Dreaming of spring
Peacefully waiting
Just needed colour
Such a beautiful owl
Taveta Golden Weaver
Mongoose Lemur
Mountain Goat
Perch with a good view
Heart of a Snowdrop
Chocolate Pansy / Chocolate Soldier / Junonia iphi…
Humboldt Penguin / Spheniscus humboldti
Guardian of the path
Burrowing Owl
Mandrill
A mix of textures
Moose in the mountains
Eyes fixed on supper
Picked for demonstration
Entrance to a ranch
Cattle drive
A view from the Porcupine Hills
Old times remembered
Great Gray Owl, focused
Seedhead wisps
Typically Western
Quietly watching, always alert
Decorating the base of a tree
Mountain Chickadee / Poecile gambeli
Yellow-bellied Marmot
A highlight of a bird count
Old prairie barn
Winner with its prey
The joy of winter roads
The Sickener / Russula emetica?
It's those white birds again
Colour from Ornamental Cabbages
Winter textures
Northern Hawk Owl
With a little filtered help
The old-fashioned way
Snowy Owl along the fenceline
Goat's-beard with visitor
Lying on a bed of hoarfrost
Northern Hawk Owl
Winter in the Nanton, Alberta, area
Keywords
Authorizations, license
-
Visible by: Everyone -
All rights reserved
-
261 visits
Great Gray Owl from 2013


From my archives! I still have many old photos of Great Gray Owls that have not been posted and, as I'm just not getting the chance to "get out there" to look, thought I'd grab a shot from my archives. This photo was taken on a day that I actually got up and left the house really early - maybe the only day I've ever done that, when going somewhere on my own? It was taken shortly after the sun had risen and when quite a lot of the snow had melted.
Getting up really early is always so hard for me to do. I'm a night owl with atrocious sleep habits, so getting out of bed at 5:00 a.m. (alarm was set for 4:15 a.m., though!) was not my favourite way to start the day on 28 March 2013. Funny, when I have to meet friends for various early-starting trips, I can do it (but don't like it), but when I go off on my own, there is no deadline to meet, and I just never get round to doing it.
I headed NW of the city, wanting to see if time of day made any, or much, difference to seeing wildlife. Who really knows? I have seen these beautiful birds of prey at all sorts of times of the day, but of course the light was different. This one must have plunged into the mix of dried grass and snow fairly recently, as it still had that long piece of grass hanging from near its mouth. Wasn't sure whether to remove it or not - it's in quite a few photos - but decided to leave it just as it was. Right decision, lol?
I was also lucky enough to see three other Great Gray Owls, my first Mountain Bluebird of the year (always such a wonderful flash of brilliant blue), a Pileated Woodpecker, and an American Robin (always takes me by surprise when I see a Robin out in the middle of nowhere). A beautiful female Ruffed Grouse helped make my day, too. Guess I can say I was definitely rewarded for getting up so early, even though I might have seen all, or most, of these birds later in the day, too.
That was a good winter for Great Gray Owls. Since then, they didn't seem to be seen for a long time but, more recently, people have been seeing them, fortunately. Hope to eventually get out looking, though I'm not sure when. Depends on winter road conditions and also on when the light-headedness I'm getting (like before Christmas) clears up.
Getting up really early is always so hard for me to do. I'm a night owl with atrocious sleep habits, so getting out of bed at 5:00 a.m. (alarm was set for 4:15 a.m., though!) was not my favourite way to start the day on 28 March 2013. Funny, when I have to meet friends for various early-starting trips, I can do it (but don't like it), but when I go off on my own, there is no deadline to meet, and I just never get round to doing it.
I headed NW of the city, wanting to see if time of day made any, or much, difference to seeing wildlife. Who really knows? I have seen these beautiful birds of prey at all sorts of times of the day, but of course the light was different. This one must have plunged into the mix of dried grass and snow fairly recently, as it still had that long piece of grass hanging from near its mouth. Wasn't sure whether to remove it or not - it's in quite a few photos - but decided to leave it just as it was. Right decision, lol?
I was also lucky enough to see three other Great Gray Owls, my first Mountain Bluebird of the year (always such a wonderful flash of brilliant blue), a Pileated Woodpecker, and an American Robin (always takes me by surprise when I see a Robin out in the middle of nowhere). A beautiful female Ruffed Grouse helped make my day, too. Guess I can say I was definitely rewarded for getting up so early, even though I might have seen all, or most, of these birds later in the day, too.
That was a good winter for Great Gray Owls. Since then, they didn't seem to be seen for a long time but, more recently, people have been seeing them, fortunately. Hope to eventually get out looking, though I'm not sure when. Depends on winter road conditions and also on when the light-headedness I'm getting (like before Christmas) clears up.
, Pam J have particularly liked this photo
- Keyboard shortcuts:
Jump to top
RSS feed- Latest comments - Subscribe to the comment feeds of this photo
- ipernity © 2007-2025
- Help & Contact
|
Club news
|
About ipernity
|
History |
ipernity Club & Prices |
Guide of good conduct
Donate | Group guidelines | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Statutes | In memoria -
Facebook
Twitter
Get WELL !
Anne Elliott club has replied to Pam J clubSign-in to write a comment.