Alberta Canada Finale

Since I've been home from Canada, I have been editing my photos, writing blogs, unpacking and doing some accounting getting ready for tax season.

So here is the final wrap-up of my Canadian trip. After leaving Fort Saskatchewan, we traveled back to Drumheller, arrived there in time for lunch and then out into the prairie again looking for snowy owls. Again we found a cooperative snowy owl in the late afternoon going into sunset which gave a different set of lighting on the bird.

Snowy owl flying down the road at sunset

Snowy owl flying at sunset

Snowy owl flying after the sun set, this required increasing my ISO and opening up my lens to keep my shutter speed up

It was our final day, after breakfast we went out to the ranch where one of our leaders lived, hopefully to get northern goshawk's which have been hanging around the ranch. However, it was very cold and there was a stiff wind blowing in the goshawk's were hiding. A leader is a falconer and we got to see his birds one of which gyrfalcon. The leader told us that there was a Great Gray Owl reported down in one of the city parks in Calgary. The consensus of the group was instead of looking for snowy owls again we drive down to Calgary seeking the great gray owl before we went to the airport for our trip home.

Captive Gyrfalcon

We arrived at Griffin Woods Park which is on the Elbow River and we walked around to see if we could find the owl. No such luck again. The park is very nice and it would been better if we had more time to explore.

Griffin Woods Park And the Elbow River

Oh well, I still did not get my Great Great Owl, so it looks like I will have to return again next year to try to find it. All in all it was a worthwhile trip.

Besides the owls there is a lot more to photograph including old buildings, sunrises sunsets and other creatures.

White tailed deer looking down the road at us

Barn at sunset

Mule Deer

Old house on the prairie

Portion of an old combine with a grease gun

Sunrise on the prairie

Sunset with a gas pump, all over the prairie in Alberta there a gas and oil pumps

Mornings that were very cold after a of warmer day the trees, bushes and plants were covered would hoarfrost which was a interesting and beautiful sight.

Hoarfrost

Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula)

Northern Hawk Owl

Our next quest was to locate and photograph Northern Hawk Owls and Great Gray Owls. We had to travel from Drumheller up to the Edmonton area where we stayed in Fort Saskatchewan, as city outside of Edmonton.. We met up with our local guide who informed us that although the week before there were Great Gray Owls around, that because of the warmer weather and wind they had disappeared into the woods. However, he had seen at least a dozen Northern Hawk Owls. We then spent the rest of that day and all of the next day searching for the Northern Hawk Owls. Most of the time when we found them they were sitting high in the trees in the distance. In the late afternoon the owls became active and we were able to catch flight shots, feeding behavior and they would come in and sit on the fence posts.

The Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula) is a non-migratory bird, however on occasions it will erupt southward. In fact a couple of years ago I photograph one in Maine and this year they have been reported in Vermont.

Northern Hawk Owls are found across the northern holarctic region both in North America and Eurasia. The owls are unevenly distributed in variable through the boreal forest liking open coniferous forest or coniferous forests with deciduous species.

Northern Hawk Owl

The Northern Hawk Owl feeds on small rodents and mammals that are bigger in size and a variety of birds. They are partially a diurnal hunter but can hunt at any time.

Northern Hawk Owl Flying

Northern Hawk Owl Flying

Northern Hawk Owl Flying

The Hawk-Owl prefers open, forest-type environments when perching.  Northern Hawk-Owls will perch on the top of spruce trees looking for prey. When the Hawk-Owl attacks, it goes from a horizontal posture into a gliding dive. The Hawk-Owl has exceptional hearing and can plunge into snow to capture rodents below the surface.

Northern Hawk Owl coming in In a Glide

Northern Hawk Owl Catching a Rodent in the Snow

Northern Hawk Owl Starting to Fly out from the Snow

Northern Hawk Owl Flying Away with Prey

An interesting feature of the Northern Hawk Owl is that if they are well fed they will cache the prey on underneath the bark on trees to save for a time when they cannot find food. Apparently they do remember where they cached the food. We were lucky enough to see them catch food and then cache it.

Northern Hawk Owl Caching Food

Northern Hawk Owl Caching Food

Northern Hawk Owl Caching Food

Almost Skunked

Sunrise over Alberta's Prairie

After arriving in Calgary Alberta and meeting up with the group, we packed the van when our luggage and gear and started out for Drumweller which was going to be our home for the next three days. After checking in to motel, the group went out to dinner, discussed the itinerary for the next day and then back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

The next morning, we met at 7 AM loaded our camera gear into the van and then went to breakfast. our regional guide, Jon met us and then we went out to explore the prairie looking for snowy owls. There was a nice sunrise over the prairie and as we drove around we saw many snowy owls, however they were extremely skittish and would fly away even when we were long distances away from where they were perched. We continued looking without obtaining any pictures and we were thinking we were going to get skunked. In fact, we were able to photograph face right skunk walking in the fields on the snow.

Striped Skunk

Striped Skunk

Finally, we found one snowy owl sitting on a gas pump rig that was cooperative and allows some photographs.

Snowy Owl Sitting on a Gas Pump Rig

In the late afternoon, finally we found a snowy owl flying and hunting, who did not seem to be bothered by us and allowed us to get the chance to get some flight shots.

Snowy Owl in Flight

Snowy Owl in Flight

Snowy Owl in Flight over the Prairie

Snowy Owl Landing

I was going to post a blog while I was up in Canada, but my blog application with not allow me into into the program to post a blog.

A reminder, that I will be running a macro workshop starting at 8 AM at Gooseberry Neck in Westport Massachusetts. Besides instruction the workshop will include a lunch and you can sign up On the Allens Pond website http://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/program-catalog#program:sanctuary=25:whoTags[]=audience_adult:program_code=32386

More Pictures from Canada

Panorama of Herbert Lake

In the week since I returned home from Canada, I have been cleaning and putting equipment away, doing paperwork, and I have written the blog's.  However, I still have many pictures to go through and have been working on them all day today.  So here are additional pictures of Canada.  I still have more to go through and select.

Conifers growing on the side of the wall in Johnston Canyon

The Prairie along the Trans-Canada Highway With the Canadian Rockies in the Background

One of the lakes alongside the side of the Trans-Canada Highway

Looking down the Trans-Canada Highway at the Rockies

The Mountains near Patricia Lake

Photographing an Elk

Johnston Canyon

Herbert Lake With Reflections

Ewe and Kid Bighorn Sheep Running

Bighorn Sheep Kid on the Rocks

Canadian Rockies at Sunrise

Panorama of Herbert Lake, six vertical pictures stitched in Photoshop

Bighorn Sheep Eating

Bighorn Sheep Kid Running

Bighorn Sheep Ram