This vibrantly coloured image was taken two mornings ago, on 23 May 2015. See what happens to you if you eat too many oranges, lol? The main focus of the trip we went on was someone's property SW of Calgary, a place that we always call in at when we take part in the May Species Count. The Count isn't held till next weekend, so this visit was an extra one - and extra long, too, which was pure delight! I think we spent something like two hours, watching especially Barb's feeder area for some of the birds that have been showing up. We are always thrilled to bits to see the Evening Grosbeaks and the Baltimore Orioles - the first male Oriole to arrive at Barb's was on 15 May, and this male showed up during our visit. The orange was on top of a fence rail, so this is not a feeder shot : ) I just keep shaking my head over the colour of this bird!
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Baltimore_Oriole/lifehistory
Though I'm not keen on feeder photos, I still take them, as well as when the birds are in the nearby trees. The Evening Grosbeaks came often to the feeders, giving us the chance to at least get closer shots. All the bird species were very fast-moving, so gave us a challenge for two hours. The Goldfinch and the Pine Siskins also were quick, but not totally impossible to photograph.
After our time at Barb's, we went to Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, mainly to look for Calypso Orchids, which we did find. Some people continued walking the trails, others returned home. I did part of the walk, but then went back to where the cars were parked and wandered through the forest around the parking lot. Tennessee Warblers sang continuously but were almost impossible to see. I was happy to find one single Coltsfoot plant - love the tight cluster of white flowers at the top of a tall stem.
From Brown-Lowery, we started our journey home, stopping at a couple of wetlands on the way. Even though this was mainly a morning trip, it had started at the meeting place at 7:00 am. Can't remember if it has been three or four nights this week that I have ended up getting only a couple of hours sleep, which really doesn't help!
I will add the list compiled by Andrew Hart, who kindly drove three of us around for the morning and early afternoon and then sent us his list that he submitted to ebird. Many thanks for both the ride and the final list, Andrew!
"Here is the elist of Birds seen at B. Castell's S of Priddis; Plummers & Priddis Valley Rd.; and Brown-Lowery PP, 23May2015. 24 participants
Number of Checklists: 3
Number of Species: 46
Checklists included in this summary:
(1): CA-AB-Priddis. Barb Castell
Date: May 23, 2015, 7:34 AM
(2): CA-Priddis Valley road
Date: May 23, 2015, 9:53 AM
(3): Brown-Lowery Provincial Park
Date: May 23, 2015, 10:28 AM
2 Canada Goose -- (1)
2 American Wigeon -- (1)
1 Mallard -- (1)
3 Blue-winged Teal -- (1)
3 Northern Shoveler -- (1),(2)
3 Green-winged Teal -- (1)
4 Lesser Scaup -- (1)
2 Common Goldeneye -- (1)
1 Swainson's Hawk -- (1)
1 Red-tailed Hawk -- (2)
4 Sora -- (2)
1 Spotted Sandpiper -- (1)
2 Wilson's Snipe -- (1)
7 Wilson's Phalarope -- (2)
1 Mourning Dove -- (1)
1 Rufous Hummingbird -- (1)
1 Red-naped Sapsucker -- (1)
2 Downy Woodpecker -- (1)
1 Hairy Woodpecker -- (1)
2 Least Flycatcher -- (2)
1 Eastern Kingbird -- (2)
1 Blue Jay -- (1)
3 Black-billed Magpie -- (1)
2 American Crow -- (1)
2 Common Raven -- (2)
11 Tree Swallow -- (1),(2)
1 Barn Swallow -- (2)
6 Black-capped Chickadee -- (1),(3)
3 House Wren -- (1),(2)
2 Golden-crowned Kinglet -- (3)
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet -- (2),(3)
9 Mountain Bluebird -- (1),(2)
6 American Robin -- (1),(2),(3)
4 Tennessee Warbler -- (3)
2 Yellow Warbler -- (1),(2)
8 Clay-colored Sparrow -- (1),(2)
6 Savannah Sparrow -- (1),(2)
1 Lincoln's Sparrow -- (1)
1 White-throated Sparrow -- (1)
1 Dark-eyed Junco -- (3)
23 Red-winged Blackbird -- (1),(2)
3 Brown-headed Cowbird -- (1)
1 Baltimore Oriole -- (1)
17 Pine Siskin -- (1),(3)
5 American Goldfinch -- (1)
5 Evening Grosbeak -- (1),(3)"
Tags: Alberta Canada SW of Calgary Barb Castell's property nature ornithology avian bird Oriole Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula Family: Icteridae male orange plumage vibrant colourful feeding half an orange on fence bokeh Excellence AvianExcellence The Nature Conservancy Explore explore2015May25 dropped before Scouted screen shot taken annkelliott Anne Elliott Panasonic DMC-FZ200 FZ200 Lumix spring season May
