I was standing maybe six feet away from this beautiful Snowy Owl (female or juvenile) in the Canadian Wilds area of the Calgary Zoo. It was sitting near the edge of a bank about five feet high, near the edge of the path through the aviary. At first, a slight hiss came from that partly open beak - obviously a little warning to not invade its territory. Then the owl became used to my presence.

Added on 22 December 2020: I used this photo for the cover of my 2008 calendar, which I made from scratch. printing out the photos and cerlox binding each copy.. No new calendars have been made since then - till a calendar for 2021.

Tags:   Calgary Alberta Canada Calgary Zoo Canadian Wilds area bird Owl Snowy Owl Nyctea scandiaca Bird of prey IMG_5724 annkelliott AnimalPlanet SuperShot AvianExcellence interestingness#154 explore2007November28

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This past winter (November to April) was a good time for seeing Snowy Owls around Calgary, Alberta. They are amazing to see, perched on fence posts, power poles or buildings in open countryside.

Tags:   Snowy Owl Alberta bird nature wildlife Nyctea scandiaca owl white Bubo scandiacus Canada annkelliott perched wire near Calgary feathers blue sky Birdshare

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Had an absolutely wonderful 10 hours of birding today, when a friend invited me to join him on a day out in the Rocky Mountains. The plan was to see if any White-tailed Ptarmigan could be found high up at Bow Summit (between Bow Lake and Peyto Lake). No luck with the Ptarmigan but, oh, what amazing wildlife we (or rather, my friend, who is a superb birder!) found. We stopped off en route at a place called Harvey Heights, a small hamlet right on the boundary of Banff National Park, near Canmore. There, we saw:

1 Stellar's Jay - a new bird for me!
10 Clarke's Nutcrackers - a new bird for me!
24+ Pine Grosbeaks - the first time I could see one close enough
3 Pine Siskins - the first time I could see one close enough
8 Mountain Chickadees
2 Boreal Chickadees
1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
2 or 3 Brown Creepers
1 Downy Woodpecker

AND 1 Pine Marten. Neither of us had ever seen one before!

"The marten, or pine marten, is a weasel-like animal that is dark brown to blond in colour with a paler head and underparts. The tail is long and bushy; the ears pointed and small. Average weight is 1-4 pounds.

Distribution - The marten occurs throughout most of Canada particularly in coniferous forests.

Biology - In April, 2-4 young are born blind in a leaf nest. The marten feeds on squirrels, rabbits, birds, mice, eggs, berries, seeds and honey. Their valuable pelts have led to their extirpation in many areas and logging has destroyed their habitats. Martens are now protected." Taken from bcadventure.com.

We also came across several VERY friendly Ravens in the Bow Summit area. When the car was stopped, they would fly on to the hood of the car, then manage to get on to the driver's side mirror and wait to be fed!! This photo is of one of the birds sitting on the hood!

Tags:   Alberta Canada Harvey Heights wildlife nature birds ornithology Raven FeatheryFriday Rocky Mountains annkelliott IMG_1000953 Canon S3 IS

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Oops, again - my flash delayed the photo of this Northern Flicker, but I ended up with this gorgeous display of colour and pattern instead! So beautiful.

Tags:   Calgary Alberta Canada wildlife bird nature woodpecker Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus Red-shafted Flicker FeatheryFriday Explore i500 Interestingness#84 explore2007Feb14 Fish Creek Park

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This was such a magical hour, spent quietly watching and photographing this young Great Horned Owl. A few days ago, we noticed that their nesting tree stump had fallen or been blown to the ground. Hopefully, they will choose another tree in the same area for nesting next spring. (Note to self: I used a similar photo to this one for my 2008 calendar.)

Tags:   Calgary Alberta Canada nature wildlife owl Great Horned Owl bird Explore annkelliott ABigFave Bubo virginianus i500 interestingness#171 explore2006Nov19 AvianExcellence ImpressedBeauty

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