Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: intense

Another photo of the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl that we saw at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, on 13th November (oh, that was just yesterday, ha!) These little birds of prey are rare to uncommon in Alberta and are such a treat to see. No bigger than fist-sized, so this photo isn't that much smaller than life-sized. They are SO hard to find - usually, you can be made aware of one when a bunch of Chickadees start making a loud noise or else you happen to notice this owl in flight. They always seem to be so intent on looking and listening for a snack or meal. Vicious little raptors, but they look so cute : )

Another photo of the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl from the same day as many of my other photos of it, in Fish Creek Park - November 13th. A zoomed in and very heavily cropped image, so I'm amazed that it is as sharp as it is. This rare to uncommon (in Alberta) owl is fist-sized or popcan-sized. Really, when you are looking at this image, the owl appears just about life-size : ) Pretty much impossible to find if you go looking - you just have to be extremely lucky - maybe it will fly (but it's so small, it could look like just another small bird in flight to most of us), or perhaps a bunch of Chickadees will be making a lot of noise in one area. Or maybe, just maybe, your eye will catch it perched in a tree. If you are lucky ....... : )

This photo shows the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl at approximately life-size (i.e. fist-sized, popcan-sized). Diurnal hunters, they seem to spend their time sitting on a branch (and usually not a nice, open one like this one, but rather in a complete tangle of tiny branches, LOL), eyes intently watching for any movement on the ground. Rare to uncommon in Alberta, this one was seen between Votier's Flats and Bebo Grove in Fish Creek Park, on November 13th. As with all my photos of these guys, this is an 18x zoomed shot and heavily cropped : )

I think there are only another couple of photos after this that I really want to post so that I can add them to my Northern Pygmy-owl Set. S/he's such a special, tiny owl that I don't want any of my photos of him/her to get completely lost in my endless hard drive archives. Thank goodness for Flickr Sets : ) I am practically asleep on my feet today, but finally all my commitments to the Annual Christmas and New Year Bird Counts have been fulfilled and I must turn my time and efforts towards other, far more urgent things. I needed the break today, going on an almost 15-hour Bird Count for Nanton, south of Calgary. My alarm clocks blared at 4:30 a.m. and I was picked up at 6:30 a.m. this morning and I got home around 8:45 p.m. this evening, so am posting very late. A very successful day, including seeing 5 Golden Eagles (!), 3 Northern Shrikes (!), 70 Sharp-tailed Grouse (!), 2 Great Horned Owls, etc., etc. My little group of four found 15 species, but many of them were very nice species to find, especially in such great numbers. After the Count, while numbers were being tallied, we were all treated to a lovely supper. Thanks to the organizers of this event - so much work involved (including the supper, of course!). Many thanks to the Truch family for their delightful hospitality - so much appreciated by us all! Now, though, I have to return to far more serious, difficult things to deal with. I was up till around 2:30 this morning seeing to more e-mails, etc., and felt rather overwhelmed. So, some sunshine and being in the company of good friends was much needed before I continue with getting things sorted out in connection to my brother's death..

Oh, boy, talk about chromatic aberation (the purple edging to the branch and some of the feathers). Really not good quality photography, but I just love this little Northern Pygmy-owl's intense stare, as it focuses on the ground below, watching for the slightest movement. It's bloodied beak tells that it had recently had a meal. Remember, these tiny owls are fist-sized or popcan-sized : ) Imagine how difficult it is to find one of these little birds of prey. As with all my photos of this owl, this is a zoomed in, cropped image : ) I think I only have about three more photos of this owl fit to post, so please bear with me! After a beautiful morning of sun and blue sky, the weather has changed to overcast as the temperature rose. I think it was about -16C when I left home early this morning for a three-hour walk at Carburn Park. Everywhere was covered in ice crystals, especially along the river's edge, and vapour was rising up from the Bow River. Managed just a quick shot or two here and there, as I was with a bunch of friends and so had to keep moving : ) Just looking at my photos makes me shiver. Sometimes, I look at photos like these, think of being tucked up in a nice warm bed, or sitting with a huge mug of hot coffee, shake my head, and wonder what stage of insanity I am at, LOL!!! Can it really get any worse, ha?