Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) in Ottawa

That is one large crowd of humans below me.

International Migratory Bird Day (2016)

Today is the International Migratory Bird Day, and here in Ottawa, there was an event at Brewer Park that included bird banding, birds-of-prey show, and guided walks around the park.

I was there mostly for the birds-of-prey, which was presented by the same organization from the Science by Night ten days ago; therefore, I had already seen three of the four birds.  But at least this time the birds were outside and able to show off their flying skills.

The new bird was Fergus the Harris Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), a bird found in southern US and Mexico.

Science by Night at the Museum of Nature (2016)

This evening, a free event called Science by Night took place at the Museum of Nature.  In addition to the usual Thursdays' free open house (in the evenings), there were activities where the visitors could extract strawberry DNA, see birds of prey up-close, talk to paleontologists and park scientists, and more.  Since I have been to the museum many times already, the activity that interested me the most was seeing the birds of prey from Falcon Environmental Services.

The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus).

SNOW seen in Ottawa

On my way back to Ottawa, I learned there was a Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) seen in Peterborough near where I used to live, so I was quite disappointed that I did not hear about this news sooner during my time in Peterborough.  Once I got back to Ottawa, I started searching for information on owl sightings here.  I know Snowy Owls visit Ottawa because I saw them here last winter.

Information about owl sightings is usually very secretive among naturalist groups because of the human disturbances to wildlife and private property (which I totally agree).  Observing wildlife in their habitat is a great way for people to learn about nature, but it is importance to treat wildlife as other human beings and keep a respectful, non-disruptive distance because I doubt most people would like it when others start to invade their personal space.  The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club has listed code of conduct and ethics here. 

Nonetheless, there are usually some clues left on internet (e.g., eBird, Flickr, general news media) that give people an idea of where to look for them.  Then the rest is just being at the right place at the right time.  I followed this news article, and looked for owls south of the airport today.  It took me some searching, but I eventually saw this Snowy Owl about 200-m away from where I stood.

This was as far as I could get with my 70-300 lens (i.e., 140-600 lens).

Sitting and watching around.

Three crows briefly mobbed it while they flew by but the owl stayed still.  It flew to a hay bale shortly after I walked to another spot.

Such a beautiful creature!

NSWO banding (Year 3)

Here are some photos from last night's Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) banding.  It was my fourth time doing it (first, second, and third time), but I still feel excited to find owls on the mist nets whenever we go out and check the nets.

The progress so far this year, not as productive as last year.

Rose of the day: Barred Owl

Shortly after 12 PM today, a friend of mine posted a photo of an owl on Facebook and said "Owl in Jackson's Park".  All of that was enough for me to stop everything and replied back "where", and then I was gone.

Well, actually, I had to wait for another hour or so before the bus come to take me home, but I don't see owls that often in the wild (I can pretty much count all of the times that I have seen owls), and so I was pretty excited.  Owls are pretty special to me because my first Great Horned Owl reaffirmed my passion for nature and wildlife, especially during a time where my future was very uncertain (and somewhat still).

Anyways, the owl that my friend saw was a Barred Owl (Strix varia), which was a species that I have never seen in the wild before, so this was a lifer for me!  It was resting on a tree on the side of the trail, but because it was so well-camouflaged and today was quite cold (therefore fewer people in the park), it was able to have its moments of peace.

I snapped a few photos and then just stood there quietly and admire this magnificent creature.  I could look at it forever, but my presence was probably not good for this bird and so I left eventually.  I love owls!

Second outing of 2013 - Boundary Bay revisited - Attempt 2

The past few days my mother and I have been paying close attention to the weather forecast and hoping for good weather so that we could go out to Boundary Bay again to look for Snowy Owls (since last time was unsuccessful).

