Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Irricana area

A friend and I spent part of today driving the gravel roads east of the city, including the Irricana and Shepard areas. Snowy Owls had been reported recently, so off we went in the hopes of possibly finding one. Well, we were so lucky, seeing three different ones. This is the first one, then we saw the next one on a fence post way across a field. The third one was perched high up (like the one in the image above) on a tangle of wires, so really not a very beautiful setting : ) Always SO amazing to see a Snowy Owl, especially on a lovely sunny day. Not the sharpest of images because of pointing my camera up towards the sky, but I'll take any image that I manage to get of one of these magnificent owls : )

This was Snowy Owl number 3 that a friend and I saw east of the city on 23rd November. A handsome male, though not taken from a very good angle : ) Love those huge, feathered feet. I grabbed three photos rather quickly this evening and I'm posting a bit late. Had my afternoon volunteer shift today, which was totally, totally exhausting, especially as we are getting so close to Christmas. Managed to drive there despite still feeling a bit dizzy (mainly if I bend my head or turn my head to the side) - I avoided most shoulder checks, using the side mirrors instead! On my way home, I decided to call in at Swiss Chalet take-out for one of their Festive Meals - absolute luxury! I always feel very grateful that I can afford to do this, which too many people are unable to do.

Not particularly good quality but looks OK in this size. I was leaning back in my seat in a friend's car, trying to balance myself to get a few shots through the skyroof, LOL. I don't know if simply pointing my point-and-shoot up towards the sky took away the quality, or if maybe the car engine running caused vibration - though my IS should have worked sufficiently. We saw three Snowy Owls east of the city on this day and this gorgeous male, almost pure white, was the first one we saw. Spent today in the mountains, to see what birds could be found. Talk about a slow, quiet day, LOL! There seem to be so few birds around in many places. However, the highlight was a Northern Hawk Owl, very, very far away! Like a needle in a haystack, seeing one of these in the vast forest! We were in total awe that Andrew spotted it and, thanks to his scope, we had a lovely, sharp view of this fascinating owl. The weather was amazing today and the ground was clear wherever we went. I know I, for one, had expected there to be snow everywhere. If only winter could be like this the whole season ... sigh.

Not sure if this photo is a bit dark. Now that the sun shines into my computer room in the evening, it's kind of hard to tell what my photos look like. Anyway, this was one of the locations that friends and I briefly stopped at yesterday, when we drove out to the Irricana and Bruce Lake area. I thought the tiny pond, cattails and a red barn made for a pretty picture.

When we drove east of the city to the Irricana and Bruce Lake area on Tuesday, we watched this storm develop over the prairie. I always love the colours that reflect in all the ponds/sloughs, especially when the sky is bright blue.