Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: dark streaking

This was Snowy Owl number 4 that we came across three days ago, on 13 January 2018, when a group of us went east of the city in search of owls and anything else. This was the last Snowy that friend Tony and I saw before it was time for us to get back to the city, as he had some final preparations to get done before heading off on a trip. After we had left the rest of the group, we came across a fifth Snowy, perched on a piece of machinery in a field. A nice treat before we headed back to civilization. I heard later that the rest of the group saw a total of seven Snowy Owls, as they stayed out for the whole afternoon. Despite seeing a total of 8 Snowies on this day, this winter doesn't seem to be a good year for these owls. Some years, the Internet is full of photos of these spectacular visitors, but this year I'm not seeing many. Thanks so much for the ride, Tony - so much appreciated, as always. After all the frigid weather we have had so far this winter, this day felt balmy. Actually, I'm not sure what the temperature was, but it must have been above 0C. There was no cold wind and it just felt pleasant. The sun was shining and the sky was full of 'good' clouds. Not sure why almost all my photos were too blurry to keep - maybe the light wasn't as good as I thought it was. However, I did get a shot of each of the owls, so I'm happy. A few other bird species were also seen, including Common Redpolls and Horned Larks, Gray Partridge, Magpies, etc.. Tony also spotted a Prairie Falcon on our way back to the city. Many thanks, Terry, as usual, for taking us on this owl prowl. It was a great trip and, especially for those who had never seen a Snowy Owl before, a most amazing experience. As with any kind of owl, it doesn't matter how many one sees, I always find each time is as awesome as the very first time.

This was the fifth Snowy Owl that friend Tony and I saw E of the city two days ago, on 13 January 2018, after leaving the rest of the group, as we needed to get back to the city. A nice treat before we headed back to civilization. I can't tell the difference between the females and juveniles, as both have dark streaking. Adult males are easy to ID, as they are pure white. When we were with the group, we saw the first four owls. After we left, we saw just this one new owl, while the rest of the group saw three other Snowies. A total of 8 different individuals that were seen. This winter doesn't seem to be a good year for these owls. Some years, the Internet is full of photos of these spectacular visitors, but this year I'm not seeing many. Thanks so much for the ride, Tony - so much appreciated, as always. After all the frigid weather we have had so far this winter, yesterday felt balmy. Actually, I'm not sure what the temperature was, but it must have been above 0C. There was no cold wind and it just felt pleasant. The sun was shining and the sky was full of 'good' clouds. Not sure why almost all my photos were too blurry to keep - maybe the light wasn't as good as I thought it was. However, I did get a shot of each of the owls, so I'm happy. A few other bird species were also seen, including Common Redpolls and Horned Larks, Gray Partridge, Magpies, etc.. Tony also spotted a Prairie Falcon on our way back to the city. I will add Terry's list of birds seen by the end of the day in a comment box below. Many thanks, Terry, as usual, for taking us on this owl prowl. It was a great trip and, especially for those who had never seen a Snowy Owl before, a most amazing experience. As with any kind of owl, it doesn't matter how many one sees, I always find each time is as awesome as the very first time.

This female (or juvenile, because they both have dark streaking) Snowy Owl was contentedly perched on this rather ugly fence rail, looking like s/he was almost asleep. This was the first Snowy that we came across yesterday, 13 January 2018, when a group of us went east of the city in search of owls and anything else. Later, we saw another three Snowies before it was time for the friend I was riding with to get back to the city, as he had some final preparations to get done before heading off on a trip today. After we had left the rest of the group, we came across a fifth Snowy, perched on a piece of machinery in a field. A nice treat before we headed back to civilization. I heard later that the rest of the group saw a total of seven Snowy Owls, as they stayed out for the whole afternoon. This winter doesn't seem to be a good year for these owls. Some years, the Internet is full of photos of these spectacular visitors, but this year I'm not seeing many. Thanks so much for the ride, Tony - so much appreciated, as always. After all the frigid weather we have had so far this winter, yesterday felt balmy. Actually, I'm not sure what the temperature was, but it must have been above 0C. There was no cold wind and it just felt pleasant. The sun was shining and the sky was full of 'good' clouds. Not sure why almost all my photos were too blurry to keep - maybe the light wasn't as good as I thought it was. However, I did get a shot of each of the owls, so I'm happy. A few other bird species were also seen, including Common Redpolls and Horned Larks, one Gray Partridge, Magpies, etc.. Tony also spotted a Prairie Falcon on our way back to the city. Many thanks, Terry, as usual, for taking us on this owl prowl. It was a great trip and, especially for those who had never seen a Snowy Owl before, a most amazing experience. As with any kind of owl, it doesn't matter how many one sees, I always find each time is as awesome as the very first time. We are back to scattered flurries for this afternoon, 14 January 2018, but our temperature is a reasonable -2C (windchill -4C). The next three days are expected to be good, but then the forecast is for a couple of snowy days.

Towards the end of last year, I had been longing to get out to look for Snowy Owls, especially to the E and NE of the city. I finally got out, after my youngest daughter asked if I wanted to go looking for Snowies on our Christmas get-together on 20 December 2014. She had never seen a Snowy Owl, so I was really, really hoping that we'd find one! As it turned out, we saw 10 definite individuals, plus two others that we weren't quite sure about - one certainly looked like a very distant Snowy and the other was possibly a repeat of an owl we had seen earlier in more or less the same area. Part way through the day, almost as if it were meant to happen, a car came from the opposite direction - it was my friends, Cathy and Terry! For the rest of our trip, we followed behind them, thoroughly enjoying every new find. Late afternoon, we went home different ways and my daughter and I saw our last two owls. My daughter was so thrilled to see all these breathtaking birds - she was quite happy and content after seeing the very first, distant one. Three of the owls gave us close or reasonably close views, the rest were very distant. The owl in this photo is either a female or young one, as it has so much dark streaking. It was the very last owl that we saw that day. After these wonderful sightings, we returned to Calgary and went back to my daughter's place to exchange Christmas gifts. I reckon the Snowy Owls were the "best" gifts she received that day : ) www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/snowy_owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_owl