During a day of botanizing the day before yesterday, 30 June 2015, at the property belonging to Judy Osborne - James River, N. of Sundre - I happened to notice this small Red-blue Checkerd Beetle standing on a Yarrow flower.
Just three of us went with Judy to visit her cabin (or, as she describes it, her "shack") and the surrounding forest and river. What a beautiful property she has - 100 acres of forest, meadow, and river valley - and we so appreciate her having us there to record the plants, insects, birds, etc. that we could find. I've never seen so many beautiful wild Roses! She also has a Great Gray Owl, but there was no sign of it when we were there.
We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property. Judy very generously provided a delicious lunch for us, too, which we ate out on the deck, surrounded by busy little Pine Siskins visiting her bird feeder. Thanks so much for this absolute treat, Judy, and for driving the three of us out there from our meeting place in the city.
We were so lucky with the weather, enjoying a day of sunshine. How things changed when we got back to Calgary. Our meeting place was near Chinook Mall and to drive home, I had to drive through flash flooding!! I don't remember ever having to drive through water like that! What a storm this part of the city must have had! The Internet was down last night, too.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/flash-flooding-causes-prob...
Tags: Alberta Canada NW of Calgary Judy Osborne's property James River N of Sundre nature insect beetle Red-blue Checkered Beetle Trichodes nuttalli plant flower Yarrow outdoor summer 30 June 2015 FZ200 annkelliott Anne Elliott
© All Rights Reserved
During a day of botanizing the day before yesterday, 30 June 2015, at the property belonging to Judy Osborne - James River, N. of Sundre - this rather fine Western/Boreal Toad was spotted. As you can see, it can camouflage itself very well, even more so when not seen in macro size. Love its "smile".
Just three of us went with Judy to visit her cabin (or, as she describes it, her "shack") and the surrounding forest and river. What a beautiful property she has - 100 acres of forest, meadow, and river valley - and we so appreciate her having us there to record the plants, insects, birds, etc. that we could find. I've never seen so many beautiful wild Roses! She also has a Great Gray Owl, but there was no sign of it when we were there.
We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property. Judy very generously provided a delicious lunch for us, too, which we ate out on the deck, surrounded by busy little Pine Siskins visiting her bird feeder. Thanks so much for this absolute treat, Judy, and for driving the three of us out there from our meeting place in the city.
We were so lucky with the weather, enjoying a day of sunshine. How things changed when we got back to Calgary. Our meeting place was near Chinook Mall and to drive home, I had to drive through flash flooding!! I don't remember ever having to drive through water like that! What a storm this part of the city must have had!
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/flash-flooding-causes-prob...
"The Western Toad or Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas) is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches.
Compared to females, males have smoother skin, reduced dorsal blotching, and nuptial pads (thickened skin) on their forefeet during breeding season. In juveniles of this species, the dorsal stripe is weak or absent. Large young have prominent dorsal and ventral spotting and yellow feet.
Breeding occurs between March and July in mountainous areas, and as early as January in lower-elevation regions. The female lays up to 17,000 eggs stuck together in strings that adhere to vegetation and other objects along water edges ..... It is listed as near threatened largely due to the impact of disease and chemical contamination of the environment." From Wikipedia.
Tags: Alberta Canada NW of Calgary Judy Osborne's property James River N of Sundre nature amphibian Toad Western Toad Boreal Toad Bufo boreas large 5.6 - 13 cm long macro close-up front view under a log near river white/cream dorsal stripe dark blotches Bufonidae Status: Near Threatened outdoor summer 30 June 2015 FZ200
© All Rights Reserved
During a day of botanizing three days ago, 30 June 2015, at the property belonging to Judy Osborne - James River, N. of Sundre - we happened to notice this beautiful, pale Swallowtail butterfly at rest, deep within a tangle of small branches. This is the first one I've seen this year that wasn't flying high overhead. Not the best photo, but needed to add it to an album.