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In Canada, this weekend is a long weekend. According to the federal government, May 24 was first declared a holiday by the legislature of the Province of Canada in 1845 to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. However, in 1952, Parliament declared that Victoria Day would be celebrated on the Monday before May 24 every year. As a result of this convention, the long weekend sometimes falls well before May 24. This year, for example, May 24 falls on a Sunday, but due to the parliamentary decree, the long weekend will run from May 16 to May 18. The May 24 weekend is thought to be the unofficial start to summer. Many people go away for the long weekend, so the roads will be really packed. After two days of dreary, overcast skies and some rain, and rain forecast for today, it’s too bad the long weekend wasn’t last weekend. Drive carefully if you will be out on the roads!
I had planned to go on a half-day birding trip this morning. Woke up at 5:00 am (after an hour and a half's sleep), hoping that maybe the forecast had changed. Instead, it's raining and looks most unpleasant out there. I really don't feel like walking in this, and not be able to take any photos, so decided I would post my "daily three" to Flickr and then go back to bed. Hope I don't miss any really special sightings : (
It's back to the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl today. I had this 'telemacro' photo already edited, so only needed to edit the other two photos late last night. It was taken on 20 February 2015, roughly a week before I saw it (and its mate) for the last time. People who have been seeing it in the months since then must be keeping very quiet about it. No reports, no photos posted anywhere. Gotta love the 48x zoom on my point-and-shoot : ) Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm.
In the afternoon of 20 February 2015, there were just a couple of friends down in the park and, happy to say, they had already found this tiny, popcan-sized owl. This was its perch during the time I was there, giving some nice out in the open views, but all very similar. It's such a beautiful owl. This is the female, all puffed up to keep warm on a cold winter's day - the male is smaller, has a more rusty colour especially around the neck, and he has a thicker, white eyebrow line.
"Northern Pygmy Owls are 'sit and wait' predators, that hunt mainly by vision, diving down onto prey on the ground and driving the talons into the prey's throat. They will also attack birds in shrubs, crashing into the hapless victims. Most prey is carried off in the feet to feeding sites. Birds are usually plucked before being consumed. They often eat only the brains of birds and the soft abdomen of insects. One of these little owls can carry prey weighing up to 3 times its own weight.
The Northern Pygmy Owl feeds on a wide range of small prey including small mammals, birds, and reptiles and amphibians. Voles make up the bulk of their diet, with birds comprising most of the rest (mainly songbirds, but as large as a California Quail). Other small mammals include shrews, mice, chipmunks, bats, moles, young rabbits, and weasels. Insects may be very important when they are most abundant. Other prey taken are toads, frogs and small lizards and snakes.
During winter, surplus prey is cached in a cavity, often in large quantities. Summer caches are usually much smaller.
Pellets are very small, averaging about 3cm long. They are formed only occasionally as these owls don't consume large amounts of fur, feathers, or bone. The pellets tend to fall apart shortly after ejection." From OwlPages.
www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Glaucidium&species=ca...
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_pygmy_owl
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Fish Creek Park nature ornithology avian bird bird of prey owl Northern Pygmy-owl Glaucidium gnoma perched branch tree coniferous Spruce front view predator popcan-sized fist-sized ferocious hunter diurnal close-up telemacro cute adult female puffed up against the cold outdoor winter Explore interestingness#250 explore2015May17 annkelliott Anne Elliott FZ200 Lumix Panasonic 20 February 2015 © Anne Elliott 2015 © All Rights Reserved
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A really blurry shot that isn't very pleasant on the eyes, but I don't see Horned Larks very often and wanted to add this to my albums.
