Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014January14

We are seeing so few birds and so few species when we go on our birding walks. There are no cones on many of the coniferous trees, meaning that there is no food for birds such as Crossbills this winter, and birds such as Redpolls are non-existant. That's why I say "Thank heavens for Chickadees"!! They are there to greet us, no matter what! Such tough little guys, though they are always only 24 hours away from death if they can't get enough fat stored into their body to last overnight. This was a lucky shot, taken through the snow-laden trees somewhere between Bebo Grove and Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park, on 29 October 2013. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-Capped_Chickadee/id

Digging into recent archives after yet another day of snow yesterday, to find something bright and cheery. Taken at the Reader Rock Garden on 7 August 2013.

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.