Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: nestling

Two days ago, on 13 June 2016, I went for a drive SW of the city, along my "usual" backroads. I had been watching a pair of Mountain Bluebirds and, while watching the parents bring insects to feed them, I suddenly noticed two little beaks push through the hole in the nesting box. A few seconds later, this baby Bluebird poked its head through the hole and took a look at the big, big world beyond its cozy little nest. Such a cute little thing! I suspect I will miss the last chance to see them, as I have been without my vehicle since yesterday afternoon. Hoping it will be serviced and repaired in time for me to pick it up late this afternoon. I have only ever once seen baby Bluebirds that have fledged and that was a number of years ago, when I happened to spot them down on the ground, in the grasses. Usually, they are in the nest box one day and then gone the next and I don't see them again till the next year.

Two days ago, on 9 June 2015, I went for a drive SW of the city, along my "usual" backroads. I had been watching a pair of Mountain Bluebirds and, while waiting for them to make an appearance again, I suddenly noticed two little beaks push through the hole in the nesting box. A few seconds later, this baby Bluebird poked its head through the hole and took a look at the big, big world beyond its cozy little nest. Such a cute little thing! I have only ever once seen baby Bluebirds that have fledged and that was a number of years ago, when I happened to spot them down on the ground, in the grasses. Usually, they are there one day and then gone the next and I don't see them again till the next year. Yesterday, I did the drive again and was happy to see that the little family had not yet left. Maybe today will be the day, which means that I know I will do the drive again : ) As usual, I noticed flashes of blue near quite a few nest boxes. In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...

Just over two weeks ago, on 15 April 2015, my parking lot was going to be spring-cleaned, which meant that all cars had to be out of the lot by 7:30 am. I don't have a 2015 street parking permit, so I had to leave home at 7:30 and find something that would use up the few hours before my volunteer shift. I didn't want to risk being late for that, so decided to stay within the city rather than go driving some backroads. The owls in Fish Creek Park ended up being my destination. I had only been there twice in many weeks, seeing Mom on my first visit and then Mom with two of her three owlets on the second. When I arrived early morning on 15 April, there was no sign of the "paparazzi" - I had been expecting there to be at least a few photographers and people out for a walk. Maybe the 10-minute viewing limit has had some effect : ) This time, I was able to see all three owlets as well as Mom and Dad. Can't remember which owlet this one was, but it was just the cutest bundle of fluff. Late afternoon, after my volunteer shift, I called in again for a short while on my way home. It has been five days since I last called in, so I'm sure there have been changes. "With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics. Great Horned Owls are nocturnal. You may see them at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree limbs at the edges of open areas, or flying across roads or fields with stiff, deep beats of their rounded wings. Their call is a deep, stuttering series of four to five hoots." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_horned_owl

This is a three-week-old Barred Owlet, really just a bundle of fluff that was too young to do anything : ) It and its only sibling were carefully shown to a group of us bird lovers and photographers, so this is not a "natural" photo, but a posed one. 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 me up there. The owls were a little younger than they might have been, but still so precious to see! 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 yet banded), 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. 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". 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. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barred_Owl

Several of us went with Don Stiles round his Mountain Bluebird route (SW of Calgary), on 24 June 2013. Don has been a dedicated monitor for about 30 years. This young Bluebird was out of the nest box (being held by one of the ladies in the group) along with its five siblings, to be banded. This is an outing that I look forward to each year.

This is a three-week-old Barred Owlet, really just a bundle of fluff that was too young to do anything : ) It and its only sibling were carefully brought down from the nesting box to show a group of us bird lovers and photographers, so this is not a "natural" photo, but a posed one. Of course, me being me, I loved the bright orange lichen that was growing on this branch, too : ) 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. 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 (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 : ) Previously posted photo of an adult Barrred Owl (seen at a talk at the University of Calgary a few years ago) is in a comment box below. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barred_Owl It's pouring with rain and thunder here this afternoon and I'm so glad : ) Waiting for my car to be looked at and fixed next Tuesday, so I am avoiding going out anywhere for these few days. A wet day makes it easier to bear, ha. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I declined the offer to hold one in my hands. Love those long, stray hairs! Hard to believe that this tiny thing will grow up to become a bird that is such a vivid blue - if it's a male, that is. Not bad in large size.

Three days ago, 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 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 Owlets. One of the Saw-whets was only about a week old and the other (seen in the photo I posted yesterday) was three weeks old. I think the Barred Owlets were about three weeks old and were very much bigger than the Saw-whets. 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 (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 : )