the other day), and both the Barred Owls. One of the Saw-whets was only about a week old and the other (seen in my image above) was three weeks old. I think the Barred Owlets were about three weeks old. The female adults of both families were high in fairly near, tall trees while this was going on, so we were very lucky to get photos of them, too. Trying to remember - I think I've only ever seen two Saw-whet owls in the wild, and this was the very first time I'd ever had the chance to see a Barred Owl in the wild : ))))))) At long, long last - and it felt so good! I also got the chance to meet several people from Flickr, including Don Delaney and part of his "gang". Lovely to meet you, Don, and the rest of you! Richard - we can't thank you enough for what you do (as a licenced Raptor Bander) and for sharing your love and knowledge of wildlife with others. Your young daughter (5 years old) is so lucky to be brought up with so many incredible opportunities and such a love of nature. What a keen eye she has, finding all sorts of interesting things for us to see, including a little Wood Frog. Wonderful to see such caring, gentleness and joy for all flora and fauna from such a young child, not to mention her knowledge about all these things! I was so impressed : ) Previously posted photo of an adult Northern Saw-whet Owl is in a comment box below. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl/id ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This tiny Northern-Saw-whet Owl female has six little ones this season. On 4 June 2013, we had such a great day! I had been invited (and could bring a couple of friends) to go and see a family of tiny Northern Saw-whet Owls (with 6 owlets) and a family of Barred Owls (2 owlets) on private land up near Edmonton. It's a three-hour drive from Calgary north to Edmonton, and then the owls were a further half-hour drive. (We had just a very short drive between the two owl familes). Worth every minute of it to see these two species of beautiful owls! Thanks so much, Rob, for driving Phil and I up there - I appreciate it SO much! Good to have the company of you guys - made the journey seem shorter : ) The owls were a little younger than they might have been, but still so precious to see! Richard's paid work (his endless work with owls and other raptors is all voluntary) gets busier from now on, plus his summer weekends will be spent with his family (good for him!), so really this was the last chance he'd be able to do this. As usual, we felt so privileged to get this wonderful chance! Richard showed us two of the six Saw-whet babies (and banded one of these that he hadn't banded with the others the other day), and both the Barred Owlets. One of the Saw-whets was only about a week old and the other was three weeks old. The Barred Owlets were very much bigger than the Saw-whets, but they, too, were about 3 weeks old, I believe. The female adults of both families were up high in fairly near, tall trees while this was going on (image above shows the female Northern Saw-whet Owl), so we were very lucky to get photos of them, too. Trying to remember - I think I've only ever seen two Saw-whet owls in the wild, and this was the very first time I'd ever had the chance to see a Barred Owl in the wild : ))))))) At long, long last - and it felt so good! I also got the chance to meet several people from Flickr, including Don Delaney and part of his "gang". Lovely to meet you, Don, and the rest of you! Richard - we can't thank you enough for what you do (as a licenced Raptor Bander) and for sharing your love and knowledge of wildlife with others. Your young daughter (5 years old) is so lucky to be brought up with so many incredible opportunities and such a love of nature. What a keen eye she has, finding all sorts of interesting things for us to see, including a little Wood Frog (photo posted today, too). Wonderful to see such caring, gentleness and joy for all flora and fauna from such a young child, not to mention her knowledge about all these things! I was so impressed : ) "Adults are 17–22 cm (6.7–8.7 in) long with a 42–56.3 cm (17–22.2 in) wingspan. They can weigh from 54 to 151 g (1.9 to 5.3 oz) with an average of around 80 g (2.8 oz), making them one of the smallest owls in North America. In relative size to other owls they are close to the size of an American Robin." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl/id ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This helpless little thing is a tiny Northern Saw-whet Owlet, around one week old, being held very gently by the five-year-old daughter of Richard Chamberland, licensed Raptor Bander. I had been invited (and could bring a couple of friends) to go and see a family of tiny Northern Saw-whet Owls (with 6 owlets) and a family of Barred Owls (2 owlets) up near Edmonton. Both families of owls had nested in wooden nest boxes. It's a three-hour drive from Calgary north to Edmonton, and then the owls were a further half-hour drive. (We had just a very short drive between the two owl familes, that were on private property). Worth every minute of it to see these two species of beautiful owls! Thanks so much, Rob, for driving Phil and I up there - I appreciate it SO much! Good to have the company of you guys - made the journey seem shorter : ) The owls were a little younger than they might have been, but still so precious to see! Richard's paid work (his endless work with owls and other raptors is all voluntary) gets busier from now on, plus his summer weekends will be spent with his family (good for him!), so we were lucky to get this chance. Richard showed us two of the six Saw-whet babies (and banded the older one of these that he hadn't banded with the others the other day, but that was now old enough to be banded), and both the Barred Owlets. One of the Saw-whets, seen in the image above) was only about a week old and the other was three weeks old. I think the Barred Owlets were about three weeks old. The female adults of both families were high in fairly near, tall trees while this was going on, so we were very lucky to get photos of them, too. Trying to remember - I think I've only ever seen two Saw-whet owls in the wild, and this was the very first time I'd ever had the chance to see a Barred Owl in the wild : ))))))) At long, long last - and it felt so good! I also got the chance to meet several people from Flickr, including Don Delaney and part of his "gang". Lovely to meet you, Don, and the rest of you! Richard - we can't thank you enough for what you do (as a licenced Raptor Bander) and for sharing your love and knowledge of wildlife with others. Your young daughter (5 years old) is so lucky to be brought up with so many incredible opportunities and such a love of nature. What a keen eye she has, finding all sorts of interesting things for us to see, including a little Wood Frog. Wonderful to see such caring, gentleness and joy for all flora and fauna from such a young child, not to mention her knowledge about all these things! I was so impressed : ) Previously posted photo of an adult Northern Saw-whet Owl is in a comment box below. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl/id NO WILD BIRD OR ANIMAL SHOULD EVER BE TAKEN HOME AS A PET!!!

