I thought it was cloud cover and the potential for rain at last, but no such luck. This blanket of cloud was not made of water. Smoke from California wildfires filled our atmosphere all along the Canadian south coast, and inland through the southern half of British Columbia. The air quality rating goes to 10 but today it was 10+. It was darkish all day.
The sun tried to come out, but isn’t it supposed to be yellow? It was red! Just like it was two years ago when we had wildfires all over BC.
After a dark day, the pitch blackness of night set in, and I took the dogs outside for last call. Above me in those trees in picture one, sat Einstein, screeching to the Junior Professor who was someplace deeper in the woods. They shrieked to each other every 10 to 15 seconds.
For the video clip below, I tried to hold a flashlight in my left hand and the camera in my right, and somehow bring the camera’s lens to focus on the owl in the beam of light. Then came the challenge of turning the video button on with one hand.
Later when I looked at the video, I thought the owl was probably doing that circular motion with his head trying to follow the movement of the light and the camera, which were casting about all over the place. As always, apologies for the blurriness, but it was pitch black and I was struggling to get a picture with both hands full. But you may be able to see the owl’s head swiveling around. Did you know they have a range of about 270 degrees? 360 makes a full circle.
Also, you can hear their shrieking, screeching call, so different from the soft hoo-hoo-hooing call they use later in the winter. Einstein must have gotten something on his bib from his last meal, or maybe it was pitch from the trees. He is pulling on it to tidy himself up for the camera.
September 13, 2020 at 3:30 pm
That’s a pretty good video, Anneli, and with your hands full! 270 degrees is so amazing, the bird’s head was really twisting. How amazing is it that the smoke reaches BC and Nevada? So sorry you guys are getting that nasty smoke too. 🤭🇨🇦🇺🇸
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September 13, 2020 at 3:46 pm
I heard that it has even reached Europe.
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September 13, 2020 at 3:41 pm
OMG, the smoke is even up there?
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September 13, 2020 at 3:47 pm
Yes, and it’s just as bad as when the fires were burning in BC. Thick, awful smoke. I feel very bad for the people who have lost belongings or lives of friends, relatives, and pets in the fires, not to mention the wildlife. How many Lincolns have been killed in the fires!?
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September 14, 2020 at 8:09 am
I agree: so sad!
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September 13, 2020 at 4:11 pm
You did an incredible job in the darkness with this video capture. I hope the smoke-filled skies abate as soon as possible.
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September 13, 2020 at 5:16 pm
Thank you. I feel bad that it’s not clearer, but it really was pitch dark and I was in a rush. I was glad he posed long enough before flying away. The smoke … I can’t believe it has come so far and that it is so bad way up here.
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September 13, 2020 at 4:32 pm
Oh gosh, i’m sorry to hear this. I hope things clear out for you soon, Anneli. Stay safe!
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September 13, 2020 at 5:18 pm
I guess you escaped the smoke then? It must have gone up and over you on its way to Europe, and for us, it only had to go straight north. A bit of rain will help (in a couple of days from now).
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September 13, 2020 at 6:35 pm
Since I’m over on the East Coast of the US, we’re not experiencing any smoke.
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September 13, 2020 at 7:08 pm
That’s good. Count yourself very lucky!
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September 13, 2020 at 6:33 pm
I think you did really well. And the owl seemed very nonchalant – the camera is on me, I think I’ll preen!
My M is still in Penticton and he has said that the smoke is bad there, too. It’s very dark.
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September 13, 2020 at 7:06 pm
Thanks, Lynette. It’s terrible in a huge area of the province. I’m hoping the rain we’re supposed to get tomorrow night will wash away the smoke and clean the air somewhat.
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September 13, 2020 at 6:38 pm
Good grief, Anneli. After decades of managing our forests well, California has forgotten how to do it. That’s two years in a row!
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September 13, 2020 at 7:07 pm
I know!! I thought last year the only good thing is that there’s nothing left to burn. Apparently I was wrong.
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September 14, 2020 at 12:12 am
Phantastic video! I hope this smoke will go away soon!
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September 14, 2020 at 7:46 am
Day three of the smoke now and it is as thick as ever. Had to close my windows overnight and I always have them wide open otherwise. Praying for rain to wash the smoke away.
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September 14, 2020 at 1:44 am
Wow Anneli.
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September 14, 2020 at 7:50 am
And here I thought we had escaped the smoke because BC fires are not as bad this year as they were a couple of years ago.
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September 14, 2020 at 5:59 am
The smoke really travels far. Scary wildfires!
