Wednesday, 14 July 2021: our temperature is 29C (feels like 31C) around 4:30 pm. Sunrise is at 5:37 am, and sunset is at 9:45 pm. Just below 30C for the rest of this week and then it warms up into the low 30Cs for a few days. So far, forecast for next week is high 20Cs.

Yesterday, 13 July 2021, I needed to escape the indoor heat of my home. I decided to do a similar drive to the one I made with my daughter on 17 June 2021. That drive felt so good, after keeping apart for the last year and a half because of COVID restrictions. The drive yesterday was a shorter distance (391 km) than I had planned, as I kept stopping to photograph birds especially and ended up returning home before getting to my last two destinations.

It was a good day for birds. The very first bird I spotted was a beautiful Long-billed Curlew, Just a quick visit with it, as she must have had babies out in the field. Next, a Brewer's Blackbird on a high wire, and a little further, the first of many hawks seen this day. Most were Swainson's Hawks, but at least one was a Red-tailed Hawk. A wonderful family of an adult hawk with three youngsters has me puzzled, as they were very distant and I can't decide if they were Red-tailed or Ferruginous Hawks. A single hawk later in the day was a definite Ferruginous hawk, perched on a distant fence post way out in a field. Thanks to it being an extremely hazy day with awful heat distortion, I will be posting a blurry photo, but they are such amazing hawks, that I want to post a photo for the record.

A few of the other birds that I was lucky enough to see include a second Long-billed Curlew at a different location. A couple of beautiful Horned Larks posed nicely on fence posts. Plenty of Vesper Sparrows to be seen. A few Canada Geese, and several duck species. Three Great Blue Herons were good to see. A couple of American Robins, always a welcome sighting, and a great 'broken-wing' display by a Killdeer added to the day. Surprisingly, I only caught a quick glimpse of one Western Meadowlark. Some of the ponds/wetlands have completely dried up, which is such a shame.

I have barely been out to see any wildflowers this year, as most of my activity has been by car. I did photograph a few yesterday. A couple of plants that I was happy to see yesterday were a small species of Sunflower, and a couple of plants of Milkweed.

No new barns or other old buildings, as I had driven these roads before. Still enjoyed photographing a few of them again, though.

By late afternoon, the light had become impossible for photography, still very hazy and under sun-blocking cloud. Probably just as well, as it really was time to start on the long journey home. No stopping anywhere en route, as I was already tired out. Felt good to reach home, after a 10-hour, great day.

Tags:   Alberta Canada SE of Calgary nature wildlife avian ornithology bird Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus side view perched fence post field canola bokeh outdoor summer 13 July 2021 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2021 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, 14 July 2021: our temperature is 29C (feels like 31C) around 4:30 pm. Sunrise is at 5:37 am, and sunset is at 9:45 pm. Just below 30C for the rest of this week and then it warms up into the low 30Cs for a few days. So far, forecast for next week is high 20Cs.

Yesterday, 13 July 2021, I needed to escape the indoor heat of my home. I decided to do a similar drive to the one I made with my daughter on 17 June 2021. That drive felt so good, after keeping apart for the last year and a half because of COVID restrictions. The drive yesterday was a shorter distance (391 km) than I had planned, as I kept stopping to photograph birds.especially and ended up returning home before getting to my last two destinations.

It was a good day for birds. The very first bird I spotted was a beautiful Long-billed Curlew, Just a quick visit with it, as she must have had babies out in the field. Next, a Brewer's Blackbird on a high wire, and a little further, the first of many hawks seen this day. Most were Swainson's Hawks, but at least one was a Red-tailed Hawk. A wonderful family of an adult hawk with three youngsters has me puzzled, as they were very distant and I can't decide if they were Red-tailed or Ferruginous Hawks. A single hawk later in the day was a definite Ferruginous hawk, perched on a distant fence post way out in a field. Thanks to it being an extremely hazy day with awful heat distortion, I will be posting a blurry photo, but they are such amazing hawks, that I want to post a photo for the record.

