Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: piercing eyes

This photo caught my eye last night, when I was looking in one of my photo folders of images to maybe post to Flickr. One of these owls is being occasionally seen in Fish Creek Park at the moment, too. Almost three years ago, on 14 January 2015, I called in at Fish Creek Park for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two. I was lucky with both and people had already found one of the little owls. It was an amazingly therapeutic outing - my daughter had died just 11 days before. Usually, the owl was just about within my camera range and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places, including some closer views. Any very close photos that are on my photostream, taken on various days, were taken when the owl unexpectedly flew right to where people were standing, seemingly without any stress. You would think that the owls would move away to a different area if they were bothered by the presence of people. Instead, these tiny owls seem to be very tolerant, and continue to hunt, stash food (Meadow Voles) and even mate, when people are present. "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

Just over a year ago, on 14 January 2015, I called in at Fish Creek Park for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two. I was lucky with both. People had already found one of the little owls. I love my easy little point-and-shoot : ) Some of my photos were taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm, so the owl looks closer than it really was. We were all treated to some good views, and it was fascinating to watch the owl get ready to fly down to the snow-covered ground when it saw some movement. It goes through some interesting body behaviour in the seconds before that rapid dive. I can't remember if it did actually dive down this time. I was impressed that all the photographers were very respectful of this tiny owl. Some of its time was spent perched extremely high in tall trees. Usually, it was just about within my camera range and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places, including some closer views. Any very close photos that are on my photostream, taken on various days, were taken when the owl unexpectedly flew right to where people were standing, seemingly without any stress. You would think that the owls would move away to a different area if they were bothered by the presence of people. Instead, they seem very tolerant, and continue to hunt, stash food (Meadow Voles) and even mate when people are present. "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

On 14 January 2015, I called in at Fish Creek Park for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two. I was lucky with both. People had already found one of the little owls. Somehow, everyone seemed able to manoeuvre their tripods and enormous lenses each time the owl moved to a different branch or a new tree. I love my easy little point-and-shoot : ) Some of my photos were taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm, so the owl looks closer than it really was. We were all treated to some good views, and it was fascinating to watch the owl get ready to fly down to the snow-covered ground when it saw some movement. It goes through some interesting body behaviour in the seconds before that rapid dive. I can't remember if it did actually dive down this time. I was impressed that all the photographers were very respectful of this tiny owl. Some of its time was spent perched extremely high in tall trees. Usually, it was just about within my camera reach and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places, including some closer views. Any very close photos that are on my photostream, taken on various days, were taken when the owl unexpectedly flew right to where people were standing, seemingly without any stress. You would think that the owls would move away to a different area if they were bothered by the presence of people. Instead, they seem very tolerant, and continue to hunt, stash food (Meadow Voles) and even mate when people are present. "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

On 14 January 2015, I called in at Fish Creek Park for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two. I was lucky with both. People had already found one of the little owls. Somehow, everyone seemed able to manoeuvre their tripods and enormous lenses each time the owl moved to a different branch or a new tree. I love my easy little point-and-shoot : ) Some of my photos were taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm, so the owl looks closer than it really was. We were all treated to some good views, and it was fascinating to watch the owl get ready to fly down to the snow-covered ground when it saw some movement. It goes through some interesting body behaviour in the seconds before that rapid dive. I can't remember if it did actually dive down this time. I was impressed that all the photographers were very respectful of this tiny owl. Some of its time was spent perched extremely high in tall trees. Usually, it was just about within my camera reach and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places, including some closer views. Any very close photos that are on my photostream, taken on various days, were taken when the owl unexpectedly flew right to where people were standing, seemingly without any stress. You would think that the owls would move away to a different area if they were bothered by the presence of people. Instead, they seem very tolerant, and continue to hunt, stash food (Meadow Voles) and even mate when people are present.

THANK YOU TO ALL MY FRIENDS FOR HELPING TO MAKE THE LOSS OF MY OLDEST DAUGHTER, FIONA, EASIER TO BEAR! YOU HAVE ALL MADE SO MUCH DIFFERENCE THE LAST 10 DAYS! I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH. Yesterday, 14 January 2015, I called in at Fish Creek Park yet again for some fresh air and, hopefully, a friend or two. I was lucky with both. It was a weekday, but there were so many people there, it felt like a Sunday! Somehow, everyone seemed able to manoeuvre their tripods and enormous lenses each time the owl moved to a different branch or a new tree. I love my easy little point-and-shoot : ) We were all treated to some close views yesterday, and it was fascinating to watch the owl get ready to fly down to the snow-covered ground when it saw some movement. It goes through some interesting body behaviour in the seconds before that rapid dive. This particular photo was take on 11 January, though, not yesterday. I was impressed that all the photographers were very respectful of this tiny owl. Some of its time was spent perched extremely high in tall trees. Usually, it was just about within my camera reach and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places, including some closer views. Bright blue sky completed the picture, yet again. However, this morning is as overcast as could be. The forecast is for 6C and sunny this afternoon, so if it happens, I might just be tempted to go over to the park later. There is no knowing how long this tiny owl will be around. Also, I will be missing Sunday and probably Saturday, as the Celebration of Life service for my daughter is on Sunday. "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

Yesterday, 11 January 2015, 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. 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. In this photo, we were treated to a view from the back with its little head turned around - and it was right out in the open, which made a nice change. 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.

Yesterday, 10 January 2015, I called in at Fish Creek Park for some fresh air and, hopefully, a friend or two. I was lucky with both. Several photographers had gathered to watch and photograph this tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl. We had seen it fly down to the ground and catch a Meadow Vole, and you can see a tiny bit of its snack on its beak. This shot is an improvement on the one I posted yesterday, but I'm still hoping to get the chance for some photos with a nice, clear background. You can see how well this owl blends in with its surroundings.

Two days ago, I took a break from my computer and drove over to Fish Creek Park. I was really hoping to see at least a few friends there, as I knew that would help lift my spirits at the moment. Thankfully, several of them were there, watching this tiny Northern Pygmy-owl, which, by the time I got there, was high up in a tree that was surrounded by other tall trees. This was the "best" view I got - distant, fully zoomed, highly cropped, and not in good light. Better than nothing, though, and hopefully I'll get the chance for a better view sometime. The owl flew to several different trees, the rest being far, far away. It's always such a thrill to see one of these popcan-sized or fist-sized owls. It must be around four years ago that I had great views of this little owl - everyone had missed it/them since then, I believe. Sometime, I'll make a note of when I saw it, just out of interest.

Yesterday was sunny, after two or three weeks of horribly overcast, dreary weather, so I went for a drive to take some snowy scenery shots. I was surprised to find that there was not as much snow out in the countryside as I had expected. Found myself on a road where I had seen a Great Gray Owl before and was hoping and hoping that I might just be lucky again - and there it was! Unfortunately, it was perched on the side of the road that wasn't in the sun, but I was so happy to just see an owl : ) Still had a smile on my face at midnight.

About a week ago, on 10 November 2012, after two or three weeks of horribly overcast, dreary weather, I went for a drive to take some snowy scenery shots. I was surprised to find that there was not as much snow out in the countryside as I had expected. Found myself on a road where I had seen a Great Gray Owl before and was hoping and hoping that I might just be lucky again - and there it was! Still had a smile on my face at midnight.

A friend very kindly invited me to go looking today for the Northern Hawk Owl, NW of Calgary. I had been lucky enough to see one on 31st January in a different location (but not all that far away from today's location), but my photos were more distant than those taken today. Actually, we saw a second Northern Hawk Owl today, just down the road from the owl in this photo. These owls are rare to uncommon year-round in Alberta, so it was definitely a thrill to see them. Don't you just love those piercing eyes? Actually, this species of owl is quite curious and unfazed by humans. This is one of the most sought-after birds in Alberta, so I feel very privileged. It is an irruptive species - commonly seen in some winters and rarely in others.