I caught this crane just finishing a big hop, which is part of its mating dance. The birds have a number of behaviours that they exhibit, including a deep curtsey, high hopping, tearing out bits of grass and throwing it, loud vocalizing, and stoic posing (like the one on the left). Very cool to watch.
Tags: sandhill crane Grus canadensis Alberta nature wildlife bird migration spring avian fauna wild natural Canada dancing behavior behaviour beautiful mating bonding pairing
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I saw a number of flocks of these beautiful snow buntings, but they were always flying against a grey sky in bad light and were too far away. Fortunately, this flock perched in a little tree not too far away, then flew down to the ground to feed. Having them all perch in the tree was a sight to behold, just like spring blossoms.
Tags: Plectrophenax nivalis snow bunting bird flock tree perched spring wild nature natural behaviour behavior avian passerine fauna white brown black yellow Alberta Canada
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Red-winged blackbirds are starting to arrive. Typically, the males will show up first and establish a nesting territory. Then, the subtly beautiful females, like the one here, will show up and select a mate.
Tags: red-winged blackbird female cattail bird passerine behavior wild park Alberta wildlife nature Agelaius phoeniceus fauna avian spring brown red
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Not a technically good photo, but it does demonstrate a point I had made in a previous post about bluebirds being capable of finding things to eat when conditions are not optimum. They couldn't sustain this long term, but short periods of bad weather are survivable. The photo is from the spring of 2023.
This male mountain bluebird was sitting in a tree, perhaps 20 to 30 metres to the left of me. It suddenly few down and grabbed something from the snow and flew back to its perch. Unfortunately, the prey it found, a small caterpillar, was quite a distance out from me so this is a big crop. I couldn't see that insect from where I was standing, but the bluebird had no problems spotting it. What the heck was the caterpillar making the long trek across the snow for? The bird also caught a small spider in the same area.
Tags: mountain bluebird happiness blue feathers Sialia currucoides wild nature wildlife bird Alberta passerine Passeriformes male spring flight flying landing slough ice avian fauna caterpillar insect prey food
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This great grey owl is checking out the environment for rodents. Although not natural, its choice of perch is a good one, as there are open, grassy areas all around it. Those areas are where the voles hang out.
Tags: Strix nebulosa great gray grey owl rural Alberta amazing wildlife raptor bird predator nature beauty beautiful eyes yellow feathers Canada autumn fall action wings wild avian fauna ornithology birdwatching brown woods perched post behavior behaviour sign
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