Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: female or juvenile

This photo was taken on 29 December 2017, when four of us (using just one car) took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of back roads and farms just like on our other Counts. The area we covered (right on the east edge of the count circle) was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail. The first evidence of any wildlife for me, first thing in the morning, was a Jackrabbit that was nibbling on snow-covered plants right outside our leader's house. Of course, at 7:15 in the morning, it was still dark. One of my favourite things to photograph on this annual Count are the Llamas at one of the farms.. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. I'm not sure how many Llamas they have - somewhere around 7? Most of these animals were given to them by other farmers who no longer wanted them. "Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia. One of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. This day, though, with a temperature of -23C all day (windchill probably at least -30 to 35C), cats stayed indoors. I caught a brief glimpse of only one cat outside. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, no one was home, so we couldn't search the farmyard, but I did get the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of one of the barns, from a side view. Another farm we stopped at had beautiful Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls coming to a feeder. A joy to see these splashes of colour in a very cold, white, white world. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Too cold and too much snow to spend much time searching various farmyards, and we had finished the Count by 2:30 pm. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below. Many thanks, Dave, for driving us. You did a great job of handling roads that were not in the greatest condition, and it was greatly appreciated. The light was awful all day, and it was so difficult to see where the ditch was and where one road turned off to another. There is no way I would ever try driving on our back roads in such weather! Also, a huge thank-you to the various landowners who were kind enough to allow us to wander round their farmyards. These visits make our day so much more interesting and rewarding!

This was Snowy Owl number 4 that we came across three days ago, on 13 January 2018, when a group of us went east of the city in search of owls and anything else. This was the last Snowy that friend Tony and I saw before it was time for us to get back to the city, as he had some final preparations to get done before heading off on a trip. After we had left the rest of the group, we came across a fifth Snowy, perched on a piece of machinery in a field. A nice treat before we headed back to civilization. I heard later that the rest of the group saw a total of seven Snowy Owls, as they stayed out for the whole afternoon. Despite seeing a total of 8 Snowies on this day, this winter doesn't seem to be a good year for these owls. Some years, the Internet is full of photos of these spectacular visitors, but this year I'm not seeing many. Thanks so much for the ride, Tony - so much appreciated, as always. After all the frigid weather we have had so far this winter, this day felt balmy. Actually, I'm not sure what the temperature was, but it must have been above 0C. There was no cold wind and it just felt pleasant. The sun was shining and the sky was full of 'good' clouds. Not sure why almost all my photos were too blurry to keep - maybe the light wasn't as good as I thought it was. However, I did get a shot of each of the owls, so I'm happy. A few other bird species were also seen, including Common Redpolls and Horned Larks, Gray Partridge, Magpies, etc.. Tony also spotted a Prairie Falcon on our way back to the city. Many thanks, Terry, as usual, for taking us on this owl prowl. It was a great trip and, especially for those who had never seen a Snowy Owl before, a most amazing experience. As with any kind of owl, it doesn't matter how many one sees, I always find each time is as awesome as the very first time.

This was the fifth Snowy Owl that friend Tony and I saw E of the city two days ago, on 13 January 2018, after leaving the rest of the group, as we needed to get back to the city. A nice treat before we headed back to civilization. I can't tell the difference between the females and juveniles, as both have dark streaking. Adult males are easy to ID, as they are pure white. When we were with the group, we saw the first four owls. After we left, we saw just this one new owl, while the rest of the group saw three other Snowies. A total of 8 different individuals that were seen. This winter doesn't seem to be a good year for these owls. Some years, the Internet is full of photos of these spectacular visitors, but this year I'm not seeing many. Thanks so much for the ride, Tony - so much appreciated, as always. After all the frigid weather we have had so far this winter, yesterday felt balmy. Actually, I'm not sure what the temperature was, but it must have been above 0C. There was no cold wind and it just felt pleasant. The sun was shining and the sky was full of 'good' clouds. Not sure why almost all my photos were too blurry to keep - maybe the light wasn't as good as I thought it was. However, I did get a shot of each of the owls, so I'm happy. A few other bird species were also seen, including Common Redpolls and Horned Larks, Gray Partridge, Magpies, etc.. Tony also spotted a Prairie Falcon on our way back to the city. I will add Terry's list of birds seen by the end of the day in a comment box below. Many thanks, Terry, as usual, for taking us on this owl prowl. It was a great trip and, especially for those who had never seen a Snowy Owl before, a most amazing experience. As with any kind of owl, it doesn't matter how many one sees, I always find each time is as awesome as the very first time.

