Mystery rock
Pine Grosbeak
Follow the fence line
A winter day in southern Alberta
Short-eared Owl
A sweet face
Spikes of ice
Clark's Nutcracker / Nucifraga columbiana
Now THIS is winter!
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
Sheltering in the trees
Painted Tongue / Salpiglosis
Winter walk at Beaverdam Flats
"Canoe with three warriors", by Team Sakha from Ru…
Clark's Nutcracker
Modern charm
Pine Grosbeak / Pinicola enucleator
One of yesterday's treats
Persian Cornflower / Centaurea dealbata?
Just in time
Snow, snow and more snow
Winter beauty
A winter walk
Snow in the forecast - need colour
Carnivorous Sundew
High wire act
Find the owl
Fenced in
Triple treat
Remembering the warmth of summer
A new find on a bitterly cold day
A friendly visitor
Cosy little birdhouse
Avenue of trees at Baker Park
White beauty
Rusty Blackbird
Farm cat watching for farm mice
Reflection through the fog
A different style
Red-sided Garter Snake scales
A tiny owl from the past
Shoo Fly / Nicandra physalodes
Red-breasted Merganser, juvenile male
Pine Grosbeak in pretty light
Old barns in heavy frost
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Fond memories of a popcan-sized owl


All three photos posted this morning are from my archives. Our forecast is for snow today, so I thought I would post photos with colour.
Almost a year ago, on 24 February 2015, I called in at Fish Creek Park to see if anyone had been able to find the tiny (less than 6" in length) Northern Pygmy-owl(s). I was in luck and, although the light was bad, the little owls put on quite a performance. This included a few things that I had missed on other days, such as perched on a fence post and both owls very briefly sitting on a branch, side by side (got a couple of really bad shots from behind, but I did post ne ages ago, just for the record). There were long periods of waiting in between the various bits of activity, so one needs a huge amount of patience : )
This photo was taken shortly before I left the park, after watching and waiting and hoping that this little female would eventually fly down and catch a Meadow Vole. Instead, she simply flew over to a fence post, which in itself was a real treat. I love the background colour from patches of dead leaves still hanging on the bushes.
"Northern Pygmy Owls are 'sit and wait' predators, that hunt mainly by vision, diving down onto prey on the ground and driving the talons into the prey's throat. They will also attack birds in shrubs, crashing into the hapless victims. Most prey is carried off in the feet to feeding sites. Birds are usually plucked before being consumed. They often eat only the brains of birds and the soft abdomen of insects. One of these little owls can carry prey weighing up to 3 times its own weight.
The Northern Pygmy Owl feeds on a wide range of small prey including small mammals, birds, and reptiles and amphibians. Voles make up the bulk of their diet, with birds comprising most of the rest (mainly songbirds, but as large as a California Quail). Other small mammals include shrews, mice, chipmunks, bats, moles, young rabbits, and weasels. Insects may be very important when they are most abundant. Other prey taken are toads, frogs and small lizards and snakes.
During winter, surplus prey is cached in a cavity, often in large quantities. Summer caches are usually much smaller.
Pellets are very small, averaging about 3cm long. They are formed only occasionally as these owls don't consume large amounts of fur, feathers, or bone. The pellets tend to fall apart shortly after ejection." From OwlPages.
www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Glaucidium&species=ca...
Almost a year ago, on 24 February 2015, I called in at Fish Creek Park to see if anyone had been able to find the tiny (less than 6" in length) Northern Pygmy-owl(s). I was in luck and, although the light was bad, the little owls put on quite a performance. This included a few things that I had missed on other days, such as perched on a fence post and both owls very briefly sitting on a branch, side by side (got a couple of really bad shots from behind, but I did post ne ages ago, just for the record). There were long periods of waiting in between the various bits of activity, so one needs a huge amount of patience : )
This photo was taken shortly before I left the park, after watching and waiting and hoping that this little female would eventually fly down and catch a Meadow Vole. Instead, she simply flew over to a fence post, which in itself was a real treat. I love the background colour from patches of dead leaves still hanging on the bushes.
"Northern Pygmy Owls are 'sit and wait' predators, that hunt mainly by vision, diving down onto prey on the ground and driving the talons into the prey's throat. They will also attack birds in shrubs, crashing into the hapless victims. Most prey is carried off in the feet to feeding sites. Birds are usually plucked before being consumed. They often eat only the brains of birds and the soft abdomen of insects. One of these little owls can carry prey weighing up to 3 times its own weight.
The Northern Pygmy Owl feeds on a wide range of small prey including small mammals, birds, and reptiles and amphibians. Voles make up the bulk of their diet, with birds comprising most of the rest (mainly songbirds, but as large as a California Quail). Other small mammals include shrews, mice, chipmunks, bats, moles, young rabbits, and weasels. Insects may be very important when they are most abundant. Other prey taken are toads, frogs and small lizards and snakes.
During winter, surplus prey is cached in a cavity, often in large quantities. Summer caches are usually much smaller.
Pellets are very small, averaging about 3cm long. They are formed only occasionally as these owls don't consume large amounts of fur, feathers, or bone. The pellets tend to fall apart shortly after ejection." From OwlPages.
www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Glaucidium&species=ca...
ROL/Photo, Frode, , Chrissy and 6 other people have particularly liked this photo
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