On 5 April 2015, I woke up to a winter scene, as it had snowed overnight. I wasn't sure if the drive would be cancelled, but fortunately we went ahead as planned. Only five of us went on this trip to Frank Lake, SE of Calgary. The whole area at and around Frank Lake is one of my favourite places. It was snowing on and off during the day and visibility was not very good. Pretty well all the birds we saw were distant or very distant, as usual when I go on one of these outings. A very enjoyable day as always, though, in an interesting place and with good company. I will add the leader, Tony Timmons' list of our sightings, below, mainly for my own memory. Thanks for the great day, Tony!
"Five participants for the Easter Sunday,Nature Calgary Trip to Frank Lake.
We found 47 species. Best sighting for the group was an adult Golden Eagle perched on the ground close to the road, (along 184st.E and west of the intersection with 594 Ave.E. on route to Basin3)
A Eurasian Wigeon was along the access road to Basin 2,and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers were spotted in Basin 1.
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan 15
Tundra Swan 2
Eurasian Wigeon 1
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye 1m
Common Merganser 5
Hooded Merganser 8
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Ruddy Duck 1
Bald Eagle 1 ad.
Golden Eagle 1 ad.
Northern Harrier 7
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 2
Gray Partridge 8
American Coot
Killdeer 2
American Avocet 2
Franklin"s Gull 8
Ring-billed Gull 10
California Gull 100
Rock Pigeon
Great Horned Owl 3 ad.
Northern Shrike 1
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark 25
American Robin
European Starling
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Lapland Longspur (small flock overhead 5-6)
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Yellow-headed Blackbird 5
Western Meadowlark 6
House Sparrow
Tony Timmons"
Tags: Alberta Canada SE of Calgary Frank Lake nature ornithology avian bird Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris Passeriformes Alaudidae Eremophila true Lark native songbird widespread open country perched fence post side view snowing snow poor quality photo season spring April annkelliott Anne Elliott Panasonic DMC-FZ200 FZ200 Lumix
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In Canada, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. This happened to be one week ago, on 10 May 2015, and my daughter had asked if I wanted to spend the day out with our cameras, looking for birds and old barns and anything else that was interesting and/or beautiful. I couldn't imagine a nicer way to spend this special day : )
We started off locally, visiting a wetland in the SW of the city, where we had good or reasonable views of several different bird species, including Lesser Scaup, Redheads, a pair of Red-necked Grebe, a Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow, Wigeon, Common Grackle (which I love to see) and, of course, a few Mallards.
From that location, we drove some of my familiar backroads SW of the city, where we saw a Snipe walking across a gravel road (it had such a cute way of walking), another pair of Red-necked Grebe, a quick glimpse of a Mountain Bluebird, and a pair of juvenile Swans (very distant, but I think they were Trumpeters).
Our drive then took us further south than I had ever driven before. We knew we wanted to see an old grain elevator at Azure (near Cayley) and we were able to find it. Drove a few of the country backroads in that whole area, eventually ending up at Silver Lake, where we watched some American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. I'd never even heard of this lake before.
From there, we drove the backroads east of Highway 2, all the way north to Frank Lake, where we saw Eared Grebes, a Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds, Coots, Canada Geese (of course!), and RAIN! A lot of the day, apart from when we first started the drive, was overcast and we did have a bit of rain on and off. There were some rather black clouds seen from Frank Lake. Managed to get a few photos of a couple of different Swainson's Hawks during the day. Twice, when we had a great opportunity to get photos, they were disturbed by a vehicle driving by. The driver of one car thought it would be fun to drive past as noisily as he could, of course making the hawks fly.
