Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: curiosity

Thought I would give everyone, including myself, a change from barns and tiny owls, so it's back to the beautiful Long-tailed Weasel that gave so many people a lot of pleasure back in November 2014 - this shot was taken on 20 November. Thursday, 20 November 2014, was a good morning for seeing this Long-tailed Weasel and being able to get some photos of it. Some days you are lucky, and others you are not. I went out on a birding walk with friends that morning. The weather has been reasonably mild recently, with sunshine and blue skies, perfect for a leisurely walk. Our weather changed yesterday and today (30 November 2014), when snow returned along with brutally cold temperatures again. After the walk, I paid another visit to where the Long-tailed Weasel can sometimes be seen. Various friends were there, too, and we were treated to a few good photo opps, including with some of the eight or so Meadow Voles it caught while we were there. It is an amazing hunter, moving so rapidly over the uneven, snowy ground and tangles of dead plants and fallen logs. "Counting its tail, a large Long-tailed Weasel male, the largest of the three species in Canada, stretches nearly half a metre (20 in) in length, yet can slip into a hole just 3 cm (1.25 in) across. This enables it to enter small rodent tunnels used by mice and voles. In summer, it enters ground squirrels burrows in search of its favourite food. Average males measure 406 mm (16 in), their tail is 135 mm (5.25) long and they weigh 225 g (12.6 oz). Males are approximately 25 per cent larger than females, which on average weigh only 102 g (5.7 oz). When winter approaches, within 30 days it grows a coat of white, giving it perfect camouflage against the snow -- all except for the tip of its tail, which stays black. A hungry predator, such as a hawk or owl, aims for that black tip, enabling the weasel to escape. Towards spring, between late February and April, in only 25 days, it reverses the process, acquiring the cinnamon-brown topcoat it will use all summer. This includes brown feet, unlike the other two species which retain white feet. The underside is usually buff-coloured." (Taken from the old weaselhead.org website). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_weasel

Just over a week ago, on 24 November 2014, I called in at Fish Creek Park to see if there was any sign of the Long-tailed Weasel. It did come out, but for maybe five minutes total, running around at top speed. I managed to get three or four shots, including this one, but that was all. Not the best composition, but usually there is no time to compose - you just point and click rapidly and hope that one photo will come out OK. Since then, I’ve called in maybe three or four times recently, but there has been no sign of the Weasel and no tracks in the snow. I wonder if s/he is tucked down in its den, surrounded by all the many dead Meadow Voles that we have seen it catch recently. Weasels line their nests/dens with the fur from the animals they kill. Hopefully, it has not provided the nearby Great Horned Owl pair with a supper or two! "Counting its tail, a large Long-tailed Weasel male, the largest of the three species in Canada, stretches nearly half a metre (20 in) in length, yet can slip into a hole just 3 cm (1.25 in) across. This enables it to enter small rodent tunnels used by mice and voles. In summer, it enters ground squirrels burrows in search of its favourite food. Average males measure 406 mm (16 in), their tail is 135 mm (5.25) long and they weigh 225 g (12.6 oz). Males are approximately 25 per cent larger than females, which on average weigh only 102 g (5.7 oz). When winter approaches, within 30 days it grows a coat of white, giving it perfect camouflage against the snow -- all except for the tip of its tail, which stays black. A hungry predator, such as a hawk or owl, aims for that black tip, enabling the weasel to escape. Towards spring, between late February and April, in only 25 days, it reverses the process, acquiring the cinnamon-brown topcoat it will use all summer. This includes brown feet, unlike the other two species which retain white feet. The underside is usually buff-coloured." (Taken from the old weaselhead.org website). “The long-tailed weasel mates in July–August, with implantation of the fertilized egg on the uterine wall being delayed until about March. The gestation period lasts 10 months, with actual embryonic development taking place only during the last four weeks of this period, an adaptation to timing births for spring, when small mammals are abundant. Litter size generally consists of 5–8 kits, which are born in April–May.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_weasel

These two owlets in a local park were both watching something small that must have been moving down inside the nest cavity. Photo taken on 27 April 2014, before these young ones fledged to the nearest tree. Now they are both very high up in a tree, with Mom. When I returned on 1 May 2014, I was surprised to find that both owlets had fledged (between 27 April and 1 May). It was so disappointing to see that this had happened so quickly - usually, they spend quite some time practising, flapping and exercising their wings while perched on the rim of the nest. Just so thankful that I was lucky enough to see them on the rim and managed to get a few photos of them before they did leave the nesting tree. Unfortunately, there will be quite a few disappointed people. Photo taken from a distance using lots of zoom. The sun is actually shining this morning, which feels wonderful. (Half an hour later - where did the sun go?) We had just a sprinkling of snow overnight. Is it possible that this was the very last snow this spring? Several hours later, around 3:00 p.m., it's SNOWING (lightly and briefly)! Sigh .....