A few of the other birds that I was lucky enough to see include a second Long-billed Curlew at a different location. A couple of beautiful Horned Larks posed nicely on fence posts. Plenty of Vesper Sparrows to be seen. A few Canada Geese, and several duck species. Three Great Blue Herons were good to see. A couple of American Robins, always a welcome sighting, and a great 'broken-wing' display by a Killdeer added to the day.

I have barely been out to see any wildflowers this year, as most of my activity has been by car. I did photograph a few yesterday. A couple of plants that I was happy to see yesterday were a small species of Sunflower, and a couple of plants of Milkweed.

No new barns or other old buildings, as I had driven these roads before. Still enjoyed photographing a few of them again, though.

By late afternoon, the light had become impossible for photography, still very hazy and under sun-blocking cloud. Probably just as well, as it really was time to start on the long journey home. No stopping anywhere en route, as I was already tired out. Felt good to reach home, after a 10-hour, great day.

© All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, 14 July 2021: our temperature is 29C (feels like 31C) around 4:30 pm. Sunrise is at 5:37 am, and sunset is at 9:45 pm. Just below 30C for the rest of this week and then it warms up into the low 30Cs for a few days. So far, forecast for next week is high 20Cs.

Yesterday, 13 July 2021, I needed to escape the indoor heat of my home. I decided to do a similar drive to the one I made with my daughter on 17 June 2021. That drive felt so good, after keeping apart for the last year and a half because of COVID restrictions. The drive yesterday was a shorter distance (391 km) than I had planned, as I kept stopping to photograph birds especially and ended up returning home before getting to my last two destinations.

It was a good day for birds. The very first bird I spotted was a beautiful Long-billed Curlew, Just a quick visit with it, as she must have had babies out in the field. Next, a Brewer's Blackbird on a high wire, and a little further, the first of many hawks seen this day. Most were Swainson's Hawks, but at least one was a Red-tailed Hawk. A wonderful family of an adult hawk with three youngsters has me puzzled, as they were very distant and I can't decide if they were Red-tailed or Ferruginous Hawks. A single hawk later in the day was a definite Ferruginous hawk, perched on a distant fence post way out in a field. Thanks to it being an extremely hazy day with awful heat distortion, I will be posting a blurry photo, but they are such amazing hawks, that I want to post a photo for the record.

A few of the other birds that I was lucky enough to see include a second Long-billed Curlew at a different location. A couple of beautiful Horned Larks posed nicely on fence posts. Plenty of Vesper Sparrows to be seen. A few Canada Geese, and several duck species. Three Great Blue Herons were good to see. A couple of American Robins, always a welcome sighting, and a great 'broken-wing' display by a Killdeer added to the day.

I have barely been out to see any wildflowers this year, as most of my activity has been by car. I did photograph a few yesterday. A couple of plants that I was happy to see yesterday were a small species of Sunflower, and a couple of plants of Milkweed.

No new barns or other old buildings, as I had driven these roads before. Still enjoyed photographing a few of them again, though.

By late afternoon, the light had become impossible for photography, still very hazy and under sun-blocking cloud. Probably just as well, as it really was time to start on the long journey home. No stopping anywhere en route, as I was already tired out. Felt good to reach home, after a 10-hour, great day.

© All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, 14 July 2021: our temperature is 29C (feels like 31C) around 4:30 pm. Sunrise is at 5:37 am, and sunset is at 9:45 pm. Just below 30C for the rest of this week and then it warms up into the low 30Cs for a few days. So far, forecast for next week is high 20Cs.

Yesterday, 13 July 2021, I needed to escape the indoor heat of my home. I decided to do a similar drive to the one I made with my daughter on 17 June 2021. That drive felt so good, after keeping apart for the last year and a half because of COVID restrictions. The drive yesterday was a shorter distance (391 km) than I had planned, as I kept stopping to photograph birds especially and ended up returning home before getting to my last two destinations.

