Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: edge

It was simply amazing while it lasted - and now it's all over : ) These two beautiful little Great Horned Owlets have finally fledged and now spend their days and nights high up in the trees, pretty well hidden and too far for photographs. They go from little balls of fluff to perching on the top edge of their nesting tree so quickly and then, blink, and they have gone, lol. I was down there on just two evenings last week and they must have been the best two evenings for seeing these little guys. Most of the time, the light was not good, but on each evening, there was a bit of time when the sunlight was just beautiful. By the way, they don't just sit like this all the time, but are constantly moving, climbing over each other, focussing on balancing on the edge of the tree cavity, and exercising those wings. Can't begin to describe how thankful I am to have been there! There are a number of Canada Geese nesting in the same location and you know how noisy they are, especially if a dispute is going one. They "entertained" these owlets and I caught them both focussed on the same action at the same time, ha. Good luck, little owls - hope you live a safe, long life. Taken in Fish Creek Park on 10 May 2013.

Oh, boy, this image looks even blurrier than it did in the wee hours of this morning, when I was editing it! It was taken at 9:00 p.m. on 10 May 2013, when it was beginning to get dark. Better than nothing, though, as this is not what most people ever get the chance to see : ) (Apologies to the squeamish!). This is the female Great Horned Owl (alias "Mom") down at Sikome in Fish Creek Park. Both her young ones had managed to claw and flap their way up to the top edge of the nesting cavity - you can just see the top of the second one's head. Along came Mom with take-out supper - no preparation time, no cooking time, just ready to go, lol. We think it could have been a Blue-winged Teal that she had just caught. Both young owls fledged in the following few days and now are way up in the trees, greatly hidden by the freshly bursting leaves. They are going to be very, very wet owls today, as it is raining again. There is a Heavy Rainfall Warning in effect for us. This species of owl will eat other kinds of owl, birds (from Kinglets to Great Blue Herons, including Pheasants!), rabbits, mice, voles, fish, squirrels, insects such as earthworms, and many other prey. The Great Horned is also a natural predator of prey two to three times heavier than itself, such as Porcupines and Skunks. Also, dare I say it - cats and small dogs! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Horned_Owl "The Great Horned Owl is the only animal that regularly eats skunks. It will take large prey, even other raptorial birds. It regularly kills and eats other owls, and is an important predator on nestling Ospreys." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/great_horned_owl/id