Ken Bell - What's New

Owls

Snowy Owls

Snowy owls are icons of an Alberta winter. While reasonably plentiful they can be hard to find. A lot of time can be spent driving around trying to spot them even if you know their general location. Quite often you can find them on top of hydro poles or in many cases on fence posts, especially ones on a slight rise that allows them a place to hunt from. Recently I was lucky enough to find two females on the same road, about two kilometers away from each other. When you travel alone it is difficult to get good shots of them flying, as they generally fly away. Every now and then you might be lucky enough to get one flying by you, rather than away. Only on very rare occasions will one fly toward you.

                 Female Snowy Owl on fence post                    Female Snowy Owl on hydro pole

The bird on the hydro pole was very cooperative, allowing me to get right under the pole at the side of the road. I took quite a number of shots before she finally flew away.

               Close up of female,                                     then as she flew away.

Males are a bit more timid. The one below only let me approach to within about 25 meters before it flew off. As I drove closer to it again, it suddenly flew off, this time passing me before I could get out of the vehicle and set up my tripod again. Smart boy - he flew back to where he was perched initially!

     Male Snowy Owl on a fence post near Mossleigh    Flying back to where he was perched initially

More Snowy Owls - Feb 04

This past weekend I drove out to Drumheller to photograph the hoodoos, the churches at Dorothy and anything else I felt would make a good photo. On the way back I drove in on highways 56 and 561, through Hussar AB. On these highways I found six snowy owls, all females. I managed to photograph the first three, the last one being just after the sun had set. It was too dark and dangerous to try to photograph the others. Still, it was a lot of fun to see so many in one small area.

   Female Snowy Owl on a hydro pole on highway 56    Flying away to find a better hunting location

         Close up of female intently watching me         and then as she is watching a pigeon flying by

           One last look to see what I am up to             The last owl, photographed just after sunset

Great Horned Owls

Great Horned Owls (GHO) are plentiful around Calgary all year long. One of my favorite places to spot them is in Fish Creek Park, a ten minute drive from my house. I have seen a few families of GHO over the years, in an old burnt out tree near the boat launch, and farther north at Burnsmead. Every year for the past three years I have seen a family with owlets in that burnt out tree. This year there were three owlets. Another place I like to view them, along with other birds, is at the Birds of Prey Center near Coaldale Alberta. This center does great work rehabilitating birds, but those that can't be returned to the wild are put on display and are well cared for. If you are ever in the Lethbridge area you need to check this place out. Link - Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation

   Great Horned Owlet in dead tree at Fish Creek Park          Same owlet three weeks later

      Inglewood Bird Sanctuary Great Horned Owl                  Captive GHO at Birds of Prey Center

Other Owls

Northern Hawk Owls, Great Gray Owls and Burrowing Owls can also be found around Calgary. Northern Hawk Owls are only around in the winter, and are one of the smaller owls. Burrowing owls are found out on the prairies, mainly around Suffield and Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, in the southeast of the province. The bird shown below was photographed at the Birds of Prey Center. I actually got to hold it after taking this shot.

There is one good location near Calgary where Great Gray Owls can be found. These are among the largest of all owls and are magnificent owls to see. The one shown below was keeping an eye on some ravens that were passing overhead when I took this shot. This winter I hope to get out and find more Great Grays to try to improve on this picture.

          Northern Hawk Owl searching for food                      A successful hunt yielded supper

         Great Gray Owl watching ravens overhead                    Great Gray Owl watching me

                     Meet Frank - a captive male Burrowing Owl at the Birds of Prey Center

My next update will include some wildlife photography.