We called in at the Saskatoon Farm on the way home, hoping to have a delicious meal there, or at least we drove as far as the entrance. The parking lots were full and overflowing and there was a constant stream of new arrivals. No idea if it was because it was because it was Mother's Day, or perhaps there was a wedding being held there. Whatever the reason, we knew that there was no chance of ever getting a table in the restaurant. Thanks for the treat at Tim Horton's, Rachel : ) And thank you for spending the whole day with me - it made a lovely Mother's Day!
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada SW Calgary nature ornithology avian bird waterfowl Grebe Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena adult on nest front/side view pond wetland water reflection © Anne Elliott 2015 © All Rights Reserved season spring May
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Yesterday, 17 May 2015, I finally got out with my camera for a few hours. The previous few days had been dreary and overcast, with rain the last couple of days. The sense of freedom felt so good, as I stopped in at a wetland in SW Calgary and then drove my usual loop along the backroads SW of the city.
At this first pond, I saw the usual Mallards, Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Common Grackle, Red-headed Blackbirds, and a quick glimpse of a distant pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the sunshine. I had intended walking around to where I had seen the Canada Geese nest in other years, but before I did so, I suddenly noticed a distant pair of Geese swimming in my direction. I didn't really think much about it, but as they got closer, I realized that they were escorting 10 little goslings. They swam right up to where I was standing, as if to show off their new little family. And then they were gone, swimming off in the direction from where I had seen them come. After taking a few more photos of the nearby ducks, I carefully looked at each pair of Geese on the pond and none of them had any goslings swimming with them. Maybe they had returned them to the edge of the wetland and hidden them well. These were my very first goslings this spring, so I was happy as can be to see them.
A week earlier, on 10 May, my daughter and I had great views of the pair of Red-necked Grebes, who seemed to be building a nest closer to shore than previous years. It was disappointing to see that the tiny "island" that they seemed to have chosen was now very low in the water, after all the rain we had had. Hopefully, they won't move to a higher mound that is further away, but that is what I am expecting. Makes me thankful to have seen the pair fairly close a week ago.
From this pond, I continued on my drive, greatly appreciating the sunshine and fairly empty roads, despite this being the Victoria long weekend here. The Brewer's Blackbirds were perched on fence posts, and I always love to see these birds with their white eyes.
In one large pond, I watched two pairs of Blue-winged Teal, a Muskrat, a Pied-bill Grebe, and a pair of Red-necked Grebes. Most of these birds were very far away, but I just managed to get a few shots of the Teal.
At the next slough that I stopped at, I saw one solitary Swan, too far away to tell if it was a Trumpeter or Tundra. I also spotted a funny little Pied-billed Grebe swimming fairly close to the road, but by the time I had driven a bit further in order to turn my car around, the Grebe was already closer to the far shore. Further on, I stopped to see a pair of Mountain Bluebirds that came to their nesting box just once while I was there. Tree Swallows made a quick appearance at the nest box that was nearby.
Continuing my drive, I passed a pair of Wigeon preening themselves at a tiny slough, along with a Green-winged Teal. Further yet, I stopped to take a few photos of Red-winged Blackbirds and - to my great delight - a Wilson's Snipe, one of my favourite birds to photograph. Last year seemed to be such a great year for Snipe, so I was hoping this spring might be the same. When I drove this road in one direction, I was happy to spot a Snipe down in the grasses, but still wished that it had been standing on a fence post. After turning my car around, I slowly drove along the edge of the wetland again and, this time, there it was! Absolutely made my day - anyone would think it was my very first sighting ever of a Snipe! It didn't stay for long, but gave me time to get three or four shots.
From here, it was time to return home along some of the backroads before eventually having to get back on to the highway. A dark phase Swainson's Hawk was where I had seen it (same one?) on a couple of other occasions. Took a photo or two through the windscreen, so not the best photos, but I thought it might fly if I got out of the car.
It was so good to get out and, though I saw no new or rare birds, I was as always happy to see the more usual ones, especially when they are close enough to photograph.
Tags: Alberta Canada SW of Calgary nature ornithology avian bird bird of prey raptor hawk Swainson's Hawk dark phase perched top of a tree branch front view Buteo swainsoni Family: Accipitridae migratory annkelliott Anne Elliott FZ200 Lumix Panasonic season spring May
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