It was a good day for birds. The very first bird I spotted was a beautiful Long-billed Curlew, Just a quick visit with it, as she must have had babies out in the field. Next, a Brewer's Blackbird on a high wire, and a little further, the first of many hawks seen this day. Most were Swainson's Hawks, but at least one was a Red-tailed Hawk. A wonderful family of an adult hawk with three youngsters has me puzzled, as they were very distant and I can't decide if they were Red-tailed or Ferruginous Hawks. A single hawk later in the day was a definite Ferruginous hawk, perched on a distant fence post way out in a field. Thanks to it being an extremely hazy day with awful heat distortion, I will be posting a blurry photo, but they are such amazing hawks, that I want to post a photo for the record.

A few of the other birds that I was lucky enough to see include a second Long-billed Curlew at a different location. A couple of beautiful Horned Larks posed nicely on fence posts. Plenty of Vesper Sparrows to be seen. A few Canada Geese, and several duck species. Three Great Blue Herons were good to see. A couple of American Robins, always a welcome sighting, and a great 'broken-wing' display by a Killdeer added to the day.

I have barely been out to see any wildflowers this year, as most of my activity has been by car. I did photograph a few yesterday. A couple of plants that I was happy to see yesterday were a small species of Sunflower, and a couple of plants of Milkweed.

No new barns or other old buildings, as I had driven these roads before. Still enjoyed photographing a few of them again, though.

By late afternoon, the light had become impossible for photography, still very hazy and under sun-blocking cloud. Probably just as well, as it really was time to start on the long journey home. No stopping anywhere en route, as I was already tired out. Felt good to reach home, after a 10-hour, great day.

© All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, 14 July 2021: our temperature is 29C (feels like 31C) around 4:30 pm. Sunrise is at 5:37 am, and sunset is at 9:45 pm. Just below 30C for the rest of this week and then it warms up into the low 30Cs for a few days. So far, forecast for next week is high 20Cs.

Yesterday, 13 July 2021, I needed to escape the indoor heat of my home. I decided to do a similar drive to the one I made with my daughter on 17 June 2021. That drive felt so good, after keeping apart for the last year and a half because of COVID restrictions. The drive yesterday was a shorter distance (391 km) than I had planned, as I kept stopping to photograph birds especially and ended up returning home before getting to my last two destinations.

It was a good day for birds. The very first bird I spotted was a beautiful Long-billed Curlew, Just a quick visit with it, as she must have had babies out in the field. Next, a Brewer's Blackbird on a high wire, and a little further, the first of many hawks seen this day. Most were Swainson's Hawks, but at least one was a Red-tailed Hawk. A wonderful family of an adult hawk with three youngsters has me puzzled, as they were very distant and I can't decide if they were Red-tailed or Ferruginous Hawks. A single hawk later in the day was a definite Ferruginous hawk, perched on a distant fence post way out in a field. Thanks to it being an extremely hazy day with awful heat distortion, I will be posting a blurry photo, but they are such amazing hawks, that I want to post a photo for the record.

A few of the other birds that I was lucky enough to see include a second Long-billed Curlew at a different location. A couple of beautiful Horned Larks posed nicely on fence posts. Plenty of Vesper Sparrows to be seen. A few Canada Geese, and several duck species. Three Great Blue Herons were good to see. A couple of American Robins, always a welcome sighting, and a great 'broken-wing' display by a Killdeer added to the day. Some of the ponds/wetlands have completely dried up, which is such a shame.

I have barely been out to see any wildflowers this year, as most of my activity has been by car. I did photograph a few yesterday. A couple of plants that I was happy to see yesterday were a small species of Sunflower, and a couple of plants of Milkweed.

No new barns or other old buildings, as I had driven these roads before. Still enjoyed photographing a few of them again, though.

By late afternoon, the light had become impossible for photography, still very hazy and under sun-blocking cloud. Probably just as well, as it really was time to start on the long journey home. No stopping anywhere en route, as I was already tired out. Felt good to reach home, after a 10-hour, great day.

© All Rights Reserved