This is the male Great Horned Owl in Fish Creek Park - not "my" usual owl. He sits on guard within reach of the pair's nesting tree and, when you are lucky, he can be alert and a little active. I didn't see this pair's young ones last year, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this year.

I don't know what this Great Horned Owl's "problem" was : ) I think this was the male, down at Sikome, Fish Creek Park. One of his two owlets was in the next tree, screeching non-stop, so presumably it was hungry. Dad turned round to look at me once and then ignored me. I've read that flattened eartufts mean that the bird is under stress, but it was not from my presence. Half a dozen shots and I was out of there anyway. Though it looks like I was very close to this owl, in fact he was way up in a tall tree! Lighting was grim, in amongst the trees. No sign of Mom and the other owlet.

Three of us spent some time this afternoon photographing two amazing Pileated Woodpeckers in Fish Creek Park. It doesn't matter how many times I see one of these huge, almost prehistoric looking birds, I am still filled with awe. The two today kept flying from tree to tree and occasionally to a log. One of the biggest challenges is to try and get a photo with no twigs or blades of grass in the way!! They gave us a chance to shoot in different settings, which was really nice and much appreciated. For those of you who are not familiar with this Woodpecker, this is a female - the male has a red moustache, but not the female. Also, the female's red crest starts on the crown, whereas the male's crest begins at the forehead. In Alberta, the Pileated Woodpecker is uncommon to common year-round.

Another photo from last summer of one of the young Red Foxes seen outside the city. It will be interesting to see if they return to the same den(s) as last year. They are such amazingy beautiful creatures. Was out all morning, east of the city, and was happy to see my first Black-necked Stilt of the year - also Avocet, Gadwall, Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and so on. We were lucky to see the rare, recently reported, Common Teal/Eurasian Green-winged Teal. It was very distant, at first swimming away from us, and then in flight. Better to have seen this distant, almost-silhouette bird, than not at all, LOL. No chance for photos this morning - all birds were much too far away. Gorgeous day, though. Crazy Calgary weather - supposed to get up to 20C today and even 23C on Tuesday (I think). Might just hop in my car again and drive a little way south west of the city before more of the afternoon slips away. I have SOOOO much I should be doing (including my Taxes), but the blue sky and sunshine are calling me ... sigh.

I'm still coming across the odd photo of these gorgeous Red Fox kits that I still haven't posted to Flickr. What beautiful animals they were. Seen south east of Calgary last summer.

I just liked the contrast of the blue sky reflected in the vehicle with the lovely orange cat. This was such an active cat the whole time we were watching it - only a couple of my shots came out sharp enough. Taken on 29th December, when a handful of us were doing the Christmas Bird Count in the Cochrane Wildlife Preserve/Water Valley area. I always enjoy seeing the dogs and cats that come out to greet us when we call in at various homesteads/ranches : ) I rarely manage to get bird photos on these Counts, but scenery, pets, Llamas and so on make up for it (for me).

Not only have I been so priviledged to see an adult Great Gray Owl recently (actually about four in total in the last few weeks), and been able to get some photos, I was also so fortunate to see THIS today! It's a baby Great Gray Owl : ) A few of us went out west of the city to someone's property to hopefully see at least one of the owls that live there. We were treated to one adult and this gorgeous, fluffy baby, which was very high up in a tree and quite curious about us - as you can see by these amazing eyes : ) What a cutie!

I haven't quite run out of photos of the little Red Fox kits, southeast of Calgary. So many of the photos I took came out horribly blurry, but thought I'd share the ones that came out OK. Love the white tip of his/her tail, and the black markings on those little legs.

This adorable little Red Fox kit showed itself for a couple of seconds this morning and then disappeared into its den and stayed there. Last week, I had seen this family with a friend, and two or three of the kits had seemed quite comfortable with the presence of our vehicle. This morning, I went with another friend who knew about these Foxes, but all we had was this one quick view. I really hope that not too many people have been going out to see them - which is why I have given no location. Sadly, some photographers spoil things not only for other people, but also cause stress on the wildlife - which is definitely thoughtless and can be devastating for our furry and feathered neighbours. My thanks to all those photographers who ARE thoughtful and put the well-being of wildlife before getting that "important" shot!

Taken in poor light, so not the best quality, but I thought it was very cute : ) This is the younger of the two Great Horned Owlets at Burnsmead. I've always thought of this smaller one as a "she", but am now thinking that maybe it is a "he", seeing as the females are larger than the males. Or else, it could be simply that this one is the runt of the family. I still think its left eye looks "wrong". It is the most adorable little thing and loves to take a good look at you. I called in briefly again late this afternoon, in light rain, but took this photo yesterday.