A very grainy photo, taken deep in the woods where the light was not good, but I did want to add it to my Sets. Not every day that we see a tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl! I had been invited (and could bring a couple of friends) to go and see a family of tiny Northern Saw-whet Owls (with 6 owlets) and a family of Barred Owls (2 owlets) up near Edmonton. Both families of owls had nested in wooden nest boxes. It's a three-hour drive from Calgary north to Edmonton, and then the owls were a further half-hour drive. (We had just a very short drive between the two owl familes, that were on private property). Worth every minute of it to see these two species of beautiful owls! Thanks so much, Rob, for driving Phil and I up there - I appreciate it SO much! Good to have the company of you guys - made the journey seem shorter : ) The owls were a little younger than they might have been, but still so precious to see! Richard's paid work (his endless work with owls and other raptors is all voluntary) gets busier from now on, plus his summer weekends will be spent with his family (good for him!), so we were lucky to get this chance. Richard showed us two of the six Saw-whet babies (and banded the older one of these that he hadn't banded the other day and that was now old enough to be banded), and both the Barred Owlets. One of the Saw-whets was only about a week old and the other was about three weeks old. I think the Barred Owlets were about three weeks old. The female adults of both families were high in fairly near, tall trees while this was going on, so we were very lucky to get photos of them, too. My photo above shows the adult female Saw-whet before she left the nest box that Richard had built and placed on the property of someone who had volunteered to have a nest box. Trying to remember - I think I've only ever seen two Saw-whet owls in the wild, and this was the very first time I'd ever had the chance to see a Barred Owl in the wild : ))))))) At long, long last - and it felt so good! I also got the chance to meet several people from Flickr, including Don Delaney and part of his "gang". Lovely to meet you, Don, and the rest of you! Richard - we can't thank you enough for what you do (as a licenced Raptor Bander) and for sharing your love and knowledge of wildlife with others. Your young daughter (5 years old) is so lucky to be brought up with so many incredible opportunities and such a love of nature. What a keen eye she has, finding all sorts of interesting things for us to see, including a little Wood Frog. Wonderful to see such caring, gentleness and joy for all flora and fauna from such a young child, not to mention her knowledge about all these things! I was so impressed : ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl/id NO WILD BIRD OR ANIMAL SHOULD EVER BE TAKEN HOME AS A PET!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not a new, recent sighting! Perhaps not the best angle photographically, but it is so rare for me to have the chance to see and take photos of a tiny NorthernSaw-whet Owl, that I thought I would add this one to my Birds of Alberta set. Taken on January 26, at Carburn Park. Had my camera fully zoomed for this one : ) Just love those facial feathers. Most of the time, it was asleep, but it did open its eyes briefly a couple of times. This tiny owl hasn't been seen for weeks now - I wonder if it's stil in the area and just wisely hiding from all the endless photographers.

This tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl only opened its eyes for a few seconds a couple of times. The rest of the time, it was asleep. Photographed in Carburn Park on January 28th. Winter has returned once more, with a thin layer of snow early this morning. Adults are 17–22 cm (6.7–8.7 in) long with a 42–56.3 cm (17–22.2 in) wingspan. They can weigh from 54 to 151 g (1.9 to 5.3 oz) with an average of around 80 g (2.8 oz), making them one of the smallest owls in North America. In relative size to other birds they are close to the size of an American Robin. "A small owl of all types of woodlands, the Northern Saw-whet Owl can be found roosting in winter in small, dense conifer trees, sometimes even in parks and gardens. Its defense upon discovery is to sit still and not fly, leading people to perceive them as "tame." From AllAboutBirds. After an online "Critter Vote", the Saw-whet Owl became the new star of Telus' mobility campaign in the summer of 2011." Some of you may have seen this very cute TV commercial : ) youtu.be/GaeFUeusM7w www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl/id/ac en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl

When a phone call came just before 1:00 p.m. yesterday, letting me know that this owl had been found in Carburn Park, I was sitting at my computer, still not dressed and no breakfast! I don't think I've ever got ready so fast in my life (slight exaggeration!), my heart beating so quickly : ) What an absolute thrill to set eyes on this tiny owl, so perfect - and perched amongst a mass of tiny branches, immediately above the trail. With a bit of manoeuvering, I was able to get zoomed shots without the branches, but with more distant shots that was not possible. Love the fine feathers on its face. Three of us were also privileged to watch a huge pellet being thrown up. The owl was sitting in almost the same site where one was first found in the year 2000 and again in 2005. If it is the same bird, it is at least 12.5 yrs old. Before I found the owl location, I came acoss two or three White-tailed Deer on a nearby trail through the trees, including a beautiful buck (will post a photo maybe tomorrow). As if all this wasn't enough for one afternoon, I noticed a Jack Rabbit in its white winter coat, sitting on the grass outside my place when I got out of my car. S/he just sat there and let me take quite a few shots, which was great. "Adults Saw-whets are 17–22 cm (6.7–8.7 in) long with a 42–56.3 cm (17–22.2 in) wingspan. They can weigh from 54 to 151 g (1.9 to 5.3 oz) with an average of around 80 g (2.8 oz), making them one of the smallest owls in North America. In relative size to other birds they are close to the size of an American Robin. After an online "Critter Vote", the Saw-whet Owl became the new star of Telus' mobility campaign in the summer of 2011." Some of you may have seen this very cute TV commercial : ) youtu.be/GaeFUeusM7w www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl/id/ac en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl I have to stay home today and wait for an inspector from the city to come and check the installation of my new heating furnace. The Government is offering a rebate at the moment and an inspection has to be made first.

A more distant shot of the tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl seen in Carburn Park. He's very well-camouflaged against the huge, broken branch, but the tangle of small branches around him are not too photogenic : ) Very difficult to photograph, as it barely moves hour after hour, so most photos tend to look the same!

Horribly blurry, but thought I'd post it anyway, as not everyone gets the chance to witness a tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl coughing up an enormous pellet! Not sure if the owl's movement caused the blurriness - or maybe it was because I was so excited that this was happening, that I didn't keep the camera steady : ) Photographed at Carburn Park on January 26th. Size: Length 17 to 21.9cm (6.7-8.6") Wingspan 45.9 to 56.3cm (18.1-22.2"). Weight 75-110g (2.6-3.9oz) - Females are slightly larger than males. "A pellet, in ornithology, is the mass of undigested parts of a bird's food that some bird species occasionally regurgitate. The contents of a bird's pellet depend on its diet, but can include the exoskeletons of insects, indigestible plant matter, bones, fur, feathers, bills, claws, and teeth. In falconry, the pellet is called a casting. The passing of pellets allows a bird to remove indigestible material from its proventriculus, or glandular stomach. In birds of prey, the regurgitation of pellets serves the bird's health in another way, by "scouring" parts of the digestive tract, including the gullet. Pellets are formed within six to ten hours of a meal in the bird's gizzard (muscular stomach)." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellet_ (ornithology)

These small owls are only 18-23 cm long and are uncommon to common all year round in Alberta. I think I have only seen one in the wild, maybe three years ago in South Glenmore Park, near the Weaselhead natural area. I did get photos of the wild one, which are in my Flickr photostream.

1. This time, a Chickadee, 2. Northern Saw-whet Owl, 3. American White Pelicans Created with fd's Flickr Toys .

Not a good quality photo, thanks to very poor lighting and ice on my lens! However, it was fascinating to watch this young, little Northern Saw-whet Owl keep a close eye on something moving on the ground - something that might taste good! I believe the highest this photo got on Explore was 259 on 2nd November 2006. Thanks everyone!

I happened to turn my head whilst talking to someone on a winter walk and found myself looking into the big round eyes of this tiny owl sitting on a nearby branch. Had to wipe the ice off my camera lens in order to try and get any photos. They are very poor quality but this is the only Northern Saw-whet Owl that I have ever seen. I believe the highest this photo got on Explore was #119 on 11th November 2006. Thanks, everyone!