This female (or juvenile, because they both have dark streaking) Snowy Owl was contentedly perched on this rather ugly fence rail, looking like s/he was almost asleep. This was the first Snowy that we came across yesterday, 13 January 2018, when a group of us went east of the city in search of owls and anything else. Later, we saw another three Snowies before it was time for the friend I was riding with to get back to the city, as he had some final preparations to get done before heading off on a trip today. After we had left the rest of the group, we came across a fifth Snowy, perched on a piece of machinery in a field. A nice treat before we headed back to civilization. I heard later that the rest of the group saw a total of seven Snowy Owls, as they stayed out for the whole afternoon. This winter doesn't seem to be a good year for these owls. Some years, the Internet is full of photos of these spectacular visitors, but this year I'm not seeing many. Thanks so much for the ride, Tony - so much appreciated, as always. After all the frigid weather we have had so far this winter, yesterday felt balmy. Actually, I'm not sure what the temperature was, but it must have been above 0C. There was no cold wind and it just felt pleasant. The sun was shining and the sky was full of 'good' clouds. Not sure why almost all my photos were too blurry to keep - maybe the light wasn't as good as I thought it was. However, I did get a shot of each of the owls, so I'm happy. A few other bird species were also seen, including Common Redpolls and Horned Larks, one Gray Partridge, Magpies, etc.. Tony also spotted a Prairie Falcon on our way back to the city. Many thanks, Terry, as usual, for taking us on this owl prowl. It was a great trip and, especially for those who had never seen a Snowy Owl before, a most amazing experience. As with any kind of owl, it doesn't matter how many one sees, I always find each time is as awesome as the very first time. We are back to scattered flurries for this afternoon, 14 January 2018, but our temperature is a reasonable -2C (windchill -4C). The next three days are expected to be good, but then the forecast is for a couple of snowy days.

This morning, 1 February 2017, I am posting just the one photo, partly because I don't know if Flickr has dealt with yesterday's problem of photos not showing up, with resulting lower numbers of views. Also, a good friend let me know that for the last few weeks, my photos, hers and others, have been showing as a deep orange in colour. She said that after clicking on a photo several times, the photos have been returning to their natural colour. I do hope no one else has been seeing my photos in that way! Didn't feel very motivated and now wish I had spent a bit more time looking for a better photo, lol. "One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring. You can find Red-winged Blackbirds in the breeding season by visiting cattail marshes and other wetlands, or simply by watching telephone wires on a drive through the country. Where there’s standing water and vegetation, Red-winged Blackbirds are likely to be one of the most common birds you see and hear. Listen for the male’s conk-la-lee! song. In winter, search through mixed-species blackbird flocks and be careful not to overlook the streaky, brown females, which can sometimes resemble a sparrow." From AllAboutBIrds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird On 20 June 2016, I went for a drive SW of the city again. This time, I was thrilled to bits to see two male Bobolinks and a female. I had driven backwards and forwards along the road where I had seen them a few days ago, with no luck. I gave up and, instead, spent some time photographing a beautiful pair of Mountain Bluebirds. After a while, I told myself it was time to leave the Bluebirds in peace and go and see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. I had literally climbed back into my car and pulled forward maybe six feet, when a bird flew to a fence post. It looked bigger than a Savannah Sparrow, so I was curious. Turned out to be a male Bobolink, who gave me the chance for a few quick shots before flying away. Unfortunately, the sun was not in a good direction. Time to go and photograph a Tree Swallow, Red-winged Blackbirds and a Snipe and then I returned to the pair of Bluebirds. I'm not sure if my photo shows a female or a juvenile - there are some downy feathers, but it might have been windy that day, too. This time, they had two brief visitors - a Brown-headed Cowbird and a tiny Savannah Sparrow, who insisted on trying to perch on the same fence post as the male Bluebird. It was kind of cute to see the two together. I always love to see the back view of a female Bluebird, with just little touches of blue showing in her feathers. Just so fed up with Flickr making a mess of things and often/usually not doing anything about it. After a while, I decided it really was time to head for home. While crossing the road to my car, I spotted a bird perched on top of a tree way down the road and discovered it was a Bobolink again. It spent a bit of time flying around with another male and a female, eventually flying to a fence post. I had never seen a female before, but recognized it from various photos I had seen online a few days ago. Females are a lot smaller than the males and very different colouring. Three quick photos and it was gone. One of the males stayed on a fence post for a little while, but I was looking into the sun and the light was horrible. All three birds took off across the field and stayed down in the grass and I knew this would be a good time to tear myself away and head happily for home. Normally, I don't get out this often, but I know that it won't be long before all the birds I saw today will have migrated. Also, this was the first day of summer, so I really wanted to spend a few hours outdoors.

