Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#414

Every once in a while, these small, piercing eyes would turn to look at us, but the rest of the time, this beautiful Great Gray Owl was looking in every other direction. We are pretty sure that it's a young one from last year, as it had a lot of fluffy feathers lower on its body. It was such a laid back owl, quite happy to sit - and sit - and sit : ) Taken NW of the city yesterday afternoon, when I decided at the last moment to make this long drive. Who should I bump into but friends Phil and Rob, who informed me I had just missed an owl. We drove slowly in opposite directions and then they came rushing back to let me know that they had found another one. So, I was able to follow them back to where this beautiful bird was perched. No matter how many of these owls I see, each one is such a treat. Need I say - much better than seeing an owl at the Zoo? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl Maybe 45 minutes before seeing this owl, I had driven past a bird of prey perched on a fence post at the edge of the road. I knew that if I turned around and went back, it would most likely take off, so I took a few distant photos instead. My bird of prey identification skills are not the greatest, to put it mildly, but now I'm wondering if it was a Gyrfalcon. Will post a photo tomorrow. Yay, I've just had the ID confirmed by a friend who is an excellent birder, Tony - it is a Gyrfalcon that I saw. Not sure if it's a juvenile grey form? www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/gyrfalcon/id

I was out walking this morning in fog - a most unpleasant morning, though not cold (well, it would be cold to some of you, LOL). Spotted this very small leaf covered in ice and liked the colouring of it and the background. Colour felt good on this foggy day. Nice to see a few Wood Ducks, White-winged Crossbills and a Brown Creeper - but don't expect any photos of any of them. Too far, too grey and too foggy : (

This guy landed on a log quite close to me this afternoon, posed, and gave me the chance to finally get a reasonable photo of a Hairy Woodpecker. Out of luck with the little Downy Woodpecker - maybe next time? Happy Feathery Friday, everyone! (Note to self: I used a horizontal version of this image for my 2008 calendar).