This is one of the two Northern Hawk Owls that a friend and I saw on Monday, N of Cochrane (i.e. NW of Calgary). I happened to catch it having a good stretch, very high up in a tall tree. I did remove a thin branch that cut across the tail, as I just found it extremely distracting and annoying. Yes, I admit it, I altered an image, LOL! Then, as if the thrill of Monday wasn't enough, I was invited by another friend to go back to the very same area this afternoon!! The sky was as blue as can be (just like on Monday) and we found THREE of these owls in the area. Unbelievable! The icing on the cake was yet to come, as we soon found out. A few moments later, on our way out of the area, there was a female Moose in a wooded field. To these two friends who enabled me to get out of the city (where I won't drive for the most part) and see these incredible sights - thank you SO much!

Tags:   Alberta Canada NW of Calgary NW of Cochrane nature fauna outdoors ornithology bird birds avian color image perching stretching spread wings fan feathers day front view vertical beauty in nature no people tree wild Panasonic DMC-FZ18 FZ18 Lumix P1480111 FZ18 annkelliott Explore interestingness#97 explore2009February19 i500 CrystalAward VosPlusBellesPhotos Northern Hawk Owl Surnia ulula February 16th, 2009 Birdshare

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Have been feeling really unwell the last 7-10 days, so the very last thing I should have done was to drive to a new area by myself on a -20C day, LOL! I've battled a phobia of driving the last 31 years, so plucking up courage to do this drive meant a lot to me. Felt so good to have done it. Wonderfully, I bumped into a couple of friends who were already at the location, so there was someone to chat with while we stood and waited and waited and waited for this gorgeous Northern Hawk Owl to do something, ha, ha! They also very kindly brought back a cup of hot coffee for me when they drove into Cochrane for a quick break. We did see three of these owls along the stretch of road, but they were perched a long way away. Maybe they, too, were feeling the cold. The one above was in fact perched in a row of trees with masses of tangled branches, but I was lucky to just be able to shoot from the road, through a small gap. Greatly cropped, of course : ) Looks like it had had a fairly recent snack, judging by the colour of its beak. Takes about an hour and a quarter to drive here, north of the city. It was unbearably cold and I was still on the verge of shivering eight hours after getting home. As I said, not the wisest outing when sick : ) Can't wait to do it again, though, especially as our weather is supposed to warm up for a few days.

Tags:   Alberta Canada northwest of Calgary north of Cochrane nature ornithology avian bird birds wild fauna owl Northern Hawk Owl Surnia ulula bird of prey rare to uncommon image photograph digital vertical outdoors tree color image portrait feathers thoughtful perching no people front view one bird wildlife Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix P1000778 FZ28 annkelliott NaturesFinest AnAwesomeShot Explore interestingness#305 explore2009March2 © All Rights Reserved © Anne Elliott 2009

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This was a far-away shot and therefore is very heavily cropped! However, I am SO thrilled to have finally seen a Northern Hawk Owl and, as an added bonus, to get a few photos of it. Nothing great or spectacular, but I'm still on cloud nine : ) We drove northwest of the city and spent the day driving around the back roads hoping to see a Great Gray Owl and maybe even a little Northern Hawk Owl. Not many birds of any kind to be seen but, right at the end, we found this little beauty. It was perched on a very distant tree in a farmer's field. A few of us plodded through snow near the fence line and managed to get some shots. (The snow had quite a thick crust on top, so every step or two, you broke through the crust and plunged into deep snow - roll on spring!). It was extremely windy and chilly - hard to hold the camera - which is why the owl is all puffed up. Then, suddenly, it flew and landed on a fence post by the road where the cars were parked, just 10' from the rest of our group! I would have been able to get the most amazing close-ups, sigh ... These owls are rare to uncommon year-round in Alberta, and they are one of the most sought-after birds in Alberta.

Tags:   Alberta Canada North west of Calgary Water Valley area nature wildlife fauna ornithology bird birds owl Northern Hawk Owl Surnia ulula raptor bird of prey rare to uncommon, Alberta Panasonic DMC-FZ18 FZ18 Lumix P1460942 FZ18 annkelliott Explore interestingness#241 explore2009February1 i500

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I still have other, unposted photos of this Northern Hawk Owl. This one is a little different, as the owl is perched on a fence. This was taken on the second outing, with a friend, to see these fascinating birds of prey. This owl species is 38-43 cm (15" to 16.9") in length and 80-90 cm (31.5" to 35.4") in width, and is rare to uncommon in Alberta.

Tags:   Alberta Canada north west of Calgary north of Cochrane nature fauna wildlife bird birds ornithology avian owl Northern Hawk Owl Surnia ulula bird of prey raptor rare to uncommon image photograph digital square format color image fence no people perching rural scene sunlight curious outdoors Panasonic DMC-FZ18 FZ18 Lumix P1480233 FZ18 annkelliott SuperShot © Anne Elliott 2009 © All Rights Reserved

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I've been so lucky that I've had two outings to see these rare to uncommon Northern Hawk Owls, north west of our city. A different friend took me with them and both times we were blessed with deep blue sky and sunshine. These owls are so fascinating and aren't fazed at all by humans. My photos are distant ones but cropped heavily : ). Their expressions are varied and rather amusing.

Tags:   Alberta Canada north of Cochrane north west of Calgary nature fauna wildlife ornithology avian bird birds bird of prey Owl Northern Hawk Owl Surnia ulula image digital photograph vertical one bird outdoors tree blue sky no people expression Panasonic DMC-FZ18 FZ18 Lumix P1000034 FZ28 FZ28 annkelliott VosPlusBellesPhotos

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