Common Redpoll / Acanthis flammea
Down on the farm
It's the little guy/gal again
New "barn", Granary Road
A peaceful winter scene
Evening Grosbeaks, male and female
Black farm cat
Autumn in Alberta
Purple Honeycreeper male
Old-fashioned garden decoration
Pioneer Acres branding iron
A country scene
Northern Shrike
Walking in a winter wonderland
White-tailed Ptarmigan
Behind the tangled branches
White-tailed Ptarmigan camouflage
A patch of blue
A change from a world of white
A white world
Time to rest
Sculpture at Granary Road
A happy find
The beauty of erosion
Old, see-through barn
The new "Famous Five" at Granary Road
Goat at the Petting Zoo
Granary Road
Alberta foothills in the fall
Alpaca at the Christmas Market
Christmas Market
Popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl, from January 2015
Old house next to metal silo
Canada Geese on ice at Pine Coulee Reservoir
Swainson's Hawk juvenile
Before "winter" arrived
The old, white house
Start of the storm
Weathered wood
Barn Owl
Distant ice patterns on the reservoir
Old weathered shed
Spider walking on snow
Morning sun over Pine Coulee Reservoir
Common Redpolls / Acanthis flammea
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Another surprise on another gloomy day


Hold up your hand in front of you and clench your fist. That is how big a Northern Pygmy-owl is : ) They are beautiful, cute - and ferocious hunters.
Yesterday morning, 21 November 2017, was cold and very overcast and I really did not feel like going out at all. However, I'm so glad I pushed myself out the front door, and joined friends for a birding walk in Fish Creek Park. I/we can't take any credit for finding this tiny owl, as we came across a lone photographer standing with his camera lens pointed upwards. I don't know if yesterday's owl was the same as the one I photographed 12 days ago, on 9 November 2017, in a different part of the park.
"The Northern Pygmy-Owl may be tiny, but it’s a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads, and piercing yellow eyes. They hunt during the day by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, songbirds often gather to mob sitting owls until they fly away. Mobbing songbirds can help you find these unobtrusive owls, as can listening for their call, a high-pitched series of toots." From AllAboutBirds. They also love Meadow Voles.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id
"This Northern Pygmy-Owl appears to have eyes in the back of its head. But why? One theory is that large false eyes may create the illusion that the owl is much bigger than its 6 and 3/4-inch size. A more current theory is that the false eyes help protect the pygmy-owl's true eyes. Small birds will mob this diurnal owl, even striking it, directing some attacks at its eyes. If the large false eyes can take the brunt of these attacks, little harm will come to the Pygmy-Owl's vulnerable true eyes." From birdnote.org.
birdnote.org/show/pygmy-owls-false-eyes
Yesterday morning, 21 November 2017, was cold and very overcast and I really did not feel like going out at all. However, I'm so glad I pushed myself out the front door, and joined friends for a birding walk in Fish Creek Park. I/we can't take any credit for finding this tiny owl, as we came across a lone photographer standing with his camera lens pointed upwards. I don't know if yesterday's owl was the same as the one I photographed 12 days ago, on 9 November 2017, in a different part of the park.
"The Northern Pygmy-Owl may be tiny, but it’s a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads, and piercing yellow eyes. They hunt during the day by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, songbirds often gather to mob sitting owls until they fly away. Mobbing songbirds can help you find these unobtrusive owls, as can listening for their call, a high-pitched series of toots." From AllAboutBirds. They also love Meadow Voles.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id
"This Northern Pygmy-Owl appears to have eyes in the back of its head. But why? One theory is that large false eyes may create the illusion that the owl is much bigger than its 6 and 3/4-inch size. A more current theory is that the false eyes help protect the pygmy-owl's true eyes. Small birds will mob this diurnal owl, even striking it, directing some attacks at its eyes. If the large false eyes can take the brunt of these attacks, little harm will come to the Pygmy-Owl's vulnerable true eyes." From birdnote.org.
birdnote.org/show/pygmy-owls-false-eyes
Heide, Christina Sonnenschein, Sonia Roosen, Frode and 3 other people have particularly liked this photo
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