Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: wild bird

My little point-and-shoot camera just didn't do well yesterday morning, when we were SO lucky to see a Long-eared Owl in Fish Creek Park. It was high up in a Spruce tree, behind a tangle of branches, low light, camera pointed up towards the sky and too much towards the sun ... sigh. Almost every photo was very blurred - my camera had such a hard time focusing and even when the image looked fine in the view finder, the image still came out a blur. I did use flash on some shots, but I think it made things even worse : ) However, this was definitely a time to be very thankful for ANY photo (only about three) that came out well enough to keep - and post, LOL. This medium-sized species of Owl is rare in Calgary, so this sighting was a real treat! 31–37 cm (12-15 in) in length with an 86–98 cm (34-39 in) wingspan. Thanks so much, Tony! Brilliant spotting, as usual. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-eared_Owl

We were unbelievably lucky on our walk this morning - 48 different species of birds were seen, including this Common Loon, swimming in the icy cold waters of the Bow River! Most of the birds were too far away for photos. I love to see the gorgeous black-and-white patterns on this beautiful bird. It gave its eerie call, too, which was a treat. What a special way to spend part of Earth Day : ). Sad, too, though, as Bernard and his sister Therese, two of our long-time birding friends (and excellent birders!), leave on Saturday to move back to Eastern Canada. They will be greatly missed! Thank you, Bernard, for always carrying that heavy scope of yours so that the rest of us might see and marvel at so much distant beauty!! What will we do without you??? Have a safe journey! The word "loon" might come from "lom" the Scandinavian word for "clumsy", as this bird is awkward on land.