Just three of us went with Judy to visit her cabin (or, as she describes it, her "shack") and the surrounding forest and river. What a beautiful property she has - 100 acres of forest, meadow, and river valley. We so appreciate her having us there to record all the plants, insects, birds, etc. that we could find. I've never seen so many beautiful wild Roses! She also has a Great Gray Owl, but there was no sign of it while we were there.
We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property.
Judy very generously provided a delicious lunch for us, too, which we ate out on the deck, surrounded by busy little Pine Siskins visiting her bird feeder. Thanks so much for this absolute treat, Judy, and for driving the three of us out there from our meeting place in the city.
We were so lucky with the weather, enjoying a day of sunshine. How things changed when we got back to Calgary. Our meeting place was near Chinook Mall and to drive home, I had to drive through flash flooding!! I don't remember ever having to drive through water like that! What a storm this part of the city must have had while we were way NW of Calgary!
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/flash-flooding-causes-prob...
Tags: Alberta Canada NW of Calgary Judy Osborne's property James River N of Sundre nature insect butterfly Swallowtail perched wings open dorsal view leaves foliage macro close-up outdoor summer 30 June 2015 FZ200 annkelliott Anne Elliott
© All Rights Reserved
During a day of botanizing three days ago, 30 June 2015, at the property belonging to Judy Osborne - James River, N. of Sundre - I happened to notice this rather fine Virginia Ctenucha moth. Love those beautiful, feathery antennae, the iridescent turquoise, and the tiny splash of bright orange.
Just three of us went with Judy to visit her cabin (or, as she describes it, her "shack") and the surrounding forest and river. What a beautiful property she has - 100 acres of forest, meadow, and river valley. We so appreciate her having us there to record all the plants, insects, birds, etc. that we could find. I've never seen so many beautiful wild Roses! She also has a Great Gray Owl, but there was no sign of it while we were there.
We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property.
Judy very generously provided a delicious lunch for us, too, which we ate out on the deck, surrounded by busy little Pine Siskins visiting her bird feeder. Thanks so much for this absolute treat, Judy, and for driving the three of us out there from our meeting place in the city.
We were so lucky with the weather, enjoying a day of sunshine. How things changed when we got back to Calgary. Our meeting place was near Chinook Mall and to drive home, I had to drive through flash flooding!! I don't remember ever having to drive through water like that! What a storm this part of the city must have had while we were way NW of Calgary!
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/flash-flooding-causes-prob...
Tags: Alberta Canada NW of Calgary Judy Osborne's property James River N of Sundre nature insect Moth Virginia Ctenucha Ctenucha virginica perched dried stem grasses iridescence macro close-up outdoor summer 30 June 2015 FZ200 annkelliott Anne Elliott
© All Rights Reserved
"In the city of Calgary the air quality health index was off the charts through the overnight hours Tuesday (25 August 2015), peaking at 19 on a scale where 10 is considered "high." The smoke is being blown here from the northwestern United States. It affected the visibility the whole day, so there was no sign of the distant mountains and even the hills and fields closest to us. Most unpleasant, and I don't know how people who live much closer to the wildfires are managing! So many Firefighters bravely battling the flames!
Added on 27 August - apparently, a spider had climbed inside the equipment used to track air quality and this had given the inaccurate ratings! Air quality was really bad, though.
Yesterday morning, 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including this distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, plus a few of the plants in my friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day.
Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air. We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!
"This is probably the most common hawk in North America. If you’ve got sharp eyes you’ll see several individuals on almost any long car ride, anywhere. Red-tailed Hawks soar above open fields, slowly turning circles on their broad, rounded wings. Other times you’ll see them atop telephone poles, eyes fixed on the ground to catch the movements of a vole or a rabbit, or simply waiting out cold weather before climbing a thermal updraft into the sky." From AllAboutBirds.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawk
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-tailed_hawk/id
Tags: Alberta Canada NW of Calgary Judy Osborne's property James River N of Sundre nature ornithology avian bird raptor bird of prey hawk Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis Order: Falconiformes (or Accipitriformes) Family: Accipitridae Genus: Buteo front view perched broken tree trunk tree leaves distant outdoor summer 25 August 2015 FZ200 FZ200#3 annkelliott Anne Elliott
© All Rights Reserved