Wow, I believe I missed posting any photos the last three days! I was out on 7th, 8th and 11th July, and the trip on 11th was a long, 12-hour day that was totally exhausting! That day, I made myself drive south, almost to the US/Canada border, to visit the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. This is one of the long drives I make myself do each year now, to make sure I don't lose the courage to do the drive. It took me almost 6 hours to get there, as I kept stopping to take photos : ) In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to make it as far as my destination, or if I did, I might end up driving the last part of my drive home in the dark, which I definitely had to avoid. It was such a great day, though my poor old body was in so much pain the next day or two. A very hot day, too, but beautiful weather. I haven't even started going through my photos from that trip.

Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you yesterday, 13 July 2019, while you were out again at your summer trailer at Eagle Lake for the weekend! The five photos posted this morning were taken while sitting on your deck or walking around the edge of the campground. Last year, on our visit, we saw fewer birds than in June 2017. This year, there seemed to be fewer birds than in August last year, but still plenty to keep us happy. With all the rain that we have been having the last few weeks, we were so lucky with the weather yesterday - it was perfect.

It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. We had an extra treat of seeing baby Northern Flickers in their cavity and watching a pair of House Sparrows busily feeding their babies right near the deck. Talk about cute! A few kinds of shorebirds were down along the edge of the lake, as usual, including an elegant Black-necked Stilt. I didn't notice any soapsud "icebergs" on the lake this year, but there were a few patches of soapsud foam at the water's edge.

The small Hutterite food stand was in the trailer campground again this year. A delightfully friendly lady showed us what she was selling and some of us bought a jar of her strawberry/rhubarb jam. After chatting for quite a while, it was a huge surprise when she insisted on giving us one of her fruit pies to share back at the trailer - delicious, too, I should add.

Great to see everyone who went, and we all enjoyed an array of salads and desserts, along with Shirley's Chili, that left me feeling full till the early evening.

Many thanks, Anne B, for driving the four of us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated, as always!

Tags:   bird Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus

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Wow, I believe I missed posting any photos the last three days! I was out on 7th, 8th and 11th July, and the trip on 11th was a long, 12-hour day that was totally exhausting! That day, I made myself drive south, almost to the US/Canada border, to visit the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. This is one of the long drives I make myself do each year now, to make sure I don't lose the courage to do the drive. It took me almost 6 hours to get there, as I kept stopping to take photos : ) In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to make it as far as my destination, or if I did, I might end up driving the last part of my drive home in the dark, which I definitely had to avoid. It was such a great day, though my poor old body was in so much pain the next day or two. A very hot day, too, but beautiful weather. I haven't even started going through my photos from that trip.

Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you yesterday, 13 July 2019, while you were out again at your summer trailer at Eagle Lake for the weekend! The five photos posted this morning were taken while sitting on your deck or walking around the edge of the campground. Last year, on our visit, we saw fewer birds than in June 2017. This year, there seemed to be fewer birds than in August last year, but still plenty to keep us happy. With all the rain that we have been having the last few weeks, we were so lucky with the weather yesterday - it was perfect.

It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. We had an extra treat of seeing baby Northern Flickers in their cavity and watching a pair of House Sparrows busily feeding their babies right near the deck. Talk about cute! A few kinds of shorebirds were down along the edge of the lake, as usual, including an elegant Black-necked Stilt. I didn't notice any soapsud "icebergs" on the lake this year, but there were a few patches of soapsud foam at the water's edge.

The small Hutterite food stand was in the trailer campground again this year. A delightfully friendly lady showed us what she was selling and some of us bought a jar of her strawberry/rhubarb jam. After chatting for quite a while, it was a huge surprise when she insisted on giving us one of her fruit pies to share back at the trailer - delicious, too, I should add.

Great to see everyone who went, and we all enjoyed an array of salads and desserts, along with Shirley's Chili, that left me feeling full till the early evening.

Many thanks, Anne B, for driving the four of us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated, as always!

Tags:   nature bird Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura

© All Rights Reserved

Wow, I believe I missed posting any photos the last three days! I was out on 7th, 8th and 11th July, and the trip on 11th was a long, 12-hour day that was totally exhausting! That day, I made myself drive south, almost to the US/Canada border, to visit the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. This is one of the long drives I make myself do each year now, to make sure I don't lose the courage to do the drive. It took me almost 6 hours to get there, as I kept stopping to take photos : ) In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to make it as far as my destination, or if I did, I might end up driving the last part of my drive home in the dark, which I definitely had to avoid. It was such a great day, though my poor old body was in so much pain the next day or two. A very hot day, too, but beautiful weather. I haven't even started going through my photos from that trip.

Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you yesterday, 13 July 2019, while you were out again at your summer trailer at Eagle Lake for the weekend! The five photos posted this morning were taken while sitting on your deck or walking around the edge of the campground. Last year, on our visit, we saw fewer birds than in June 2017. This year, there seemed to be fewer birds than in August last year, but still plenty to keep us happy. With all the rain that we have been having the last few weeks, we were so lucky with the weather yesterday - it was perfect.

It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. We had an extra treat of seeing baby Northern Flickers in their cavity and watching a pair of House Sparrows busily feeding their babies right near the deck. Talk about cute! A few kinds of shorebirds were down along the edge of the lake, as usual, including an elegant Black-necked Stilt. I didn't notice any soapsud "icebergs" on the lake this year, but there were a few patches of soapsud foam at the water's edge.

