Wednesday, 20 July 2016, was a day of adventure for me. I drove further than I have ever driven before (way, way SE of the city) - must remember to check my mileage when I next go out in my car, but it must have been somewhere between 400 and 500 km total. No big deal for many of you, but for me (and as someone with a driving phobia), it WAS a big deal : ) I am totally exhausted and my poor shoulder rotator cuffs are complaining like crazy. BUT, I had a great time - just a couple of moments of 'panic', when I thought I was lost, and when I noticed that I was seeing different wildflowers and definitely a different landscape.
I eventually left home at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw.
From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses. This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house, before continuing on my way. From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers. I was in tall wind turbine country - which told me how far south I had come. The colours of some of the fields were unusual, too, as seen in this photo. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what I think must be a juvenile Horned Lark. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks this day. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time.
After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself heading towards Frank Lake. It was along this road that I spotted some kind of shorebird perched on a fence post. Too late to stop, so I turned around and then slowly drove back to the bird - a Marbled Godwit, giving me a nice, sideways pose. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate at Frank Lake. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending.
Tags: Alberta Canada SE of Calgary SE of Vulcan nature landscape scenery field fields green yellow orange undulating gentle hills power pylons electricity wind turbines outdoor summer 18 July 2016 FZ200 FZ200#4 annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2016 © All Rights Reserved
© All Rights Reserved
I hadn't been in this area before, so this was a new old homestead to me. It stands in the garden of a more modern house.
Wednesday, 20 July 2016, was a day of adventure for me. I drove further than I have ever driven before (way, way SE of the city) - must remember to check my mileage when I next go out in my car, but it must have been somewhere between 400 and 500 km total. No big deal for many of you, but for me (and as someone with a driving phobia), it WAS a big deal : ) I am totally exhausted and my poor shoulder rotator cuffs are complaining like crazy, BUT, I had a great time - just a couple of moments of 'panic', when I thought I was lost, and when I noticed that I was seeing different wildflowers and definitely a different landscape.
I eventually left home at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw.
From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses (not the one seen in this photo). This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house, before continuing on my way.
From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers. I was in tall wind turbine country - which told me how far south I had come. The colours of some of the fields were unusual, too. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what I think must be a juvenile Horned Lark. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks that day. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time.
After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself heading towards Frank Lake. It was along this road that I spotted some kind of shorebird perched on a fence post. Too late to stop, so I turned around and then slowly drove back to the bird - a Marbled Godwit, giving me a nice, sideways pose. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate at Frank Lake. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending.
Tags: Alberta Canada SE of Calgary long drive house home old wooden weathered building architecture grass bushes outdoor summer 20 July 2016 FZ200 FZ200#4 annkelliott Anne Elliott
© All Rights Reserved
Lol, that's exactly what I was thinking, Mike Borle! Thanks so much for giving the ID, way before I started on the description for the day. I was almost 100% sure this was a Ferruginous Hawk - couldn't think what else it could be, yet it seemed just too good to be true : ) According to the 'Birds of Alberta' book by Fisher and Acorn, the Ferruginous Hawk is rare to uncommon, from April to September in Alberta. This individual was standing on a mound high above the side of a main road and I stopped the car and rapidly took three or four shots, hoping that no vehicles would suddenly appear round the bend. About a minute's drive later, I spotted two very distant birds of prey, standing together on top of a huge pile of earth and again stopped long enough to take three or four rapid shots. They, too, looked very white, and I wondered if I had been fortunate enough to see Ferruginous Hawks! When I checked on Google Earth last night, I noticed that there was a very rough track that I could have driven along to get closer - but you just don't do that with Ferruginous Hawks!! Recently, I've been seeing photos from two or three people, showing very close shots of a nest and nestlings of this species - totally against birding ethics for these Hawks! No idea how they got such close captures. Anyway, I feel VERY privileged to have seen these special birds. This is the second day this week that I have been amazingly lucky with bird sightings, the first day being a day out NE of Calgary with my daughter on 18 July.
"Found in prairies, deserts, and open range of the West, the regal Ferruginous Hawk hunts from a lone tree, rock outcrop, or from high in the sky. This largest of North American hawks really is regal—its species name is regalis—with a unique gray head, rich, rusty (ferruginous) shoulders and legs, and gleaming white underparts. A rarer dark-morph is reddish-chocolate in color. Ferruginous Hawks eat a diet of small mammals, sometimes standing above prairie dog or ground squirrel burrows to wait for prey to emerge." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ferruginous_Hawk/id
Later: I eventually left home yesterday at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw.
From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses. This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house, before continuing on my way. From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers. I was in tall wind turbine country - which told me how far south I had come. The colours of some of the fields were unusual, too. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what I think must have been a juvenile Horned Lark. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks yesterday. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time.
After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself back at Frank Lake. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending.
Tags: Alberta Canada SE of Calgary SE of Vulcan nature ornithology avian bird bird of prey raptor hawk large Ferruginous Hawk Buteo regalis Family: Accipitridae adult standing small hill front view rare to uncommon in Alberta outdoor summer 20 July 2016 FZ200 FZ200#4 annkelliott Anne Elliott
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All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 20 July 2016, on a day of adventure for me. I drove further than I have ever driven before (way, way SE of the city) - must remember to check my mileage when I next go out in my car, but it must have been somewhere between 400 and 500 km total. No big deal for many of you, but for me (and as someone with a driving phobia), it WAS a big deal : ) Also, I did a day of driving just two days earlier when my daughter and I went NE of the city as far as Drumheller. I am totally exhausted and my poor shoulder rotator cuffs are complaining like crazy. BUT, I had a great time - just a couple of moments of 'panic', when I thought I was lost, and when I noticed that I was seeing different wildflowers and definitely a different landscape. I even photographed two things, seen in my next two photos, for which I would love to have ID confirmation or correction - thanks! The first was photographed in the Frank Lake area, just like this scenic view, but the second was taken way down SE. The above photo is a not-fully zoomed photo, but still shows the mountains much closer than they really are. It will take me forever to type up a description, but first - breakfast (well, brunch!).
Later: I eventually left home yesterday at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw.
From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses. This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house, before continuing on my way. From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers. I was in tall windmill country - which told me how far south I had come. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what I think must be a juvenile Horned Lark. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks yesterday. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time.
After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself back at Frank Lake. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending.
Tags: Alberta Canada SE of Calgary Frank Lake and area nature scenery landscape prairie field farm silos seven metal row all in a row modern storage grain grass crop Canola yellow gold mountains peaks ridge pylon sky clouds outdoor summer 20 July 2016 FZ200 FZ200#4 annkelliott Anne Elliott
© All Rights Reserved
All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 20 July 2016, on a day of adventure for me. I drove further than I have ever driven before (way, way SE of the city) - must remember to check my mileage when I next go out in my car, but it must have been somewhere between 400 and 500 km total. No big deal for many of you, but for me (and as someone with a driving phobia), it WAS a big deal : ) I am totally exhausted and my poor shoulder rotator cuffs are complaining like crazy. BUT, I had a great time - just a couple of moments of 'panic', when I thought I was lost, and when I noticed that I was seeing different wildflowers and definitely a different landscape. I even photographed two things, seen in the photo above and the next photo, for which I would love to have ID confirmation or correction - thanks! The shorebird on the fence post above was photographed in the Frank Lake area, just like the scenic view in the previous photo, but the next photo was taken way down SE. I'm pretty sure what the bird of prey is, but would love the ID to be confirmed, as it feels almost too good to be true : )
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Marbled_Godwit/id
Later: I eventually left home yesterday at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw.
From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses. This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house, before continuing on my way. From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers. I was in tall windmill country - which told me how far south I had come. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what I think must be a juvenile Horned Lark. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks yesterday. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time.
After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself back at Frank Lake. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending.
Tags: Alberta Canada SE of Calgary Frank Lake and area nature ornithology avian bird large shorebird Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa Family: Scolopacidae standing fence post side view adult field outdoor summer 20 July 2016 FZ200 FZ200#4 annkelliott Anne Elliott
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