Blackie Grain Terminal, Alberta
Fence post with a difference
Surveying its territory
One of the first of the season
Passing the time
Floral beauty
The return of the Swans
Bubbles at Frank Lake
A close landing
Branch treasures
Varied Thrush
Ice patterns
Elk siblings or friends
Pink Sundae / Salvia viridis
Great Gray Owl - breathtaking
Mural in Blackie, Alberta
Delicate Damselfly
A bird in the hand is worth many in the bush
Looking across Frank Lake
On a frosty morning
Memories
Little red barn with green roof
Soothing simplicity
Built with love
A life left behind
Popular with the Aphids
From days gone by
One of my few Snowy Owls of 2016
Perched on a broken tree trunk
Rolling hills and distant peaks
A sky filled with clouds
Remembering a winter day
Tropical - cultivar of Tillandsia ionantha?
Dainty little Common Redpoll
Got my eyes on you
'Hiding' in the grass
Himalayan Blue Poppy
One of a pair
Siberian Squill
A little corner of Reader Rock Garden
One of my favourite barns
Mountain view on an owl-less day
Davisburg Community Church, Alberta
A quick glance
Farmyard scene on the prairie
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Blowing in the wind


This photo makes it look as if this Northern Hawk Owl was right in front of me, but the EXIF data shows Focal Length (35mm format) - 1050 mm. Actually, I don't even remember the owl flying in our direction and landing on a branch out in the open like this, but it obviously did. This owl gave us a few occasions of being seen, but has not been reported for maybe a month now.
It had been almost four years since many of us were fortunate enough to make visits to a family of Northern Hawk Owls, NW of Calgary. I was so thrilled to see this one on 8 February 2016, again NW of the city. It's a one and a half hour drive for me to get there, so not a drive I care to do very often - roughly 220+ km round trip.
It was like a spring day that day, sunny, pleasant and not cold. I really wanted to get over there before we got our next snowfall and it seemed a perfect day to go. There were three or four cars parked at the side of the road when I arrived at the area and everyone let me know that the owl had been fairly close to the road just before I arrived, but had now disappeared way across a huge field. "You just missed it!" - never words one wants to hear, lol! However, I was assured it would be back - and that is what happened.
"The type of prey the Hawk-Owl catches will determine its eating strategy. For mammalian prey the ritual is generally the same: the Northern Hawk-Owl will eviscerate its prey, eats the head first (especially for prey like the red squirrel, whose head is fairly large), and then—when tackling larger prey—it will eat the organs and cache the remains; with smaller prey, the owl will simply swallow the body whole."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Hawk-Owl
"The Northern Hawk Owl can detect prey by sight at a distance of up to 800 meters (half a mile). Though it is thought to detect prey primarily by sight, the Northern Hawk Owl can find and seize prey under 30 cm (1 foot) of snow." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_hawk_owl/lifehistory
It had been almost four years since many of us were fortunate enough to make visits to a family of Northern Hawk Owls, NW of Calgary. I was so thrilled to see this one on 8 February 2016, again NW of the city. It's a one and a half hour drive for me to get there, so not a drive I care to do very often - roughly 220+ km round trip.
It was like a spring day that day, sunny, pleasant and not cold. I really wanted to get over there before we got our next snowfall and it seemed a perfect day to go. There were three or four cars parked at the side of the road when I arrived at the area and everyone let me know that the owl had been fairly close to the road just before I arrived, but had now disappeared way across a huge field. "You just missed it!" - never words one wants to hear, lol! However, I was assured it would be back - and that is what happened.
"The type of prey the Hawk-Owl catches will determine its eating strategy. For mammalian prey the ritual is generally the same: the Northern Hawk-Owl will eviscerate its prey, eats the head first (especially for prey like the red squirrel, whose head is fairly large), and then—when tackling larger prey—it will eat the organs and cache the remains; with smaller prey, the owl will simply swallow the body whole."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Hawk-Owl
"The Northern Hawk Owl can detect prey by sight at a distance of up to 800 meters (half a mile). Though it is thought to detect prey primarily by sight, the Northern Hawk Owl can find and seize prey under 30 cm (1 foot) of snow." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_hawk_owl/lifehistory
ROL/Photo, have particularly liked this photo
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