Awful quality, but couldn't bring myself to delete it : ) This Snowy Owl, seen way off down the road, decided to take off just when I clicked. I like my owls to be sitting still - I know most people want in-flight shots of birds, especially owls. Taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm, and then cropped. I love those mighty wings. Yesterday, 14 January 2017, I drove to Fish Creek Park to meet with others to go east of the city, looking for birds. Everywhere looked so pretty down by the river when I arrived, with everything covered in frost and a thick layer of mist rising from the water. I think there were about 8 cars in convoy, as we headed eastward, out of the city. For much of the day, birding was extremely slow, especially as we were not seeing any owls : ) As the day wore on, several cars returned to the city. The first owl to be seen was a Great Horned Owl, perched in a row of trees alongside the road. It was so well hidden by a tangle of thin twigs and branches, making it impossible to photograph, but still a treat to see. Eventually, we saw our first Snowy Owl at 2:30 pm, perched on a very distant fence post. A second Snowy was seen 15 to 20 minutes later, again very, very distant. Then, shortly before the trip ended, the friends in the car in which I was travelling, decided to go back to a certain area to see if we could see any Short-eared Owls. On the way there, we spotted another Snowy Owl (seen in this photo), on a power pole way, way down the road. Managed to get a quick couple of very distant shots before it flew off to hunt. I had found no Snowy Owls or Short-eared Owls the previous afternoon, when I had gone there on my own. This time, we spotted two Short-eared Owls, perched far, far away along a fence line. Useless for photos, though. Thanks so much for driving the whole day, Carolyn - greatly appreciated by all of us! So glad you wanted to stay a bit longer than the actual trip, as we had a few lucky sightings, even if they were all very distant. A beautiful, sunny day to be out, too, and thankfully the deep-freeze had just ended. Thanks so much, Terry, for organizing this trip! It always makes for a very enjoyable day out. Nice to see a few other birds, too, including Horned Larks and Snow Buntings.

