Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 13 March 2016

This, I believe, is the same owl as in the photo I posted yesterday. This is where it was perched when I first saw it. Again, not in the best light (in the shade) and I had to brighten the photo quite a lot. I was thrilled to bits to see this Great Gray Owl and its mate when I did another long drive NW of the city two days ago, on 13 March 2016. I had been up there the previous day, but had seen absolutely nothing - several other people had also been looking, without success. I was so very lucky the day before yesterday, as there was a car already pulled over at the edge of the road. I could see two guys standing in the road and, when I got there, I spotted a third man just a little way into the trees. They had seen an owl fly across the road and fly into the trees, landing on top of this tall, broken tree trunk. After sitting there for a while, it suddenly dove down to the ground, disappearing from my sight, and apparently caught a Meadow Vole, which it then carried back to the dense trees to give to its mate. We had a brief view of the two owls and then one flew off. I'm not sure if the owl in my photo is the male, but I think it could be. After sitting for a while, it, too, flew off. My thanks definitely go to these three guys, whom I didn't know, for being the reason that this day was not a complete wash-out like the previous day! I really didn't feel like doing a long drive again, but the number 13 is my lucky number, so I reckoned I would make myself do it. Also, at that time, the forecast for the coming week was for snow and rain, so I thought I had better make the most of such a beautiful, sunny day. After seeing these two owls, I saw absolutely nothing for the rest of my time out there. Met a lovely young woman out there, who had never seen a Great Gray Owl and was so hoping to see one. We tried to find one, but no luck. Nice to meet you, Barbara : ) Hope you get a chance to come to Calgary again and manage to see one.

As you might guess from this image, the light was a challenge, at least for me and my camera : ) However, I was thrilled to bits to see this Great Gray Owl and its mate when I did another long drive NW of the city yesterday, 13 March 2016. I had been up there the previous day, but had seen absolutely nothing - several other people had also been looking, without success. I was so very lucky yesterday, as there was a car already pulled over at the edge of the road. I could see two guys standing in the road and, when I got there, I spotted a third man just a little way into the trees. They had seen an owl fly across the road and fly into the trees, landing on top of a tall, broken tree trunk. After sitting there for a while, it suddenly dove down to the ground, disappearing from my sight, and apparently caught a Meadow Vole, which it then carried back to the dense trees to give to its mate. We had a brief view of the two owls and then one flew off. I'm not sure if the owl in my photo is the male, but I think it could be. I'm also not sure about its colouring - it looks very dark blackish-brown, but I don't know if that is because of the way my camera dealt with the poor light or if that is close to the true colour. It also has a lot of white feathers either side of its bill. Doesn't have the usual bushy white eyebrows, either. After sitting for quite a while, it, too, flew off. My thanks definitely go to these three guys, whom I didn't know, for being the reason that yesterday was not a complete wash-out like the previous day! I really didn't feel like doing a long drive again yesterday, but the number 13 is my lucky number, so I reckoned I would make myself do it. Also, at that time, the forecast for the coming week was for snow and rain, so I thought I had better make the most of such a beautiful, sunny day. After seeing these two owls, I saw absolutely nothing for the rest of my time out there. Met a lovely young woman out there, who had never seen a Great Gray Owl and was so hoping to see one. We tried to find one, but no luck. Nice to meet you, Barbara : ) Hope you get a chance to come to Calgary again and manage to see one. By the way, everyone, don't forget to change the clock in your camera, if it doesn't change itself. I totally forgot until late last night.