The small Hutterite food stand was in the trailer campground again this year. A delightfully friendly lady showed us what she was selling and some of us bought a jar of her strawberry/rhubarb jam. After chatting for quite a while, it was a huge surprise when she insisted on giving us one of her fruit pies to share back at the trailer - delicious, too, I should add.

Great to see everyone who went, and we all enjoyed an array of salads and desserts, along with Shirley's Chili, that left me feeling full till the early evening.

Many thanks, Anne B, for driving the four of us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated, as always!

Tags:   Alberta Canada east of Calgary Eagle Lake campground trailer park Eagle Lake RV Resort visit to friend nature avian bird House Sparrow Passer domesticus adult male baby young tree nest box feeding babies baby, mouth open outdoor summer 13 July 2019 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2019 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

Wow, I believe I missed posting any photos the last three days! I was out on 7th, 8th and 11th July, and the trip on 11th was a long, 12-hour day that was totally exhausting! That day, I made myself drive south, almost to the US/Canada border, to visit the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. This is one of the long drives I make myself do each year now, to make sure I don't lose the courage to do the drive. It took me almost 6 hours to get there, as I kept stopping to take photos : ) In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to make it as far as my destination, or if I did, I might end up driving the last part of my drive home in the dark, which I definitely had to avoid. It was such a great day, though my poor old body was in so much pain the next day or two. A very hot day, too, but beautiful weather. I haven't even started going through my photos from that trip.

Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you yesterday, 13 July 2019, while you were out again at your summer trailer at Eagle Lake for the weekend! The five photos posted this morning were taken while sitting on your deck or walking around the edge of the campground. Last year, on our visit, we saw fewer birds than in June 2017. This year, there seemed to be fewer birds than in August last year, but still plenty to keep us happy. With all the rain that we have been having the last few weeks, we were so lucky with the weather yesterday - it was perfect.

It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. We had an extra treat of seeing baby Northern Flickers in their cavity and watching a pair of House Sparrows busily feeding their babies right near the deck. Talk about cute! A few kinds of shorebirds were down along the edge of the lake, as usual, including an elegant Black-necked Stilt. I didn't notice any soapsud "icebergs" on the lake this year, but there were a few patches of soapsud foam at the water's edge.

The small Hutterite food stand was in the trailer campground again this year. A delightfully friendly lady showed us what she was selling and some of us bought a jar of her strawberry/rhubarb jam. After chatting for quite a while, it was a huge surprise when she insisted on giving us one of her fruit pies to share back at the trailer - delicious, too, I should add.

Great to see everyone who went, and we all enjoyed an array of salads and desserts, along with Shirley's Chili, that left me feeling full till the early evening.

Many thanks, Anne B, for driving the four of us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated, as always!

Tags:   Alberta Canada east of Calgary Eagle Lake campground trailer park Eagle Lake RV Resort visit to friend nature avian bird Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus babies young tree in tree cavity two heads looking out looking for Mom outdoor summer 13 July 2019 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2019 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

Wow, I believe I missed posting any photos the last three days! I was out on 7th, 8th and 11th July, and the trip on 11th was a long, 12-hour day that was totally exhausting! That day, I made myself drive south, almost to the US/Canada border, to visit the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. This is one of the long drives I make myself do each year now, to make sure I don't lose the courage to do the drive. It took me almost 6 hours to get there, as I kept stopping to take photos : ) In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to make it as far as my destination, or if I did, I might end up driving the last part of my drive home in the dark, which I definitely had to avoid. It was such a great day, though my poor old body was in so much pain the next day or two. A very hot day, too, but beautiful weather. I haven't even started going through my photos from that trip.

Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you yesterday, 13 July 2019, while you were out again at your summer trailer at Eagle Lake for the weekend! The five photos posted this morning were taken while sitting on your deck or walking around the edge of the campground. Last year, on our visit, we saw fewer birds than in June 2017. This year, there seemed to be fewer birds than in August last year, but still plenty to keep us happy. With all the rain that we have been having the last few weeks, we were so lucky with the weather yesterday - it was perfect.

It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. We had an extra treat of seeing baby Northern Flickers in their cavity and watching a pair of House Sparrows busily feeding their babies right near the deck. Talk about cute! A few kinds of shorebirds were down along the edge of the lake, as usual, including an elegant Black-necked Stilt. I didn't notice any soapsud "icebergs" on the lake this year, but there were a few patches of soapsud foam at the water's edge.

The small Hutterite food stand was in the trailer campground again this year. A delightfully friendly lady showed us what she was selling and some of us bought a jar of her strawberry/rhubarb jam. After chatting for quite a while, it was a huge surprise when she insisted on giving us one of her fruit pies to share back at the trailer - delicious, too, I should add.

Great to see everyone who went, and we all enjoyed an array of salads and desserts, along with Shirley's Chili, that left me feeling full till the early evening.

Many thanks, Anne B, for driving the four of us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated, as always!

Tags:   Alberta Canada east of Calgary Eagle Lake campground trailer park Eagle Lake RV Resort visit to friend nature avian bird American Goldfinch Spinus tristis male yellow front/side view perched metal bokeh outdoor summer 13 July 2019 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2019 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved