Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: snag

People have been seeing a Northern Hawk Owl recently, out of the city, but I'm not sure if or when I'll get a chance to go looking. So, I thought I would post a photo from almost a year ago, for now. 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 then suddenly disappeared. It had been almost five 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

One of these days, hopefully I will see and photograph a close Starling! They are beautiful birds, even if not at all popular. "First brought to North America by Shakespeare enthusiasts in the nineteenth century, European Starlings are now among the continent’s most numerous songbirds. They are stocky black birds with short tails, triangular wings, and long, pointed bills. Though they’re sometimes resented for their abundance and aggressiveness, they’re still dazzling birds when you get a good look. Covered in white spots during winter, they turn dark and glossy in summer. For much of the year, they wheel through the sky and mob lawns in big, noisy flocks." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/id This one was seen on 3 November 2016, when I was on a birding walk at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park, all morning with friends, mainly seeing various birds that were just distant silhouettes and much too far away for photos. I will add the list of the 32 bird species seen at Burnsmead, complied by our leaders, in a comment box below. By the way, a note to any local birders - the road down to Bankside has been closed for the winter. I don't remember this happening other years. Now you have to park in the Burnsmead parking lot and walk the rest of the way if you want to go to Bankside. After the walk, I decided that I needed to see something close enough to photograph, so I drove south a little way to look for a Long-tailed Weasel that people had been seeing all last week - but, as usual, not on the day that I went, lol! After 45 minutes of waiting, there was still no sign of the little Weasel. So, my usual plan of desperation took me to a wetland in the SW of the city, where I can usually see Mallards. Sure enough, there were two pairs hanging out together, and I really appreciated their giving me the chance to take a few photos. They were swimming in and out of sunlight and shadow, giving totally different photos.

On 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. When I read where this year's outing was going to be, I was so excited and registered immediately and, apparently, was the first person on the list : ) I believe there were 66 people on the trip, enjoying a great day. The sun was shining and the temperature got up to around 25C - too warm for me and for many others, especially when the whole day is spent outdoors. It was a very early start, with my alarm clocks set for 4:30 am. Unfortunately, they had also been set for 4:30 am the previous day, when I went on a Bio-blitz to the Square Butte Ranch. Being a dreadful 'night owl', this meant that I ended up doing these two trips on about 5 hours sleep total over the two nights. Not good! It is such a treat to go somewhere by bus - everyone can relax and chat. Some of the $50 charge per person went towards a donation to the Ellis Bird Farm (and to the JJ Collett natural area that we visited later in the day), which was good to know. The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm takes about an hour and a half. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People donate and send them from all over the province. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world ... 300+! It was a real treat to see a lot of Purple Martins at the Farm - there were so many of these birds that you couldn't tell which were actual pairs. They are very social birds, who apparently like people too, and nest in condominium-style nest boxes. They spend "most of the year in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and come up to Alberta just long enough to raise a family." What a long way to come to do that! These birds are uncommon in Alberta. We started off by watching a very touching old video about Charlie Ellis - what a delightful, very shy, modest man he was. ""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife. The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters. After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/ After the video, we were divided into two large groups and then further divided again. Not easy to organize such a large number of people and it was rather confusing, Have to admit that I ended up, like various friends, wandering around, taking photos. I always prefer to be free to do this, as there is a lot of information on the Internet, which can be read before and after such a visit. "​Ellis Bird Farm made science history on Tuesday May 31 when University of Manitoba Grad Student, Alisha Ritchie, and her EBF team (Cheyenne Knight, Claudia Lipski and Myrna Pearman) retrapped a very special yearling Purple Martin. This bird had been retrofitted with a light level geolocator last season, as a nestling, and is the first songbird EVER(!) to be tracked on its first migration. The bird had evaded several attempts to trap it, so it has been named Houdini." Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program: www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html Following our visit to the Farm, we boarded the two buses and were driven about half an hour's drive away, to the JJ Collett natural area, where the amazing Dr. Charles (Charlie) Bird took us on a walk (longer and faster paced than I was expecting, ha) along one of the trails (Trail #1). This is an interesting place to visit - will have to add information about it when I eventually post an image or two taken there. www.jjcollett.com/ Not sure what time we got back to the meeting place in Calgary - around 5:15 pm? I sat in my car and gulped down a mug of black coffee before driving for maybe 45 minutes to the far side of the city. My vehicle had been sitting in the sun all day and my coffee was almost as hot as if freshly made! Thank you, Nature Calgary and Leslie, for organizing this special day trip for us! Thank you, also, to Myrna Pearman at the Farm, who organized us all and helped make this a very successful and greatly enjoyed visit! Kate, thank you for your company on the drive there and back - made the time go faster and was so enjoyable.