Despite the 90% POP, the rain still did not show up in the morning, so my parents and I decided to take the chance and go out to Boundary Bay again right after lunch.  The rain did not come at all this afternoon and we even saw a bit of sunshine, so that was pretty much a success in itself.  The lighting wasn't that great today, so I had to set most of my minimal ISO to 800 for the birding shots, hence the "noisy" photos.

Lots of Northern Harriers flying around today.

First outing of 2013 - Boundary Bay revisited

It has been more than four years ago when I first visited Boundary Bay Park.  With another year's Snowy Owl migration, (fairly) good weather today, and recent news report about starving owls, my parents were intrigued to see these owls for themselves.  After some searching, I found out the best spot to see these owls is Boundary Bay, and that was where we headed to today.

Before I start on today's post, I strongly suggest people read this person's post about Snowy Owl photography or any wildlife photography in general - treat the owls (and other wildlife) with the same private space as you would with any other creatures and humans.  I personally would not like it if I know people are photographing me, especially from close distances.

Entrance

Owl-banding 2012, Take 2

I went owl-banding again last night. We caught a total of five owls yesterday despite a brief period of rain.  However, there were many people present - intern, volunteers, students, bander, etc, definitely a packed cabin.

Once again, I didn't take too many photos.  Here are pretty much the only ones I took.

Screen shot of the video below.  Such an adorable creature, NSWO.

Northern Saw-Whet Owling

Northern Saw-Whet Owl banding has begun again this year, and last night was my first night this year.  I just got home around 1am, and here are some photos.

Putting bands on it.

AAA trip to Amherst Island, Ontario

Trent's Avian Appreciation Association (AAA) has been planning a birding trip to Amherst Island for quite a while now, and I was glad to take a break from sorting my insect collection and go outside for a much needed birding experience. Amherst Island is an island in Lake Ontario and accessible by ferry (or air) and is home to many species of owls during summer and winter.

Leaving Peterborough around 8am.

Successful Owl-Banding Last Night

Let's see what I did so far this week. I went to a pumpkin carving party on Tuesday night. And then I went owl-banding last night. Originally there were several people coming, but in the end there was only the bander-in-charge and myself, which was nice because you really need two people for this task. We were afraid that it might rain but it was overcast but dry (and cool) the entire evening, and we had one of the most successful nights yet - 7 owls with 1 recapture (from the same night).

I left my 50 f2 lens at home and used the standard kit lens instead, the photos turned out well.

Inside the banding cabin - nice and homely.

Northern Saw-whet Owl banding

Last night I did something very exciting - helping out with the Saw-whet Owl-Banding!

The project focuses on Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus), the smallest owl in eastern North America, and bands them every October during their winter migration down south. We set up mist nets at Trent's James McLean Oliver Ecological Centre and used playbacks to attract these curious birds. We check the nets every 30 minutes and start from sunset until midnight.

Yesterday we caught four owls in total and below are some photos from last night.

This girl was fine (most of the owls we caught were females), but she certainly didn't act like it.

Fourth Annual Richmond Raptor Festival

Today was the 4th Richmond Raptor Festival. August is a great time to be back in B.C. - lots of sunshine and happening events.

Held at Terra Nova Community Garden

Break in the pouring rain

The weather was not very nice today. It was pouring rain in several waves. But in the afternoon, the clouds sort of broke apart and it was good enough for a bike ride.

Sky-watching.

Some swallows flying overhead.

Witnessing Green-winged Teals' courtship

Such a great weather today!

Sky-watch of the day.

At the Terra Nova observation deck, I saw the Green-winged Teals performing their courtship rituals.

I took photos only (with FZ18). And now that I think about it, I should had taken a video like this one. Pretty neat!

Another good birding day..

Another gorgeous day today!

Not a cloud in sight.

Saw this small-sized accipiter flew past me while near the golf course. I quickly turned around and followed it. It was hiding in the branches against the sun, so I had to really overexpose the picture to get a brighter shot. Luckily, the software was able to bring some of the colors back. This was definitely not a Red-tailed Hawk, I think it was either a Cooper's or a Sharp-shinned Hawk - I can never really tell them apart even with the help of this website.

A Cooper's Hawk, perhaps? Because of the finer brown streaks on the upper breast.

A Bald Eagle was already in the nest when I came out. It was sticking its head (the only reason I could spot it) and perhaps looking for its partner?

A Great Blue Heron was dozing off on this tree today. Is it because it is safer and/or drier?


A closer-up shot.


Saw many Golden-crowned Sparrows today. This was one of them.

Hooded Mergansers and Gadwalls were spotted at the Terra Nova slough.

I think today was a day when I saw the most Short-eared Owls in all of my outings. I think I saw them at least five or six times today, with at least two individuals observed.

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Photographic Post - bike to the dyke

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)


Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)


Adult Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)


Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)




Juvenile Bald Eagle (H. leucocephalus)


Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

365 days ago (2009-02-15) ... pictures hosted at Facebook disappeared because the original links had changed. Oh well....
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Awaiting blue day

As much as it is great for the world to see Vancouver's true winter gray, miserable colors (and why nobody know about this beforehand, I have no idea), I wish sunshine would just appear for a while (I tried to go out on Thursday, but as soon as I got to the dyke, it started pouring and so I went back home).

Today was just one of the days I been wishing for - although many people probably wished the same thing judging by the number of people today at the dyke.

Beautiful blue sky with a good view.

Plenty of birds, such as Golden-crowned Sparrows, were out foraging.

While at the Share-Farm, I saw a Short-eared Owl flying towards the Snow Geese and disappearing behind the tall grasses. I decided to go and see where it had landed and hoped I will be able to photograph it. And there it was! Standing on top of a pole and looking at the grasses below.

So magnificent. It flew away shortly afterwards, but what an experience to see it closer!

By the Terra Nova Slough, I saw a pair of Killdeers again at the spot where a pair nested last year. I wonder if they are the same couple.

Such elegant birds. I wouldn't know they were there had they not make any noises.

Beautiful sky-watching at Terra Nova.
Zooming out of the TCON lens gave this interesting dark corners around the image. Is this what lomography is?

Sunset - time to go home.

Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's Day / Chinese New Year / first Canadian gold medal in Canada (can't believe no one won a gold back in '88).

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Photographic Post: Great Birding Day

Warning: I think I caught the shutterbug during my bike ride to the dyke today, so this is a lengthy post full of pictures. You have been warned.

Sunny day

Surprising capture of a Northern Harrier flying searching for food.




A juvenile Great Blue Heron standing near the trail hoping it won't be spotted by anyone.






Red-winged Blackbirds are back and konk-la-reeing!


Hiding in the grasses was a Short-eared Owl.


Think this is my first real sighting of Bald Eagles of the year. I was beginning to worry that they are not coming to Terra Nova this year.


Many sleepy heads, the heron was the only one awake.

Snow Geese taking off.

Biking towards the Terra Nova slough, I suddenly saw something big perched out of the corner of my eye. Using a tree as cover, I peeked and it was a Red-tailed Hawk - at my eye level and just a few meters away from me! What a chance! I put on the TCON-lens and started shooting away!

There was a ditch below this bridge and I suppose the hawk was looking at the critters running around below.


It looked at me a couple of times but wasn't concerned at all - I gave it a safety distance and with a tree in the middle.












What a handsome bird!


The hawk went into this position when a couple with two dogs came near us. The man took off his DSLR and started clicking away loudly. And then the hawk flew away. Go figures.

I saw a small furry critter went under this patch and I biked past it.

The only birds on the slough was two pairs of this species. Are they Gadwalls? I don't remembering them having the dark ear patch. HELP PLEASE?

A panoramic view of the setting sun.

The sun cutting the trees in half.

Two Bald Eagles. Hooray!

One more shot of the sunset.


And a moon watch image. That's all, I am going home now!

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