After two whole weeks of not getting a chance to go anywhere, including looking for Snowy Owls, I finally drove SE of the city yesterday, 13 December 2016, for a few hours. The weather had warmed up a little, after we had been getting windchills down as low as -34C. I just don't see the point of risking getting stuck along some country backroad during a deep-freeze. As it was, I did have a few minutes of panic when I couldn't get my car to start after getting out to take a few photos. The message on the start button said "Power is on", yet it would not do anything. When I pushed the button again, all the usual things came on, but the car still wouldn't drive. Eventually, after quite a few tries, I did get it to work, to my enormous relief. My whole drive was along roads that I had driven before, some only once. Last winter, I had driven part of this area and saw several Snowy Owls, but they were no more than the tiniest white specks in the distance. In fact, during the winter of 2015/2016, I didn't see a single Snowy up close anywhere. For most of yesterday's drive, I didn't see any, but then my luck changed, and I ended up seeing the owl in this photo, plus another one. After driving quite a few backroads, I spotted this first one along a main road; the second owl was along a backroad.and further away. My fully zoomed photos of both owls are still not close. Unfortunately, I was not the only one to find this owl - a large flock of 50 or 60 Snow Buntings had also spotted it and were harassing it, making it fly off before I got the chance to get better photos. After stopping to watch this first owl, I went back to the side roads, where I came across the second owl, perched on top of a tall power pole. Though it was a long way down the road, it flew a few seconds later, landing near the top of a huge, bare tree that was even further away. I've only ever seen a Snowy in a tree a few times. "The regal Snowy Owl is one of the few birds that can get even non-birders to come out for a look. This largest (by weight) North American owl shows up irregularly in winter to hunt in windswept fields or dunes, a pale shape with catlike yellow eyes. They spend summers far north of the Arctic Circle hunting lemmings, ptarmigan, and other prey in 24-hour daylight. In years of lemming population booms they can raise double or triple the usual number of young." From Cornell's AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Owl/lifehistory Feeling happy to have found two of these gorgeous birds, I decided to drive to see two favourite old things - the little country church at Dinton, and Superman's old barn and homestead, used in the 1978 Superman movie. I love photographing these old structures. Actually, the tiny church in Dinton was also used in a movie - Brokeback Mountain. Happy with my findings, it was time to start on my homeward journey, as I didn't want to be on the main highway in the dark. There was just time for me to call in quickly at the Saskatoon Farm, only to find that the restaurant had closed about 20 minutes early, so I was out of luck for my usual Quiche and Sweet Potato fries. Saskatoon Pie was still available, which nicely filled the void, having missed my lunch. A cup of coffee came in handy for my drive home, too.

NOTE to anyone who belongs to the ipernity website (includes me): ipernity will be closing. A great shame, but also frustrating. I have all 12,644 of my images and descriptions on ipernity - exactly the same as on Flickr. No idea where we are supposed to move to now, if anywhere. Does anyone have any ideas for good sites? I seem to read complaints about them all! Hope Flickr keeps going and going and going ..... www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4642052 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some years, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton is held late in December. Other years, it ends up being held early January. The Count on 3 January 2016 was part of the 2015 Bird Count. I think these gorgeous Pine Grosbeaks were the highlight of the day for me. We had been told about a farm family who had lots of these Grosbeaks at their feeders, and we are so glad that we arranged to call in. We also saw a Gray Jay there, to add to our species list. My small group of 4 friends and myself, travelling in two cars, did see 5 Golden Eagles, too, which was a thrill, but they were way off in the distance and I couldn't get any close photos like this one of Grosbeaks : ) "One of the larger members of its family, the Pine Grosbeak is a bird of the boreal forests, found across northern Eurasia and North America, and south into the mountains of western Canada and the United States. A large, unwary finch, it makes periodic winter irruptions into southern Canada and northern United States. It is the largest and rarest of the "winter finches." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pine_Grosbeak/id As you can see, the weather was bright and sunny for us this day. What you can't see was that it was very cold for the first part of the day, then warming up to a pleasant cold later on! I think it was -21C when we started. Two years ago, on the trip in January (for the 2013 Count), on the hour-long drive south of Calgary, we hit -34C (-29.2F)!!!!! Again, this year, there was no or very little wind, which makes all the difference. Also, the only walking we had to do was when we called in at various farms/acreages. We drove through such beautiful scenery when we were covering the SW quadrant of the Christmas Bird Count circle that centered on the town of Nanton, Alberta. A landscape over which the occasional Golden Eagle soars and in which some years - but definitely not on this day! - numerous Sharp-tailed Grouse wander on the ground or perch in trees. Unlike some years, we saw only a handful of very distant Grouse, perched on a group of hay bales. I absolutely love this area SW of Nanton! Some of the backroads are extremely steep and almost look vertical when seen from a distance. Some years, the whole area is white, covered in deep snow, so that you can't tell where the roadside ends and the ditch begins. This Count, it wasn't too bad, thank goodness, though I might have felt differently if I had been one of the two drivers for our group! Around lunch time, we returned to the Truch family's home as we were nearby, and ate our lunch in the warmth of their cosy home. After driving (being driven, for me, which is always pure luxury) the backroads from about 8:00 a.m. till around 3:30 p.m., we returned to the wonderful home of the Truch family. Not only do Bill and Leah Truch and their son, Mike, always welcome everyone with open arms, they also provide a much-appreciated breakfast snack for us and then, at the end of the day, a delicious supper. Have to say that I love travelling these scenic backroads, but I also really enjoy getting together with everyone afterwards. This is one of my favourite Bird Counts, and perhaps the most favourite. Just before leaving for Calgary at the end of the day, we were shown the family's Llamas, two Donkeys, Peacocks, and several tiny white Quail. I should have taken photos of these animals when it was daylight - but maybe I can do it next year. Thanks so much for doing all the driving, Tony and Andrew, and thanks, Leah, Bill and Mike for all the effort and time you put into your warm welcome! It was another well-organized Count, Mike, as usual - thanks. Can't wait for next Christmas! I have added the list of species seen, in a comment box below.

On 30 May 2016, I decided that for once, I would go out in an evening to see if I could find a Great Gray Owl, SW of the city. Unfortunately, heavy black clouds were already starting to build, with patches of blue sky still showing. Once I hit the main highway, the rain started and continued till I got back home. I was determined to go and check out the various places where I had seen these owls just a few years ago. The two separate owls I found were not far from previous sightings - one along the main road and the other was flying over a distant field. Both were focused on hunting. Feeling so happy after seeing the first owl, I decided to drive a second time along a different area, just to check one last time before going home. That's when I noticed a large bird way off in the distance, flying over a field. I was amazed when it flew to a tree within camera reach and then even more surprised when it flew to a fairly close fence post. The owls looked rather wet and a little wind-blown in most of my photos, but, needless to say, I went home feeling thrilled to bits. I don't remember ever seeing an owl shake the rain off its feathers just like a dog shakes off water. While I was in the area, I checked for the usual birds - Mountain Bluebirds, Snipe, Red-winged Blackbirds, etc.. "One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/id

Does anyone else have a problem adding their photos to albums? For more than a week now, when I click on Add to Album, many of my albums won't show on the list, so I can't add photos to these missing ones. It seems to be a hit and miss thing - sometimes, all the albums will show, other times, just some of them. I can't add this photo to my Winter or Owls albums, though I probably will be able to eventually (it worked later). Ah, I see other people have just started a thread on the Help Forum. We had such a successful and enjoyable day on 20 February 2016, taking part in our annual Snowy Owl Prowl east of the city. We saw so many Snowy Owls, but all except one were extremely far away. The closest one was still way down the road, as with so many cars and people, we stayed way back so as not to stress the owl. The owl in this 48x zoomed photo was perhaps the second closest. It might be far away, but at least it is perched on a fence post, not a utility pole insulator : ) I will add the report of the day, compiled by our leader, Terry Korolyk. Terry, you did such a great job, finding so many birds for us to see! Thank you! "Twenty-four extremely enthusiastic birders showed up for this year's version of the Snowy Owl Prowl. Conditions were almost ideal helped by a snowfall Thursday night and Friday morning. Temperature about 8:00 A.M. in south Calgary was -7 degrees. I had a good feeling as we headed out to our meeting place at Deerfoot Mall with no wind and a thin layer of fog hanging over much of the southwest part of the City. We saw at least 11, possibly as many as 13 Snowy Owls for the day. It appeared as though it was a chance happening that the day picked would have these ideal conditions which resulted in all these birds being around on this day. There were many other highlights of which most noteworthy was a NORTHERN HARRIER. Three adult Bald Eagles were seen and we came in with a total of 11 Rough-legged Hawks, of which the numbers were divided up between 1st. year birds and adult females. We found the first Great Horned Owl of the year on a nest which was south of Langdon. Perhaps, one of the highlights of the day was a lone SNOW BUNTING north of the Cattleland Feedlots slough north of Strathmore which caught everybody's heart as it called repeatedly that plaintive poignant one note it is known for from a fencepost; would fly to the fallow snowy ground, then, return to the fencepost and call some more. This was thoroughly enjoyed by all participants. Other birds seen were a few small flocks of Redpolls and 2 pairs and a covey of 8 Gray