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 14 May 2016, when I went on a morning walk with birding friends. We met at the Boat Launch in Fish Creek Park and walked in the Sikome and Lafarge Meadows areas. This included checking on the usual Great Horned Owl family - all four members were way up high in the trees, more or less hidden from view. Later today, I will add the list of bird species seen. After this walk, I drove a short distance to see a different family of Great Horned Owls, presumably the same pair of adults that we had seen last year, nesting near the Bow Valley Ranch. Amazingly, this pair had four - yes, four! - owlets this time. Somewhat better views than of the first family, at least for the short time I was there. Stopped long enough to take a photo of this iridescent Tree Swallow during our walk. There are so many of these birds everywhere at the moment, and plenty of swarming insects for them to feed on. "Handsome aerialists with deep-blue iridescent backs and clean white fronts, Tree Swallows are a familiar sight in summer fields and wetlands across northern North America. They chase after flying insects with acrobatic twists and turns, their steely blue-green feathers flashing in the sunlight. Tree Swallows nest in tree cavities; they also readily take up residence in nest boxes. This habit has allowed scientists to study their breeding biology in detail, and makes them a great addition to many a homeowner’s yard or field." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tree_Swallow/id Bird list from our leader, Melanie S.: Fish Creek PP--Boat Launch, Calgary, Alberta, CA 14-May-2016 9:00 AM - 12:10 PM Protocol: Traveling 3.5 kilometer(s) Comments: 10 to 15 deg C. Sunny. Nature Calgary field trip, leader Melanie Seneviratne. 46 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose 24 Gadwall 8 American Wigeon 10 Mallard 22 Blue-winged Teal 4 Northern Shoveler 1 Canvasback 1 Redhead 7 Lesser Scaup 6 Common Goldeneye 2 Common Merganser 2 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 4 American White Pelican 5 Great Blue Heron 1 Osprey 4 Northern Goshawk 1 Flew over car park as we were leaving. Swainson's Hawk 4 American Coot 4 Spotted Sandpiper 4 Wilson's Snipe 1 Franklin's Gull 3 California Gull 1 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2 Great Horned Owl 4 2 adult 2 juveniles Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Black-billed Magpie 2 American Crow 2 Common Raven 5 Tree Swallow 250 Barn Swallow 1 Cliff Swallow 20 Black-capped Chickadee 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 American Robin 12 European Starling 10 Clay-colored Sparrow 2 White-crowned Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 1 Red-winged Blackbird 30 Yellow-headed Blackbird 6 Brewer's Blackbird 1 Brown-headed Cowbird 5

This is a Great Gray Owl, seen NW of Calgary, way back on 25 May 2012. Made a great sighting on my birthday! Love it when these huge owls land on a variety of perches - some photogenic, others not. This was more or less a black silhouette in my original photo, but some brightening (perhaps not quite enough) brought out - an owl with feathers : ) In the link to Wikipedia below, there is an interesting diagram showing just how much of this bulk is skeleton and how much is thick plumage. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory

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 adult 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. Great to see a few familiar faces up there, too : ) 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 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

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 perching on a branch out in the open like this, but it obviously did. 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 adult 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. Great to see a few familiar faces up there, too : ) 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 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

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 perching on a branch out in the open like this, but it obviously did. I would have preferred to have the whole owl in the light, but you happily take what you can get. 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 adult nine days ago, 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. Great to see a few familiar faces up there, too : ) 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 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 Yesterday, I was SO lucky to see something that had been one of the top three things on my Wish List for quite a few years. I did get a few photos, not particularly spectacular, but I was so happy to get them. Maybe I will post one shot tomorrow : ) Thank you so much, Phil (Q), for taking a few of us to look for it again after the end of the morning walk. You did a brilliant job of finding it for us, and I am indescribably grateful!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, everyone! Posting this for the record, not for photographic merit : ) On 19th August 2015, a group of friends and I saw this unusually pale American Robin at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It was a very slow day for birds and I only took a handful of photos of anything during our three-hour walk.

I'm still returning to my recent archives to find "new" photos to post of this tiny Northern Pygmy-owl. I think I've posted most of my better shots of him/her, but still have various others that I want to add to my album. Took this photo on 11 January 2015, when I called in at Fish Creek Park again for some fresh air and, hopefully, a friend or two. I was lucky with both. It was a Sunday and a lot of photographers had gathered to watch and photograph this tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl. I was impressed that all the photographers were very respectful of this tiny owl. Mind you, apart from a couple of very brief, low landings in bushes, it stayed perched extremely high in tall trees and at the top of a couple of tall snags. Thankfully, it was still within my camera reach and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places. Bright blue sky completed the picture, unlike the day before, which had been overcast and gloomy. "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. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_pygmy_owl I overslept by an hour this morning, so have to hurry and get ready for my volunteer shift.

Not the best quality shot, but I wanted to add it to my Northern Pygmy-owl album to remind myself of this different perch. It has been eight days since I've seen this tiny, popcan-sized owl, but what an amazing time we have had, watching and photographing this beautiful visitor to our park. Thank you, little owl! Took this photo on 11 January 2015, when I called in at Fish Creek Park again for some fresh air and, hopefully, a friend or two. I was lucky with both. It was a Sunday and a lot of photographers had gathered to watch and photograph this tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl. I was impressed that all the photographers were very respectful of this tiny owl. Mind you, apart from a couple of very brief, low landings in bushes, it stayed perched extremely high in tall trees and at the top of a couple of tall snags. Thankfully, it was still within my camera reach and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places. Bright blue sky completed the picture, unlike the day before, which had been overcast and gloomy. It was so good to see so many friends again - lifted my spirits, for which I was so grateful. My thanks to each and every one of them.