November 5
Good Morning
Last week, my friends shared with me that Great Grey Owls were being seen in mid-morning north of Edmonton. This of course goes against everything that I thought I knew about owl behaviour. I thought they only hunted during the day when it was very cold out. So I went looking. The first day I missed one by a half hour but yesterday I found one at 9:30 am. So it goes to show that I know nothing about owl behaviour and still have a lot to learn.
I found this owl in an area that I have seen them before. This particular day, I turned onto the road and I could see people on horses ahead on the road. I drove slowly by and stopped to ask if the had seen any owls. They responded that they hadn’t so I moved on. They mentioned that they were going to be moving a herd of cattle down the road later. About 100 meters further, an owl flew off of a fence post into the woods! I got out and spoke again to the cowboys as this passed by. They mentioned that there were a pair there and that they owned the land and I could go in if I wanted. I chose to stay on the road, hoping that the owl would come back. I think that I know, that if I tried to follow the owl in the bush, it would quickly leave me behind.
After ten minutes or so, the owl returned to the edge of the forest about 30 meters from the road. I photographed it there, and eventually it flew to a fence post closer to me. It started to hunt along the fence line, moving further away from me. I tried to drive by it to get ahead of it but it flew back into the forest. More waiting and it returned. Edge of the forest, fly to the post, move away. This time I drove by it at normal speed and it stayed. I continued to photograph it until another vehicle came by and spooked it.
As I looked down the road, I saw the herd of cattle approaching. I took a couple of quick shots of them, then I got out of the way. I circled around a couple of roads looking for other owls and then returned. I was able to get my truck into position without spooking the owl. I watched it from my truck until it plunged down into the ditch and disappeared into the long grass. I took the opportunity to jump into the ditch to see if I could get some better shots.
It returned to the fence with a vole which it downed quickly. It then began to hunt the fence line and started to approach me post by post! This is when I noticed my low battery indicator came on in my viewfinder. I was stuck in the ditch, hoping my battery would last. The owl kept getting closer and was about 5 fence posts away when another vehicle approached. It flew off the post and rather than go into the woods, it landed on the post directly in front of me. It stayed a few seconds and then took off as the vehicle came nearer.
What an exciting encounter! Now as you look at my images, you know the story. And you can see what happens when a bird suddenly turns towards you and you don’t zoom out!
Stay Well !
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