Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: i500Verified

One of the highlights of a walk this morning was this tiny Northern Pygmy-owl. It is the size of a popcan and is rare to uncommon year-round in Alberta. It was perched in a tree with a million small branches (of course!), so no uncluttered photos. Three of us witnessed something that I hadn't seen before - twice when a Chickadee was heard nearby, the owl compressed its round, fluffy body and it became long and slender and nowhere near as cute. Facial details also changed completely, as can be seen in my next photo. White eyebrows appeared and even small ear-tufts. We were also very lucky to see an American Three-toed Woodpecker in the same park.

We saw this huddle of teeny Richardson's Ground Squirrels at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary yesterday. People also call these animals Gophers. They haven't had time yet to learn what humans are, so only dart down into their burrow at the very last minute when you approach. They provide food for wildlife such as "my" family of Great Horned Owls.

This is NOT one of "my" owlets, though a friend has seen one of "mine" out of the nest and on a nearby branch. Today, when I went down to check, I found both owlets back in the nest, LOL. The owl in this photo was seen yesterday on a drive with a friend to the Frank Lake area. A second owlet could be seen up on the nest. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this gorgeous ball of fluff!

Saw this little Chickadee this afternoon. Couldn't see any sign of the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl today, so it was a case of Chickadees or nothing, as far as birds went. The snow in the background looks more like a beautiful blue sky, which in fact we did have.

The Red-breasted Nuthatches were busy down in Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Provincial Park, yesterday.

Spent a few hours at the Calgary Zoo this afternoon. The temperature was up to 8C or 9C, which is totally ridiculous for a winter's day here! This plant was growing in the Conservatory, and I should know the name by now. Sounds as if we are probably going to have snow overnight.