Partridge. We also stopped at the houses at the west end of Railway Avenue in Cheadle so participants could see some of the local colony of Eurasian Collared Doves of which we saw 5. Large numbers of Canada Geese, probably a couple of thousand or so were in stubble fields southwest of Chestermere Lake and north of Glenmore Trail. Included in these flocks were some CACKLING GEESE. Given the EARLY late Winter departure of waterfowl from the Bow River in Calgary this year and by their behaviour with lots of resting birds and some feeding, I think these birds were probably migratory birds. We must also consider that the 3 Ring-necked Ducks at Elliston Park are probably overeager Spring migrants as probably are the 2 male Green-winged Teal at Fish Creek PP Burnsmead this past week. Many participants on the trip today were seeing some of these species for the first time. Last year, we had a young student from Australia on the trip; this year, we had a young couple from Massachusetts who have lived in Calgary only a year and had never seen a Snowy Owl." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Temperature in Calgary today, 26 February 2016, is +12C and it is supposed to soar to +18C this afternoon! What craziness - this is winter and so what has happened to -25C temperatures? However, we do return to colder temperatures and some snow for the next few days.

Flickr - Bad, bad Panda. A fully zoomed and cropped shot of this beautiful female or juvenile Snowy Owl, so it's far from the greatest quality. However, I did want to add this record of it to my owl albums. This owl has quite a few dark feathers on top of its head. Ten days ago, on 9 January 2016, I took part in a Mid-winter Bust-out trip east of the city, led by Terry Korolyk. Eight of us, plus our leader, took part in this day trip - maybe when everyone else saw what the temperature was first thing in the morning (-23C, not counting windchill, which would have made it much colder), they changed their mind about going! Everything was covered in a heavy layer of hoar frost, which turned everywhere into a beautiful winter wonderland. The sky was blue - what more could anyone want? Well, a few birds would be nice, of course : ) The highlight of the day was seeing 6 Short-eared Owls, in addition to 6 Snowy Owls (7 seen by the people in the other cars, when we split up at the end of the day). As a photographer, though, the only birds that were just close enough were two of the Snowy Owls - the one in this photo and another one that was a bit closer. All the Short-eared Owls were tiny dots in the landscape. I don't know how anyone was able to spot them! We could have driven closer to this Snowy, but chose to keep our distance, meaning that 48x zoom and cropping were needed. I'm amazed (and thankful) that this photo came out at all, as most of the photos I took of anything that day are so blurry and not fit for use. Zoomed in shots, especially, suffered from heat distortion - and distorted many of them are! Our meeting place was right across the city; a drive that I never enjoy at all, but I really didn't want to miss this outing. Some of the roads we travelled were ones that I had driven several times before. Most of the time, though, I had no idea where we were : ) As always happens on any day that I go anywhere, I turned my camera lens to anything else of interest/beauty, even more so when the birds are way, way off in the distance. I will add the list of bird species seen that Andrew H. compiled. Many thanks, as always, for driving some of us - imuch appreciated! Thank you, Terry - it was a great day and greatly appreciated, as always! You did an excellent write-up of the whole day (not posted here). 3 Canada Goose 4 Rough-legged Hawk 6 SNOWY OWL 6 SHORT-EARED OWL 1 Downy Woodpecker 34 Black-billed Magpie 46 Common Raven 73 Horned Lark 1 Black-capped Chickadee 75 Snow Bunting 511 Common Redpoll 1 Hoary Redpoll 32 House Sparrow

Lol, this is certainly a different perch from the more usual power pole, but I do wish they would perch on fence posts or trees more often! Had a great day on 22 December 2013 with friends Cathy and Terry, driving the backroads SE of the city, hoping to see an owl or two. The day started off with a Long-eared Owl and ended with a Short-eared Owl! In total, we saw 5 Snowy Owls, 4 Great Horned Owls, 1 Long-eared Owl and 1 Short-eared Owl. Plus a few other species, including a Northern Shrike, many Grey Partridges (all of which flew before we could take photos, other than a couple of very distant ones), Horned Larks, Ravens/Crows, owls in barn windows, a beautiful Gyrfalcon and a colourful sunrise. Not a bad day, I think you'll agree : ) The only thing we didn't see, except briefly, was the sun, so we had low light all day, unfortunately! It was so unbearably cold all day, windchill temperature was -30C. A few seconds out of the car and fingers were so painful, despite wearing gloves. Difficult to hold the camera steady when one is shivering, ha. This morning, 5 January 2014, it's -25C with a windchill of -31C and so it's going to be a long, brutally cold day of birding on the Nanton Christmas Bird Count, roughly an hour's drive S of Calgary. Had to set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. (after getting to sleep around 2:15 a.m.). Be back later. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_Owl www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/snowy_owl/id

I've had such a problem trying to adjust the colour of this image - and now I give up. Looking up into an overcast sky just never seems to work for me and my camera. I just can't do justice to this magnificent Snowy Owl female (or juvenile?) that we saw yesterday afternoon, east of the city. In the morning, a few of us had got together with owl bander, Richard Chamberland, who had come down to Calgary. He very generously invited a few of us to go looking for a certain Northern Hawk Owl, which we didn't manage to find. From there, we drove south and then east of the city, hoping to be able to find and band a Snowy Owl. One was seen, far in the distance, on the ground. It flew to a couple of very high poles, but stayed there. After Richard had had to leave to do other things, three friends and I continued to travel the backroads, coming across this beautiful female in a place where they had seen her before. She posed for us on an aerial of some sort as well as a couple of very tall poles. This particular one was wooden, which made a welcome change. From my photo, you would think that she was around eye-level and close, but no such luck, ha. The best view for marvelling at this owl's wonderfully dark feather pattern was when we saw her from the side - will post those photos over the next little while. Thanks so much, Richard, for giving up your morning for us - it was good to see you again - and thanks, Phil and Rob, for the ride around the Prairies and for showing Bonnie and me this beautiful bird. Much appreciated! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_Owl

Last Saturday, 16 February 2013, several of us spent the morning with owl-bander, Richard Chamberland, who was down in Calgary and had invited us to join him to go and look for a particular Northern Hawk Owl SW of the city and to then see if we could find a Snowy Owl to band. There was no sign of the Hawk Owl and we only had time to find one Snowy, which unfortunately was way across a field and didn't come close enough. Richard had to be elsewhere at noon, but three friends and I continued to drive the backroads east of the city, finding this beautiful female. She had such dark markings - couldn't have been more beautiful. This is the same owl I posted two days ago. That photo was taken when she had flown to a very tall, wooden pole at the edge of the road. An overcast day, so not the best light. Thanks for this opportunity, everyone!

