Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: watching for prey

On 10 February 2014, I returned to Griffith Woods, where I had been lucky enough to see a Great Gray Owl on 10 January 2014. Can't believe it has now (3 March 2014) been almost two months since the first time I saw this owl!. It had been seen on a number of days since 10 January, so I thought I would give it another try, especially as friends were going on a birding walk there. As I walked into the area, I could see a large, dark object sitting on the top of a very tall tree. During the time I was there, the owl plunged twice into the deep snow and caught a Meadow Vole, as well as flying to several different trees. Great Gray Owls are not normally seen in Calgary, so this was a real treat. The first link shows a cross-section of a Great Gray Owl, showing the small size of the skeleton compared to the bulk of the plumage: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Strix_n... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl

I still have more photos of owls to post, so I hope you won't get too bored! On 10 January 2014, I had to remove my vehicle from the parking lot for the whole day, so that snow removal people could remove the snow and ice (poorly done for my parking stall, which didn't impress me!). I decided that if I drove over to the west of the city and went for a walk, that would kill a few hours. A Great Gray Owl had recently been reported, so I knew I needed to keep my eyes open. Shortly after I started, I passed someone who had just seen the owl about 20 minutes earlier, so I felt hopeful that it was still there. Further into the park, several other people gradually appeared, and it's always useful to have extra pairs of eyes. Eventually, it was finally spotted, hidden within the trees - well hidden! While I was there, it flew along the outer edge of the trees and then in among the trees, giving us some good views each time. It's always fascinating to watch how focused these owls are when hunting - it did catch a Meadow Vole and flew up to a broken tree stump to feed on it. A few other attempts were made, but when it landed, it was out of sight, so I don't know if it caught some other prey or not. I was exhausted by the time I got home, mainly from walking through the deep snow. So glad I was "forced" out of my home, otherwise I wouldn't have made the effort to drive across the city.

On 10 January 2014, I had to remove my vehicle from the parking lot for the whole day, so that snow removal people could remove the snow and ice (poorly done for my parking stall, which didn't impress me!). I decided that if I drove over to the west of the city and went for a walk, that would kill a few hours. A Great Gray Owl had recently been reported, so I knew I needed to keep my eyes open. Shortly after I started, I passed someone who had just seen the owl about 20 minutes earlier, so I felt hopeful that it was still there. Further into the park, several other people gradually appeared, and it's always useful to have extra pairs of eyes. Eventually, it was finally spotted, hidden within the trees - well hidden! While I was there, it flew along the outer edge of the trees and then in among the trees, giving us some good views each time. It's always fascinating to watch how focused these owls are when hunting - it did catch a Meadow Vole (?) and flew up to a broken tree stump deep within the trees to feed on it. A few other attempts were made, but when it landed, it was out of sight, so I don't know if it caught some other prey or not. I was exhausted by the time I got home, mainly from walking through the deep snow. So glad I was "forced" out of my home, otherwise I wouldn't have made the effort to drive across the city. 8:45 a.m. today - wow, strong winds have just arrived, along with more snow. For once, I think I am going to do something I never do - go back to bed, lol. I was up early today, planning on going on a bird walk.

Great Gray Owl from my archives, taken NW of Calgary on 17 May 2012. They have such an incredible attention span when they are hunting for food, and barely acknowledge that you are standing there. No matter how many of these large owls I see, I am in total awe each and every time. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/id The Calgary area is under a Blizzard Warning for tonight and tomorrow. "A Blizzard Warning is issued when winds of 40 km/hr or greater are expected to cause widespread reductions in visibility to 400 metres or less, due to blowing snow, or blowing snow in combination with falling snow, for at least 4 hours." www.google.org/publicalerts/alert?aid=db67361bd082ccd1&am... "December is expected to arrive with a blast of Arctic weather in both Calgary and Edmonton, as well as sections of central and southern Alberta, between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. The storm is expected to produce significant snowfall, between 15 and 30 cm, and wind gusts in excess of 60 kilometres per hour. Blizzard conditions could result in deteriorating visibility on highways throughout the province." Read more: calgary.ctvnews.ca/environment-canada-issues-severe-winte...