After waking up really late today, 30 January 2022, I turned on my computer and checked the weather forecast, The hope was that the forecast no longer said that we were in for more snow tonight and Monday and Tuesday. No such luck. When I read about the drifting snow, I knew that there was no way I would be driving the backroads in the next while. Getting ready in record time, I thought I would have just enough time to go and see if I could find a Snowy Owl and still be home before the light began to fade - can't do 'night' driving because my eyes can't deal with the glare of oncoming headlights.

Not a whole lot to see out there - but who needs 'a whole lot' when one is lucky enough to find two Snowy Owls? The only other birds I saw were a Merlin and a Magpie. The first Snowy was flushed from behind a bank of snow that had been cleared from the road. I was only driving very slowly, but didn't see the owl till it took flight and landed way, way out in a field. I would never have seen it if I hadn't seen it flying off into the distance. The second owl was perched on a power pole. Never an attractive perch, but I will happily take anything that has a Snowy sitting on top. Most of my photos were taken from way down the road, through the windshield. They looked OK in the viewfinder, but when I got home, they all needed to be deleted. Thank goodness, I stood outside my car for the last images, just in case. Even so, not the greatest photo quality, because of being highly zoomed, but again, I am happy to get anything.

So glad I made the decision to go out a second day in a row, which I tend to try and avoid. The wind picked up later in the afternoon, but it was a beautiful sunny day despite some darker clouds forming.

Tags:   Alberta Canada SE of Calgary landscape scenery sky clouds formation field distant trees light snow cover outdoor winter 30 January 2022 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2022 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

After waking up really late today, 30 January 2022, I turned on my computer and checked the weather forecast, The hope was that the forecast no longer said that we were in for more snow tonight and Monday and Tuesday. No such luck. When I read about the drifting snow, I knew that there was no way I would be driving the backroads in the next while. Getting ready in record time, I thought I would have just enough time to go and see if I could find a Snowy Owl and still be home before the light began to fade - can't do 'night' driving because my eyes can't deal with the glare of oncoming headlights.

Not a whole lot to see out there - but who needs 'a whole lot' when one is lucky enough to find two Snowy Owls? The only other birds I saw were a Merlin and a Magpie. The first Snowy was flushed from behind a bank of snow that had been cleared from the road. I was only driving very slowly, but didn't see the owl till it took flight and landed way, way out in a field. I would never have seen it if I hadn't seen it flying off into the distance. The second owl was perched on a power pole. Never an attractive perch, but I will happily take anything that has a Snowy sitting on top. Most of my photos were taken from way down the road, through the windshield. They looked OK in the viewfinder, but when I got home, they all needed to be deleted. Thank goodness, I stood outside my car for the last images, just in case. Even so, not the greatest photo quality, because of being highly zoomed, but again, I am happy to get anything.

So glad I made the decision to go out a second day in a row, which I tend to try and avoid. The wind picked up later in the afternoon, but it was a beautiful sunny day despite some darker clouds forming.

Tags:   Alberta Canada SE of Calgary nature wildlife avian ornithology bird falcon Merlin Falco columbarius back/side view perched tree branch outdoor winter 30 January 2022 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott

© All Rights Reserved

After waking up really late today, 30 January 2022, I turned on my computer and checked the weather forecast, The hope was that the forecast no longer said that we were in for more snow tonight and Monday and Tuesday. No such luck. When I read about the drifting snow, I knew that there was no way I would be driving the backroads in the next while. Getting ready in record time, I thought I would have just enough time to go and see if I could find a Snowy Owl and still be home before the light began to fade - can't do 'night' driving because my eyes can't deal with the glare of oncoming headlights.