This photo was taken just as the sun was going down, but I thought I would try it anyway. I lightened the very dark image, but it was quite blurry. Better than nothing, though : ) This was the last of the Snowy Owls that we saw on Friday, 4 January 2013, on our way back to Calgary after a long day of searching for birds for the Horseshoe Canyon/Drumheller Christmas Bird Count. This was the last Count I took part in - the very last one was the following day. Our territory (section of the huge circle) for the Horseshoe Canyon/Drumheller Bird Count was on the north side of the Red Deer River, including the Tyrrell Museum area. This is Dinosaur country, the wonderful Badlands of Alberta! We drove some of the residential alleys looking for birds at feeders as well as in trees, and walked along the edge of the river at McMullen Island (it only becomes an island when the river level rises). The Red Deer River was completely frozen; 12 inches of snow cover. The day started off cloudy, clearing to beautiful sunshine, calm and a temperature of -14C soaring to 6C (yes, that's +6C!). Left my house at 5:40 a.m. and got home maybe 7:45 p.m. (?) Total kms-73; Total kms by car-68; Total kms on foot-5. Total hours-7; Total by car-4.5; Total on foot-2hrs; In cafe-0.5 hrs.. Just in case anyone is interested in what species the four of us found, this is the list for the day: Rock Pigeon-1 Eurasian Collared Dove-24 Great Horned Owl-1 Snowy Owl-1 Downy Woodpecker-5, Hairy Woodpecker-4 Northern Flicker-4 Pileated Woodpecker-1 Blue Jay-4 Black-billed Magpie-38 Black-capped Chickadee-17 White-breasted Nuthatch 3. Bohemian Waxwing-96 White-winged Crossbill-2 Common Redpoll-139 House Sparrow-42 We actually saw a total of six Snowy Owls, but only one actually in our Count area. As far as photos for the day are concerned, all I managed bird-wise was a Eurasian Collared Dove, a Red Crossbill and a couple of Snowy Owl photos. However, the scenery covered in snow was beautiful (and, as usual, my photos don't even begin to do it justice).

Poor quality, but posted so that I can add to my Snowy Owl Set - one of the Snowy owls we saw on 4 January 2013, when four of us drove eastwards to take part in the annual Horseshoe Canyon/Drumheller Christmas Bird Count.

This was the sixth and last Snowy Owl that our small group of four came across on 4 January 2013. Only one of the Snowy Owls was actually within our territory on the Horseshoe Canyon/Drumheller Christmas Bird Count, so even though we couldn't count the other five, we had the joy of simply seeing them (some were far away). Our territory was north of the River, including the Tyrrell Museum area. The owl in my image was the last owl we saw, on our way back to Calgary, taken when sunset was not far away. Had to brighten the image a fair bit.

I would never have seen this magnificent Snowy Owl if friends, Dorothy and Stephen, hadn't invited me to go with them on a spur-of-the-moment drive east of the city yesterday. So, thanks to them, I got the chance to take photos of this female (or juvenile) and three other Snowies that we found. The first Owl was perched on an electricity power line, way down the road and unfortunately was mobbed by a whole flock of small birds (Snow Buntings or Common Redpolls) making it fly way off across a field. The second one was so far away, sitting on the ground in a huge field that was a mix of snow and golden stubble. I just happened to notice the tiniest white speck - probably not far off a kilometre away?) - with my naked eyes. We pulled over and, sure enough, it was a Snowy. I might post a photo I took, using 48 times zoom and then heavily cropped, to give an idea, for those who have never been on a Snowy Owl search, just how difficult these birds can be to find : ) The owl in my photo above was the third owl we saw - perched on the usual, ugly, electricity pole. Apart from maybe two or three quick turns of the head in our direction, it sat for the whole time with the back of its head towards us, ha. The fourth owl, seen on our way back home, must have been a young one, as it was so curious about us. It just had a young look to it and really was quite cute to watch. Though these Snowy Owls were simply amazing to see, as always, I was already on a natural high from seeing a few flocks of beautiful Snow Buntings and Common Redpolls, that were flying over the fields and landing briefly on and around the barbed-wire fence near the road. Both are such beautiful birds. Thanks so much, you guys, for this wonderful time!