Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Prairie Falcon

I was very grateful to see this Prairie Falcon yesterday afternoon, 7 February 2019, even more so as I ended up finding no Snowy Owls at all in the short time I looked. "The prairie falcon is classified as Sensitive in the current General Status of Alberta Wild Species report. See the Status of the Prairie Falcon in Alberta report at: General Status of Alberta Wild Species In a subsequent detailed status assessment, Alberta's Endangered Species Conservation Committee identified the prairie falcon as a Species of Special Concern — a species that without human intervention may soon become threatened with extinction. Issues Population is dependent on the availability of secure nest sites and an adequate base population of ground squirrels. Current management Like all raptors in Alberta, the prairie falcon is protected by the provincial Wildlife Act and classified as a non-game species. This species is a focal species of the MULTISAR (multiple species at risk) program. MULTISAR strives to conserve multiple species at risk by working cooperatively with landowners and lease holders to implement voluntary beneficial management practices on native prairie habitat. Surveying local populations, assessing the ecological status of the habitat, developing management recommendations and habitat enhancement projects, and monitoring the species' response over time are key elements of the program." aep.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/wild-species/birds/falcons-w... My actual reason for driving east of the city today was to go and introduce myself to one of the local landowners in that area. About a week ago, her Grandson had been curious about what we were doing, parked along the side of the road. He told me that his Grandmother was really nervous, wondering what we were up to. Understandably so, as there is plenty of crime in rural areas. I had reassured him that anyone in any cars were birders/photographers, interested only in seeing and photographing the special owls that were on their land. He invited me to go in and meet his Grandma, but I had to explain to him that my night vision for driving is bad and that I needed to try and get back to the city before it got dark (ended up driving in the dark!). I told him that I would call in another day and I wanted to make sure that I did this. So, today was the day. Last night, I had printed out a photo I had taken a week ago of one of these Short-eared Owls, perched on a post in their field. Also printed a Snowy Owl and a Great Horned Owl for them, and we had an enjoyable chat about the different kinds of owl. I do hope this lady feels safer now that she knows exactly what we are all doing. Not sure when I'll get the chance to go east again - the deep freeze continues and it is most unpleasant to try and take photos in these temperatures. The risk of getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere in these frigid temperatures puts me off going. This evening, at 10:45 pm, the temperature is -24C (windchill -36C)! Stay warm, everyone!

Posting this shot really just for the record and in the hope that someone might just happen to see it and be able to confirm or correct my ID. It was only a small bird of prey, so presumably a Prairie Falcon, not a Gyrfalcon. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/prairie_falcon/id This photo was taken on 12 February 2015, which was spent SE of the city with friends Cathy and Terry. My friends picked me up around 7:00 am and I think I was home somewhere around 7:30 pm, after a great day of searching for owls, barns, and anything else that caught our eye. The weather was beautiful, as you can see in this photo. The temperature reached a brief high of 13C around 1:00 and 2:00 pm, which felt so good, especially for mid-winter. We had to deal with a lot of heat distortion during the day, so some photos are far from sharp. Many of the roads we travelled along were roads that I had driven on myself, some of them a number of times. A few of the roads were new to me, which was a treat, including a "trail" that was so deeply rutted and snow-covered that I'm amazed that we ever got out of there! This track and another backroad that was new to me led to a few old barns that I really appreciated being shown. I think my friends were amused that I fell asleep on this very rough track - after only an hour and a half's sleep the previous night, on top of always being very sleep-deprived, I'm really not surprised. It's strange how some fields in the whole area were more or less bare and yet others had a lot of snow covering the stubble, with piles of snow lining the edges of the road. As far as wildlife was concerned, we saw 11 owls - 8 Snowy Owls and 3 Great Horned Owls. The Snowies, other than the one perched on the "Wrong Way" sign that I posted the other day, were all extremely distant, so my photos are of white specks in a nice setting, ha. If I hadn't been with two people who can spot "everything", I'm sure that I would never have found most of these owls! Other birds included a flock of Snow Buntings, plus two individuals that were perched on a fence - haven't checked yet to see if I have a sharp enough photo. Another bird we saw was this beautiful Falcon perched on an electricity pylon. Also saw a group of Grey Partridge that suddenly flew before we had noticed them. A Red Fox made a very fast appearance as it ran across the road, and we saw a small herd of Mule Deer. Many thanks, as always, Cathy and Terry, for a great day out, including the delicious chili you made and brought along. A fun and rewarding day! Really appreciated being with you, doing what we all enjoy so much. Thanks, too, for patiently giving me time to photograph the various barns we came across!

If you knew just how far away this bird was, lol! Not much more than a large speck in a distant tree, to the naked eye. So heavily cropped and a miracle it's just OK to post for ID purposes. The white line above the eye is clearly visible. Too bad that the falling snow makes it look like it has a few spotted feathers : ) I rarely see a Prairie Falcon, so this was a treat. Does anyone know if this a juvenile? Taken on 29 November 2012 at Hull's Wood, Fish Creek Park. A grey day today with freezing fog, with all the trees covered in whte snow/frost. Beautiful to see, but wish the sun would come out. It's -11C (12F) with windchill of -18C (0F). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Falcon