Not a whole lot to see out there - but who needs 'a whole lot' when one is lucky enough to find two Snowy Owls? The only other birds I saw were a Merlin and a Magpie. The first Snowy was flushed from behind a bank of snow that had been cleared from the road. I was only driving very slowly, but didn't see the owl till it took flight and landed way, way out in a field. I would never have seen it if I hadn't seen it flying off into the distance. The second owl was perched on a power pole. Never an attractive perch, but I will happily take anything that has a Snowy sitting on top. Most of my photos were taken from way down the road, through the windshield. They looked OK in the viewfinder, but when I got home, they all needed to be deleted. Thank goodness, I stood outside my car for the last images, just in case. Even so, not the greatest photo quality, because of being highly zoomed, but again, I am happy to get anything.

So glad I made the decision to go out a second day in a row, which I tend to try and avoid. The wind picked up later in the afternoon, but it was a beautiful sunny day despite some darker clouds forming.

Tags:   Alberta Canada SE of Calgary nature wildlife avian ornithology bird bird of prey owl Snowy Owl Bubo scandiacus male very distant front view on the ground field stubble snow outdoor winter 30 January 2022 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2022 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

After waking up really late today, 30 January 2022, I turned on my computer and checked the weather forecast, The hope was that the forecast no longer said that we were in for more snow tonight and Monday and Tuesday. No such luck. When I read about the drifting snow, I knew that there was no way I would be driving the backroads in the next while. Getting ready in record time, I thought I would have just enough time to go and see if I could find a Snowy Owl and still be home before the light began to fade - can't do 'night' driving because my eyes can't deal with the glare of oncoming headlights.

Not a whole lot to see out there - but who needs 'a whole lot' when one is lucky enough to find two Snowy Owls? The only other birds I saw were a Merlin and a Magpie. The first Snowy was flushed from behind a bank of snow that had been cleared from the road. I was only driving very slowly, but didn't see the owl till it took flight and landed way, way out in a field. I would never have seen it if I hadn't seen it flying off into the distance. The second owl was perched on a power pole. Never an attractive perch, but I will happily take anything that has a Snowy sitting on top. Most of my photos were taken from way down the road, through the windshield. They looked OK in the viewfinder, but when I got home, they all needed to be deleted. Thank goodness, I stood outside my car for the last images, just in case. Even so, not the greatest photo quality, because of being highly zoomed, but again, I am happy to get anything.

So glad I made the decision to go out a second day in a row, which I tend to try and avoid. The wind picked up later in the afternoon, but it was a beautiful sunny day despite some darker clouds forming.

Tags:   Alberta Canada SE of Calgary building old weathered wood wooden barn field snow rural decay rural decay rural scene fence old truck outdoor winter 30 January 2022 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2022 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

After waking up really late today, 30 January 2022, I turned on my computer and checked the weather forecast, The hope was that the forecast no longer said that we were in for more snow tonight and Monday and Tuesday. No such luck. When I read about the drifting snow, I knew that there was no way I would be driving the backroads in the next while. Getting ready in record time, I thought I would have just enough time to go and see if I could find a Snowy Owl and still be home before the light began to fade - can't do 'night' driving because my eyes can't deal with the glare of oncoming headlights.

Not a whole lot to see out there - but who needs 'a whole lot' when one is lucky enough to find two Snowy Owls? The only other birds I saw were a Merlin and a Magpie. The first Snowy was flushed from behind a bank of snow that had been cleared from the road. I was only driving very slowly, but didn't see the owl till it took flight and landed way, way out in a field. I would never have seen it if I hadn't seen it flying off into the distance. The second owl, seen in this photo, was perched on a power pole. Never an attractive perch, but I will happily take anything that has a Snowy sitting on top. Most of my photos were taken from way down the road, through the windshield. They looked OK in the viewfinder, but when I got home, they all needed to be deleted. Thank goodness, I stood outside my car for the last images, just in case. Even so, not the greatest photo quality, because of being highly zoomed, but again, I am happy to get anything.

So glad I made the decision to go out a second day in a row, which I tend to try and avoid. The wind picked up later in the afternoon, but it was a beautiful sunny day despite some darker clouds forming.

Tags:   Alberta Canada nature wildlife avian ornithology bird bird of prey owl Snowy Owl Bubo scandiacus male shaking its feathers perched power pole front/side view sky outdoor winter 30 January 2022 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2022 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved