The Aurora Borealis lit up for a couple of hours last night so Jack and I were out until 5 AM watching the ribbons stripe the night sky. There were few clouds and it turned out to be a very enjoyable performance.
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Dawn at the Lion’s Gate Bridge
(as always, please click on any image to open a higher resolution version)
In March, I spent a weekend in Vancouver photographing birds, Granville Market and a few other things with a good friend. On one of the mornings we headed down to Stanley Park around 4:30 AM to see about sunrise. We walked to the seawall along the Burrard Inlet and worked for a while with the lights of North Van across the water.
As dawn came in, we moved slowly towards the Lion’s Gate Bridge and I had a lot of fun working with this dominant structure. I was very happy that they left the bridge lights on right through sunrise. I used to spend a lot of time exploring the park when I went to school in Vancouver but this was one of only a few times that I have photographed there. It is a beautiful place to spend time – with or without a camera.
With morning came the runners that pile on miles along the pathways year round. I enjoyed working them into a few photographs before packing up for breakfast.
Owl flights in Bragg Creek
Canon 5DIII camera with Canon 500mm F/4 IS lens: 1/1250 second at f/4 on ISO 2500
Kezia and I drove out to see the owl the other night. This visit was a real treat. The Great Gray Owl was very relaxed and flew towards us in two short glides separated with twenty minutes of perching on a fencepost.
Canon 5DIII camera with Canon 500mm F/4 IS lens: 1/1250 second at f/4 on ISO 2500
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Canon 5DIII camera with Canon 500mm F/4 IS lens: 1/640 second at f/4 on ISO 4000
Kezia was delighted watching the owl’s swooping flight and she whispered to the owl urging her to keep flying. As it got darker the owl got more active so Kezia got to watch it flying every couple of minutes. It moved into the forest, came back and then crossed the road, perched nearby and then we left for home.
Canon 5DIII camera with Canon 500mm F/4 IS lens: 1/640 second at f/4 on ISO 4000
It was a great evening to be out, especially with Kezia and I having so much fun.
Canon 5DIII camera with Canon 500mm F/4 IS lens: 1/320 second at f/4 on ISO 5000
Prairie Hawks in flight
With spring sprung, there are an abundance of hawks wheeling in the sky over the Prairies now. Through the winter, the Rough-legged hawks had the air to themselves and now Red-tailed, Swainson’s and Broad-wings have joined them. This dark morph Swainson’s was beautiful and wheeled around me for a couple of turns.
This Red-tailed hawk screamed at me when I stopped to photograph it flying over the fields. It flew beside me and let loose one of the shrieks that Hollywood still often uses to dub over the Bald Eagle’s less impressive one.
Another Swainson’s launched out of this tree and looked beautiful in the warm, evening light.
One other Red-tailed watched me out of the corner of its eye as it glided past but saved any vocalizations for another time. This hawk was one of the few I saw that wasn’t flying. I did not see a nest nearby so I think the bird was just taking a break from hunting.
Red-winged in spring
A Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) rests between calls in a bramble of willow catkins.
Moose in Bragg Creek (now snow-free)
Mother Nature flipped a switch a week ago and now we are free of snow and the temperatures are t-shirt appropriate. The moose probably aren’t excited about the warmer weather but I’m sure they are enjoying snacking on the new greenery. Looking at the photographs of this young bull moose afterwards, it struck me that it has been about nine months since I have had snow-free backgrounds of moose.
Regarding the moose, expect that they will start retreating for the cooler forest just after dawn pretty soon. I think it is finally safe to say we are now coming out of the mild, but very long, winter here.
A surprising nest
In front of the patio to the front door of my house there is a stump where the previous owners had cut down what must have been a large tree. Aside from the occasional decoration, this trunk remains largely unused by us. However, we all like it so there it stays. Now, I understand why… today a pair of Boreal Chickadees started to dig out their hollow to make their nest. They carried out small clumps of wood pulp clawed out on every trip. I hope they choose to stay here.
Great Gray Owl in Water Valley
Water Valley is a lushly forested area broken up with farm fields, hills and streams. Any one of these can attract owls so it is little surprise that many are seen in the locales between Cremona and Cochrane. I drove along Horse Creek Road and the Grand Valley Road a few days ago to enjoy the countryside as well as see what wildlife I might find. Near Cremona I found a Gray watching the grass in the front yard of a ranch from one of the fence posts.
By that time it was early evening so I set up my gear on the shoulder of the road and waited to see if the owl might start hunting. It looked at me languidly a few times and I thought that might be the all there was to this sighting when it flew into the trees. I was wrong. It stayed in the woods for a few minutes and then came back to the fence again.
A minute later, it flew to a new post about 30′ from where I was sitting.
From that point the owl started hunting and remained less than 100′ away for the next hour. It proved to be adept at attacks into the long grass and grabbed five mice over that period. The strikes onto the field creatures were impossible to photograph as the talons and head of the owl would disappear completely into a screen of pale yellow.
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That was only a very minor disappointment, being able to watch this master hunter at work was very enjoyable.
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I had great opportunities to photograph the owl flying before night took hold. In the image below it was quite dark so I needed a longer exposure to gather enough light.
Just as I decided to pack up and head home, a car came down the road and I snapped this last image with the help of the headlights.
On the edge of Kananaskis with an owl
(click on any image to open a window to a higher resolution version)
I persuaded my children to join me for a drive through Bragg Creek into Kananaskis last night to look for the Great Gray Owls that have returned to some of their summer haunts. We traveled several of the backroads with not much wildlife found but the sun was out and we enjoyed chatting away. I had turned back towards home when Kian spotted a beautiful Great Gray up in an aspen tree.
Its plumage matched the bark quite well and I had completely missed it. Luckily my son’s sharp eyes did not.
Having accomplished the find, Kian then returned to his story while Kezia and I got out and watched the owl swoop across the open forest between trees for almost an hour. There was great light and the owl was hunting and resting normally so we enjoyed the encounter and I was rewarded with some great opportunities to photograph the bird.
By 8 pm, it was time for bed – for the kids not the owl – so we left her perched on a branch near the road and went home.
Black-necked Stilts at Frank Lake
When I first went down to Frank Lake a couple of weekends ago, the American Avocets were the only shorebirds in the small marsh next to the large blind along the water. When I returned at the end of that weekend, there were a couple of Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) that had joined the good times fishing in the shallows.
The two seemed like a couple as they never strayed to far from one another. The females can be distinguished by brown-tinged upper parts, whereas the males are a solid black. The difference was not easily seen but I think I could identify one male and one female.
These are cool little birds. Striking in appearance and very interesting to watch as they stalk around a marsh. I’m excited to find out whether chicks will be following these two around soon.
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