Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#129

Saturday, 24 January 2015, was a great day for seeing the tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl in Fish Creek Park. For once, I was up really early so that I could go on a birding walk, which was being held at the same location. Other than the usual Black-capped Chickadee. Nuthatches and Downy Woodpeckers, the two main species that we saw were the Pileated Woodpecker (a male and a female together) and a very distant Cooper's Hawk. When we were at the furthest spot, we got news that the Northern Pygmy-owl had appeared. Needless to say, we joined the photographers who were all lined up with their enormous camera lenses pointed upwards. About three (!) hours after getting back to where the owl was and seeing it on several different branches that were not particularly easy to photograph, it suddenly flew down to the mass and tangle of bushes right where all the photographers were now standing. A few people knelt or lay down in the cold, melting snow so that they could get a better view through the thin branches. There was no way I could do that, so my view was not good. However, as far as actually seeing the owl at such close quarters was concerned, it was a great chance. All my photos, except this one and maybe two or three others, were no good at all and need to be deleted : ( In this shot, you can see one real eye and on the back of the head, one of its two "false" eyes. It was amazing to see this tiny bird of prey up close, and it was really good to see how at ease it seemed. Can't remember if it had just caught a Meadow Vole before I took these photos or whether it caught one and then flew up into a thin, forked branch where it posed beautifully along with its catch. Haven't looked properly at the photos I took of this last pose, but hopefully one of them will be OK. After about four hours of standing around, it was time to go home, especially as I had originally arrived at the park for the 3-hour bird walk seven hours earlier! Some people do this all the time and I don't know how they are able to do so. It requires so much patience, and I'd never be able to do it if it weren't for friends to chat with while waiting and waiting. One of my three photos posted this morning shows a pellet that this tiny owl coughed up when it was perched in these bushes. I couldn't see the owl's face at that very moment, but did see the pellet falling down to the ground.

A beautiful Sunflower opening a couple of months ago.

Another view of the Famous Five, LOL! Lots of photographers drive to this area to see this row of five granaries. At this time of year, when the Canola fields have turned golden, the view is even more spectacular. This photo was taken back on 27th July. Today, I am home, sitting at my computer wearing socks, sweatpants and a sweater. Last night, I needed sweatpants, socks and two duvets - and this is SUMMER, LOL??? Almost forgotten what the sun looks and feels like, ha, ha.

So where was THIS when it was -30C and snowing, LOL? Funny, I still crave bright colours, despite the fact that our weather is warming up. Yes, I know there are already "too many" images of Tulip centres on Flickr - but, while some people hate them, I love them, ha! A beautiful day today, and I went on another walk at 12 Mile Coulee. Wanted to check out the Lichens and early spring wildflowers again. It's a good workout, too - which I definitely need : )

When I was watching the Red Pandas at the Calgary Zoo the other day, a family (of humans!) came into the enclosure, perhaps as part of a behind-the-scenes tour? It was interesting to see how the animals interacted with the people, who were giving them pieces of fruit to eat. These are such popular residents of the Zoo : ) Zoo staff are keeping their fingers crossed that there might be babies soon : )