News Pictures – Driver who accidentally hit owl and assumed it dead mysteriously finds creature SURVIVED impact

News Exc Celebrity

Article and photos from hienalouca.com

A Utah man got quite the pleasant surprise Sunday when he found an owl stuck behind the grill of his car.

He was able to breathe a sigh of relief after realizing he hadn’t killed the bird while driving in Lehi the night before.

Instead the nocturnal creature slipped in between a space on the front of his vehicle and he was astonished to find it was doing just fine the following day when he returned to the red Ford.

A great horned owl got stuck behind the grill of a red Ford SUV Sunday in Utah

‘I was driving home from my girlfriend’s house when a large bird flew up from in front of me causing me to incidentally hit it with my vehicle,’ the driver told ViralHog. 

‘I had assumed that it died on impact as the feathers disappeared shortly after impact…

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Slow Days

Natural Moments

More than 3 weeks have now passed since my last posting; following are a few of the better pictures I’ve gotten since then. Weather hasn’t cooperated very often lately, I’ve gotten busy with taxes and other menial tasks, and I haven’t been getting many good photo opportunities. There have been lots of porcupines about lately, which are always fun to spot.

I’ve been focused the last few weeks on finding more nesting Great Horned Owls after spotting my first one for the year at Albuquerque Academy on February 17 (photo shown on my last blog update). Since then, I’ve found three more. The first one, during our Audubon Thursday Birder trip to Durand Open Space on February 28 was a total surprise we just happened to notice.

(I’d actually checked eBird that morning but none had ever been reported there, and our trip leader had just mentioned looking for them…

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Bonsai Olive Tree Carving

Bonsaiplace

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Alberta’s Approach to Caribou Recovery

Alberta Environment and Parks

Alberta is home to abundant wild species, rich biodiversity and immense ecological heritage. This is something we sometimes take for granted.

In the past few decades a few things have become apparent when it comes to the environment. We need to make sure we are balancing activities on our landscapes, we need to have plans in place to lay the foundations of work to conserve and protect, and we need to work together to achieve the best possible outcomes for our wild species.

An example of this is the work being done to protect Canada’s woodland caribou. In Alberta, caribou ranges cover about 23 per cent of the landscape, with 15 ranges falling under provincial jurisdiction. All woodland caribou in the province are designated as Threatened under both the federal Species at Risk Act and provincial Wildlife Act.

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December 17-23, 2018 (Week 51 of 52): Niagara Falls is the Gull Capital of the World

Buffalo-Niagara Nature Almanac

Many ardent birdwatchers consider Niagara Falls, and sections of the Niagara River upstream and downstream of the Falls, to be the “Gull Capital of the World” in recognition of the abundance and diversity of gulls found there during winter months. The Falls area annually supports one of the world’s most spectacular concentrations of gulls, with one-day counts of over 100,000 individuals and 19 species recorded, according to the National Audubon Society. Birders flock to this hotspot at this time of year in hopes of observing some of the dozen or so rare species that have been documented there.

Even to those not seeking rarities, the sheer magnitude of gulls along the Niagara River can be an awesome sight. Flocks of thousands or tens-of-thousands can be seen above and below Niagara Falls and elsewhere along the Lower Niagara River. In particular, the section of river in Lewiston near the outlets of…

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January 1-7, 2019 (Week 1 of 52): Winter Raptor Watching is an Exciting Way to Start the New Year

Buffalo-Niagara Nature Almanac

Please note that several of the above photos were taken during a winter raptor study conducted several years ago by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. That study was focused on learning more about habitat use and home range size of the short-eared owl (state-listed endangered species) and the northern harrier (state-listed threatened species), and therefore required trapping and tagging of those raptors. Please be aware that trapping wild birds is illegal without proper federal and state permits.

Early January is typically an excellent time of year to actively search for “winter raptors” in the Buffalo-Niagara Region. This group of winter visitant birds-of-prey includes the northern harrier (AKA marsh hawk), rough-legged hawk, snowy owl, short-eared owl, and long-eared owl. While I find it exciting to see any raptor, I especially enjoy watching northern harriers and short-eared owls course back and forth over grassy fields in search of prey…

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February 19-25, 2019 (Week 8 of 52): Early Signs of Spring are Evident Even as Winter Persists

Buffalo-Niagara Nature Almanac

Winter conditions still dominate the Buffalo-Niagara Region. However, even with vernal equinox nearly a month away, early signs of spring are already evident. The best indicators of the advancing spring are provided by birds and mammals. Some great horned owls are already incubating eggs and most others will be on-nest by early March. Other raptors, including bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and red-tailed hawks have started to prepare nests and most will lay eggs by mid-March. Barred owls and eastern screech owls are increasingly vocal at this time and will soon start to establish nesting territories.

Flocks of male red-winged blackbirds are just beginning to reach our Region. These northbound migrants are returning to summer breeding areas where they will rapidly establish nesting territories. Their arrival suggests that other early migrant species such as killdeer, American robin, eastern bluebird, eastern meadowlark, common grackle, and brown-headed cowbird will soon follow. In response…

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