A close encounter of the owl kind
Almost two months ago, I came across a great gray owl that was surveying a bog from the top of a weathered fence post. I watched him for a few minutes as he looked around. Then the big, yellow eyes watched me for a few seconds before the wings stretched out and he flew up the hill towards me. These owls move quickly when they choose to so I was reacting not thinking when he took to the air. I was happy to have a few shots of that approach.
I thought he would fly by, but another post a couple of meters away from me was his destination. He looked around for half a minute, then stared at me while launching into the air again. This time he passed close by, crossed the path and then flew to a broken tree branch in the forest.
It was early evening and seemed to be supper time as he dove into the tall grass a couple of minutes later. That yielded a vole or some kind of field mouse. I couldn’t tell as he swallowed it while on the ground and mostly out of sight.
Reappearing after a short while, he ascended to another branch briefly and then flew deeper into the forest.
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Flashback Friday – owl to perch flight
A couple of years ago I watched this owl hunting in the snow west of Bragg Creek. It was a relatively warm day for March and this great gray was active for a long while before launching off of a fence post and flying upwards to this skeletal tree. I liked how the eyes are locked on the landing spot in this image. The overcast sky and bare branches suited the gray feathers backlit against the clouds.
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Flashback Friday – a summer owl
There are a lot of photographs from the summer and earlier which I have not found a way to share to date. I’m going to try using the Flashback Friday theme to publish some of these. I thought I’d start with a morning in July spent watching one of the great gray owls in Bragg Creek hunting in a field.
Just after 7 o’clock, I spied this owl on the forest edge, perched in a tree overlooking the field. I set up my tripod and long lens in time to catch her fly low over the grass.
This owl is one of a pair that have raised chicks in the same place for several years. The other parent was likely minding the chicks in the nest hidden back in the forest. So, the owl was busy crisscrossing the field, hunting for breakfast.
The summer sun rises early so it was fairly high by this time. The owl flew in and out of the sunlight and the shadows throughout the morning. That afforded some good opportunities to photograph that contrast.
After a half an hour, the owl was fairly close to me and I was surprised when she flew in my direction and alighted on the fencepost right in front of me. She stayed there for almost 15 minutes before resuming the hunt. A very special moment where I felt some level of connection – maybe an acceptance of my presence – that still makes me smile.
Here she flew off, dove into the grass, came up empty and returned to the same perch. A robin joined the line on this second sitting. The birds paid little attention to one another and the owl soon flew away.
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On the hunt with a great gray owl
A couple of weeks ago I took a break from the snowy owls on the prairie and visited some of my great gray owl haunts near my home. I had not seen a gray for several weeks so it was a fishing expedition at best with limited expectation. I was excited when I found this owl perched over the snow. It wasn’t too long before she dove into the snow and quickly swallowed some kind of mouse or vole. Her back was to me when she landed so I didn’t get a good look at her snack. She flew up into a bare tree and continued surveying the small meadow.
She decided pretty quickly that wasn’t the spot for her and she flew into the evergreens after only a couple of minutes.
She landed and then dozed for close to half an hour from a good spot in the trees overlooking another small patch of snow.
I put on my snow boots and took an indirect path to a little hill opposite her new perch. Her eyes watched me a little bit but the lids shut once I sat down on a log. I was happy to wait and see if she would continue hunting after her rest.
When she did start looking around again, she seemed keen to resume and I was in a great position for her next dive which happened right away.
With another snack in her belly, she retreated to the trees and I left her shortly after taking this last picture.
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A forest hunter
On a warm summer evening, down a country road leading nowhere, I found a pair of Great gray owls. One was hunting actively near where I set up while the other was perched deeper in the forest.
The shadows lengthened and I hoped for a special moment before the sun slipped below the ridge to the west. She flew over me and I thought that would be the end of the encounter as she flew into the trees. Instead, she alighted on this small branch and stared intently at a couple of spots in the grass. Shortly after she dove headlong into one of those spots and disappeared.
Several seconds ticked by and then she leaped into the air – with a field mouse secured in her beak. It was my good fortune that she flew directly towards me as she gained altitude before banking to her left and heading further uphill towards her nest. The first image and the ones directly below are the series as she flew through the trees towards me.
These were a series of moments well beyond what I was even hoping for.
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Great gray owl on frost and in gold
Last week’s dropping mercury and precipitation allowed the fields around Bragg Creek to be encased in frost on the weekend. I spent the morning watching birds of all sizes waking up – with most waiting for the sun to warm things up a bit. This Great gray owl was more interested in breakfast and I watched him hunt for a couple of hours taking his catches back to the nest hidden somewhere in the forest nearby. These images of the owl just lifting off the grass with a field mouse in its beak really captured the tone of the morning – frosted grass, shafts of golden light, a spectacular bird in flight. It was another wonderful morning spent in awe of the natural world.
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A phantom of the north’s flyby
I watched this Great gray owl criss-cross a field west of Bragg Creek a couple of weekends ago. I spotted him perched near a small pond in front of the forest and photographed as he flew closer to where I was on the road.
Between flights, he landed on a couple of fence posts, a branch and a driveway gate. This last landing was about 20 metres (60′) away from where I stood.
I have had owls fly close to me occasionally and it is always an intense moment. This was no exception – it was great to feel his presence as it glided past within arm’s reach.
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A hunting owl
I have photographed this Great gray owl in the same area for the past five years. When I found her hunting for field mice just off the gravel road, I set up and watched her make two successful dives from branches that hung only a couple of metres above the tall grass. I haven’t seen her or her mate over the winter so it was great to reconnect and watch the action. I particularly enjoyed watching how she flew through the open forest.
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Great gray owl winter flights
I love watching Great gray owls fly – particularly when they launch. The snowstorm that hit Bragg Creek on Thursday night created a wintry scene that was still hiding spring on Saturday when I went out. It made for an interesting backdrop to this owl as it took flight.
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Great gray ascension
This Great gray owl was hunting for field mice in West Bragg yesterday. It dove a few times, easily punching through the thin covering of snow left by Friday’s snowstorm. I watched it fly between fence posts before it flew up to this branch. It turned out to be a good vantage point as it caught a mouse on its next dive.
I do want to also wish everyone a Happy Easter! I hope everyone enjoys time with family and friends over the weekend. We started the morning with a fun hunt with yarn that led the kids to their respective jackpots. While we were outside, I looked for our resident rabbit but he was nowhere to be found – so no Easter Bunny photographs this year!
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A Great gray owl morning in Bragg Creek
The fields and forests west of Bragg Creek have been owl havens for me in the spring and summer for several years. The autumn and winter encounters have been much less numerous but I added one more on the weekend. A couple of warm days had melted most of the snow in this meadow but on the morning I was out it was cold.
I had spotted this Great gray owl perched on a weathered fence post as I drove along the road. I pulled over, hopped out and crossed the fence to get the rising sun behind me and onto his front.
The day warmed up several degrees in the sunlight while I hung out with this beautiful raptor. I stayed there for a little over an hour and he made a couple of flights to alternate posts along the fence line. His focus on hunting seemed to take second place to warming up in the sunshine.
When I left he was staring intently at a spot in the long grass – I waited for another 20 minutes hoping an attack dive would come. His patience beat mine and I left with a few good flight photos, a smile and a thank you to this beautiful owl.
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An owl’s launch
Last Friday I spent an hour watching a Great gray owl as it hunted in a bramble field west of Bragg Creek. This series is from a great launch where it stared right at me while leaping into the air before banking off to its left.
