This Short-eared Owl was photographed east of High River by Judi Willis in November.
Short-eared Owls are scarce around Calgary in the winter but can sometimes be found hunting over uncultivated fields. They will hunt int he daytime but are most active at dawn and dusk. They are a sensitive species, so the exact location should not be publicly disclosed.
Judi watched this owl hunt for a while and managed to capture it diving for prey.
Short-eared Owls are scarce in the Calgary area in the winter, but sometimes a few can be found hunting meadow voles around fields that have not been cultivated for a few years. Ron Chiasson photographed these owls near Calgary this winter. Short-eared Owls are a sensitive species so we won’t give the location. They have declined in the Calgary area over the decades as native prairie has disappeared, but they have an almost worldwide distribution and their conservation status is “Least Concern.”
You can see more of Ron’s photos at Ron Chiasson Photography.
On a good day in the Calgary area you can see four or five species of owls (seven on a great day). Here are two that are not seen within the city limits too often, but can be found by making a short drive east or south (for Short-eared Owls) or west (for Great Gray Owls). We usually don’t reveal exact locations of owls so you’ll have to do a little searching for them. Photos by Tony LePrieur.
Short-eared Owl, east of Calgary, March 12, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.
Short-eared Owl, east of Calgary, March 12, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.
Great Gray Owl, west of Calgary, April 9, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.
Great Gray Owl, west of Calgary, April 9, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.
To see more of Tony’s photos, visit his Flickr page.
Santisouk Phommachakr took these amazing photos of a very acrobatic Short-eared Owl east of Calgary in the first week of January 2017.
You can find more of her photos and her blog at Santisouk Photography.
Posted by Dan Arndt
Last Saturday evening I made a quick trip to Frank Lake and managed to find a pair of Short-eared Owls displaying and posing in the late day sun.
male Short-eared Owl
female Short-eared Owl
female Short-eared Owl
male Short-eared Owl
male Short-eared Owl calling in flight
These spectacular Short-eared Owl photographs were taken by Logan Gibson and Veeanna Wong about a half an hour east of Frank Lake earlier this month.
Last week I took the short drive out to Frank Lake, east of High River (see the directions under the “Birding Resources” tab above). I was hoping to see some of the many Short-eared Owls that are often seen there at dusk, and I had about two hours before that to scope out the lake for waterfowl and other birds. This is a very productive wetland, and I managed to see 24 species of birds, 13 of which were new ones for the year for me.
The water level is very high this year. As you can see, the path to the observation blind was flooded. There was also still quite a bit of ice on the lake, but much of Basin 1 was open.
By far the most common bird there was the Franklin’s Gull. Frank Lake is home to perhaps the largest breeding colony of these gulls in the world, with up to 55,000 pairs. They build floating nests in the cattails, and if the water levels remain this high they may not be able to breed here successfully.
There were other gulls as well. This one, which I believe is a California Gull, was having eggs for dinner.
The gull took the egg onto the roof of the blind, and although it almost rolled off at one point, he finally did manage to eat it.
I had good views of Eared Grebes and Ring-necked Ducks…
But the highlight was when a flock of four White-faced Ibises flew in. I had never seen this large, beautiful bird before. It has dark, glossy, chestnut and bronze colouration, a long decurved bill, and of course a white face.
(Click on photos to enlarge them.)
The four flew on, but a little later another flock of twelve Ibises arrived…
They landed on the island…
And virtually disappeared in the grass…
(Cinnamon Teal in the foreground.)
At dusk, I started to drive back out on the dirt access road, but I didn’t get far, since I brake for Short-eared Owls…
This owl was right next to the road, so it flew before I could get very close. However, I saw another one hunting a little farther down the road…
All in all, a great evening of birding topped off by a fine southern Alberta sunset.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre