You have a good chance of seeing an owl at Downsview Park in winter but it is not guaranteed.
This morning I met a gentleman who had driven all the way from Ottawa to see a Long-eared Owl. After two hours of wandering, he hadn’t succeeded and neither did this morning’s group.
In fact, we saw one owl but it was a very close Short-eared Owl and everyone had a good look.




13 to 17 inches in height, Short-eared Owls allow very close approach although I wouldn’t go closer than about 5 metres. .



Today’s group:





Park scenes:


















Other birds:




MAILBOX
Hi Miles,
I enclose a picture. This was taken last week by a friend’s Mother, this is her 19th floor balcony!

NATURE POETRY
Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden’s end. – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82)
Miles Hearn
I would say, “One out of two ain’t bad”, but Meatloaf should have been vaccinated.