Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Plectrophenax nivalis

After two whole weeks of not getting a chance to go anywhere, including looking for Snowy Owls, I finally drove SE of the city yesterday, 13 December 2016, for a few hours. The weather had warmed up a little, after we had been getting windchills down as low as -34C. I just don't see the point of risking getting stuck along some country backroad during a deep-freeze. As it was, I did have a few minutes of panic when I couldn't get my car to start after getting out to take a few photos. The message on the start button said "Power is on", yet it would not do anything. When I pushed the button again, all the usual things came on, but the car still wouldn't drive. Eventually, after quite a few tries, I did get it to work, to my enormous relief. My whole drive was along roads that I had driven before, some only once. Last winter, I had driven part of this area and saw several Snowy Owls, but they were no more than the tiniest white specks in the distance. In fact, during the winter of 2015/2016, I didn't see a single Snowy up close anywhere. For most of yesterday's drive, I didn't see any, but then my luck changed, and I ended up seeing the owl in this photo, plus another one. After driving quite a few backroads, I spotted this first one along a main road; the second owl was along a backroad.and further away. My fully zoomed photos of both owls are still not close. Unfortunately, I was not the only one to find this owl - a large flock of 50 or 60 Snow Buntings had also spotted it and were harassing it, making it fly off before I got the chance to get better photos. After stopping to watch this first owl, I went back to the side roads, where I came across the second owl, perched on top of a tall power pole. Though it was a long way down the road, it flew a few seconds later, landing near the top of a huge, bare tree that was even further away. I've only ever seen a Snowy in a tree a few times. "The regal Snowy Owl is one of the few birds that can get even non-birders to come out for a look. This largest (by weight) North American owl shows up irregularly in winter to hunt in windswept fields or dunes, a pale shape with catlike yellow eyes. They spend summers far north of the Arctic Circle hunting lemmings, ptarmigan, and other prey in 24-hour daylight. In years of lemming population booms they can raise double or triple the usual number of young." From Cornell's AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Owl/lifehistory Feeling happy to have found two of these gorgeous birds, I decided to drive to see two favourite old things - the little country church at Dinton, and Superman's old barn and homestead, used in the 1978 Superman movie. I love photographing these old structures. Actually, the tiny church in Dinton was also used in a movie - Brokeback Mountain. Happy with my findings, it was time to start on my homeward journey, as I didn't want to be on the main highway in the dark. There was just time for me to call in quickly at the Saskatoon Farm, only to find that the restaurant had closed about 20 minutes early, so I was out of luck for my usual Quiche and Sweet Potato fries. Saskatoon Pie was still available, which nicely filled the void, having missed my lunch. A cup of coffee came in handy for my drive home, too.

Usually, you don't see just one of these little Snow Buntings all on its own - they are normally in small or large flocks, often in flight. They are beautiful birds, especially when they are flying. This lone individual sat for a while on this fence post - way down the road. Every once in a while, it would let out a single note call, as if calling out for its companions. Very cute to watch. "Appropriately named, the Snow Bunting is a bird of the high Arctic and snowy winter fields. Even on a warm day, the mostly white plumage of a bunting flock evokes the image of a snowstorm." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snow_Bunting/id We had such a successful and enjoyable day on 20 February 2016, taking part in our annual Snowy Owl Prowl east of the city. We saw so many Snowy Owls, but all except one were extremely far away. The closest one was still way down the road, as with so many cars and people, we stayed way back so as not to stress the owl. I will add the report of the day, compiled by our leader, Terry Korolyk. Terry, you did such a great job, finding so many birds for us to see! Thank you! "Twenty-four extremely enthusiastic birders showed up for this year's version of the Snowy Owl Prowl. Conditions were almost ideal helped by a snowfall Thursday night and Friday morning. Temperature about 8:00 A.M. in south Calgary was -7 degrees. I had a good feeling as we headed out to our meeting place at Deerfoot Mall with no wind and a thin layer of fog hanging over much of the southwest part of the City. We saw at least 11, possibly as many as 13 Snowy Owls for the day. It appeared as though it was a chance happening that the day picked would have these ideal conditions which resulted in all these birds being around on this day. There were many other highlights of which most noteworthy was a NORTHERN HARRIER. Three adult Bald Eagles were seen and we came in with a total of 11 Rough-legged Hawks, of which the numbers were divided up between 1st. year birds and adult females. We found the first Great Horned Owl of the year on a nest which was south of Langdon. Perhaps, one of the highlights of the day was a lone SNOW BUNTING north of the Cattleland Feedlots slough north of Strathmore which caught everybody's heart as it called repeatedly that plaintive poignant one note it is known for from a fencepost; would fly to the fallow snowy ground, then, return to the fencepost and call some more. This was thoroughly enjoyed by all participants. Other birds seen were a few small flocks of Redpolls and 2 pairs and a covey of 8 Gray Partridge. We also stopped at the houses at the west end of Railway Avenue in Cheadle so participants could see some of the local colony of Eurasian Collared Doves of which we saw 5. Large numbers of Canada Geese, probably a couple of thousand or so were in stubble fields southwest of Chestermere Lake and north of Glenmore Trail. Included in these flocks were some CACKLING GEESE. Given the EARLY late Winter departure of waterfowl from the Bow River in Calgary this year and by their behaviour with lots of resting birds and some feeding, I think these birds were probably migratory birds. We must also consider that the 3 Ring-necked Ducks at Elliston Park are probably overeager Spring migrants as probably are the 2 male Green-winged Teal at Fish Creek PP Burnsmead this past week. Many participants on the trip today were seeing some of these species for the first time. Last year, we had a young student from Australia on the trip; this year, we had a young couple from Massachusetts who have lived in Calgary only a year and had never seen a Snowy Owl."

On 12 February 2015, I spent the day SE of the city, with friends Cathy and Terry. They picked me up at 7:00 am and I think I was home somewhere around 7:30 pm, after a great day of searching for owls, barns, and anything else that caught our (my!) eye. The weather was beautiful. The temperature reached a brief high of 13C around 1:00 and 2:00 pm, which felt so good, especially for mid-winter. I love the days that I'm in this area when the mountains are reasonably clear. Often, they look very hazy and sometimes they disappear completely. Many of the roads we travelled along were roads that I had driven on myself, some of them a number of times. A few of the roads were new to me, which was a treat, including a "trail" that was so deeply rutted and snow-covered that I'm amazed that we ever got out of there! This track and another backroad that was new to me led to a few old barns that I really appreciated being shown. I think my friends were amused that I fell asleep on this very rough track - after only an hour and a half's sleep the previous night, on top of always being very sleep-deprived, I'm really not surprised. It's strange how some fields in the whole area were more or less bare and yet others had a lot of snow covering the stubble, with piles of snow lining the edges of the road. As far as wildlife was concerned, we saw 11 owls - 8 Snowy Owls and 3 Great Horned Owls. The Snowies, other than the one perched on the "Wrong Way" sign that I posted recently, were all extremely distant, so my photos are of white specks in a nice setting, ha. If I hadn't been with two people who can spot "everything", I'm sure that I would never have found most of these owls! One of the Great Horned Owls gave us a lovely view, although not close, with no branches getting in the way. Loved hearing it calling to its mate, who was presumably tucked into one of the neighbouring trees. Other birds included a flock of Snow Buntings, plus two individuals that were perched on a fence. Usually when you see Snow Buntings, they are swarming in the air or landing briefly in a field before flying off in a huge mass. They are beautiful birds when seen in flight. Another bird we saw was a beautiful Prairie Falcon perched on an electricity pylon. "Appropriately named, the Snow Bunting is a bird of the high Arctic and snowy winter fields. Even on a warm day, the mostly white plumage of a bunting flock evokes the image of a snowstorm." From AllABoutBIrds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/snow_bunting/id Many thanks, as always, Cathy and Terry, for a great day out, including the delicious chili you made and brought along. Fun and rewarding! Really appreciated being with you, doing what we all enjoy so much. Thanks, too, for giving me time to photograph the various barns we came across!

A little Snow Bunting that actually sat still for a second or two. Taken east of Calgary on 7 December 2012. 23 January 2013, 9:30 a.m. Wow, this must be a first - message from Flickr says: "You caught us at a bad time: We're running red hot at the moment, so uploading is temporarily unavailable until things cool down. Please try again soon! (And, sorry for the lame excuse.)" Around noon, I was finally able to get these shots uploaded, but now have to dash out for my volunteer shift. See you later. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Bunting www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snow_Bunting/id

Unusual to see Snow Buntings actually perched - usually, they are flying fast in a large flock over weedy fields and stubble. Taken east of Calgary on 7 December 2012. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snow_Bunting/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Bunting

I was SO lucky to be on a walk in South Glenmore Park yesterday morning and so was treated to a wonderful sighting of this juvenile Snow Bunting, feeding along the edge of the path ahead of us. I have only ever seen Snow Buntings a handful of times, in the countryside around the city, always at a great distance, and usually in huge flocks. They are such pretty birds and are so beautiful when they are in flight. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Bunting

Another heavily cropped view of the juvenile Snow Bunting that we saw on October 24th in South Glenmore Park, not too far from the Sailing Club. I have only ever seen Snow Buntings a handful of times, in the countryside around the city, always at a great distance, and usually in huge flocks. They are such pretty birds and are so beautiful when they are in flight. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Bunting

Not the kind of photo I like taking - distant and a "mess", LOL. However, I just wanted to share the amazing sight I saw this afternoon, when I pulled over on a gravel road just west of the city. I noticed a cloud of these little Snow Buntings and walked a little way into a farmer's field. It felt as if the whole field burst open when hundreds of these pretty little birds took off en masse! They are most attractive when in flight - though would prefer one at a time, as far as trying for a shot is concerned - especially when the sun makes the white feathers glisten. If you have time, large size does make it easier to see what these small birds look like.