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September 14, 2020 at 7:48 am
It really is. I hope they can get these fires under control soon. Man can go to the moon and back but he can’t put out a fire. I don’t mean to make light of it, but it’s ironic, isn’t it?
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September 15, 2020 at 5:19 pm
It is! If scientists and engineers figure out a way to transfer the ocean water along the coast into helicopters to put out the fires, that will be huge. Salt water doesn’t work.
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September 14, 2020 at 9:17 am
Love the video! Wow, nice filming on your part. Yes, the smoke is bad in our area as well, but it seems to be lifting very slightly today. Let’s hope we get a glimmer of sunlight soon.
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September 14, 2020 at 9:48 am
Thanks, Sonja. It would have been better if I’d had someone to hold the light, but then, maybe the owl would have gotten nervous and flown away. Hard to say. I hope you’re right about the smoke but so far it is hovering like an unwanted guest.
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September 14, 2020 at 11:48 am
Looks like your area is a casualty to the war the US is fighting right now with arsonists. Although I don’t think the elected officials there are doing much about it. They’re letting them free and they get caught doing it again. 🙄
That owl video and screeching is perfect for Halloween. It’s spooky there in the pitch dark. 😱
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September 14, 2020 at 11:55 am
The lack of “law and order” follow-up is terrible. The general public ends up paying the price and once the criminals see that they can do whatever they want without fear of consequences, it will get worse fast – it already has. I just saw a briefing on the news and learned that 24 lives have been lost due to these fires and about 44,000 people have had to leave their homes (I’m not sure if they have homes to go back to). It really is a horror. And to think that someone would purposely set a fire … I just can’t get my head around what kind of a person would do that, knowing the lives of people and animals are bound to be lost.
The owl screeching would be kind of spooky if you didn’t know that it’s only Einstein and the Jr. Professor.
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September 14, 2020 at 12:11 pm
We’ll be staying inside for the third day as Vancouver is blanketed in widespread smoke…I love it when I come upon a Barred Owl in our beautiful park…Einstein is a beautiful owl, how lucky you are to step outside and capture his wild self!
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September 14, 2020 at 12:31 pm
I see that you have it as bad as we do. I saw the traffic report on the TV news yesterday and the picture was totally gray. They said it was a picture of the Port Mann bridge. You couldn’t see a hint of any kind of outline. It might have been a picture of anything, but nothing at all was visible in that thick gray smoke. Thanks for your comment. Owls are cool, aren’t they?
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September 15, 2020 at 3:20 pm
The sun came out this afternoon, Anneli! We went for a short, smoky walk in the park with our masks on…
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September 15, 2020 at 7:52 pm
And I’m guessing the masks weren’t only for the virus. We had a hint of clearing late this afternoon, but there is still a huge gray blanket down low. I’m hoping it will go away overnight. So nice for you that you were able to enjoy getting outside without that ghastly smoke.
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September 16, 2020 at 11:33 am
Now fog is in the mix! I just posted a photo of a recent sunrise and it appears to be sunset…
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September 16, 2020 at 11:50 am
You’re right. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but I agree, it’s a mix. I’ll be so glad when we get clean air back again.
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September 16, 2020 at 11:57 am
We have our fan and air purifier running on rotation…sometimes we even put our bathroom/oven fans on to clear out the stale/smoky air…lighting honey/beeswax candles can cleanse the air a wee bit (we light tealights before we settle for the night).
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September 16, 2020 at 1:47 pm
Sounds like you have it all under control, as much as possible.
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September 16, 2020 at 9:17 pm
We just opened our windows briefly until the winds changed (the air quality index read 6 instead of 10 and over!).
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September 16, 2020 at 10:40 pm
Ours too, down to 5 just now, from 10+. Rain in the forecast. So glad.
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September 15, 2020 at 4:25 pm
Dramatic shot of the sun. Is the air beginning to clear?
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September 15, 2020 at 7:48 pm
That shot was from two years ago when we had fires right here in BC, but the sun looked just the same the day I posted it a couple of days ago. Little bit better this evening. I could see a few clouds above the big gray blanket.
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September 17, 2020 at 2:24 am
I hope the sky clears for you soon, at least the fire season there is almost over, ours is about to start in Australia. So far in Tasmania at least it has been a much moister winter than last year when we had large wilderness fires caused by lightning. I love your owl video, I’m about to head out on a weekly night walk with a neighbour, we get Tawny Frogmouths and boo-book owls here, maybe we’ll get lucky and spot one 🙂
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September 17, 2020 at 9:06 am
Do you have a blog where I can visit to see any photos you might get?
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