Saturday, 31 July 2021: our temperature is 31C (feels like 33C) at 7:00 pm. Sunrise is at 6:01 am, and sunset is at 9:22 pm. Another smoky day from the wildfires in British Columbia. We are under a Heat Warning yet again.
Yesterday, 30 July 2021, was a very hot (32C), rather windy, and smoky day. When I saw the weather forecast, I almost cancelled my plans, as I had hoped to go for a long drive to see if there were any Canola fields still in bloom. As it was, I only saw maybe three or four fields that were still yellow, and most of those were a mix of yellow and green. I was thankful that I had not postponed this drive or else I would have missed the last of the golden fields. The wind, the heat distortion, and especially the smoke from the British Columbia wildfires, did not help with photography!
This drive was similar to a couple of previous drives. Though I have visited part of the area covered many times, the newer couple of roads are now some of my favourite. Just wish it wasn't such a long drive.
As usual, I started out later than I had hoped. Driving south of the city was reasonably quiet, but during the day, there were more and more large motorhomes on the roads. Coming home early evening was bad. A lot of traffic on the highway, and a two-car collision that sent four people to hospital was a most unwelcome happening. Fortunately, I didn't see it happen, and there were about six emergency vehicles at the scene by the time I reached the area. So many drivers in a hurry yesterday, making it most unpleasant to be on the road. This is a long weekend here and some people must have already been on their way on the Friday. Even one of my favourite back roads had endless huge trucks going both ways - not sure what they were transporting. The dust hardly cleared before yet another vehicle came along,
In between all the dust flying, reducing visibility, I managed to see and photograph quite a variety of birds The highlight was finding that a family of At Risk/Endangered Ferruginous Hawks had now fledged and made it as far as their closest fence line. Close for them and distant for me. Lots of zoom, so my photos are smoky and blurry. Always such a privilege to see this beautiful species. Much further in my drive, I did see a single individual perched on a very distant fence.
A few waterbirds and some young birds were all welcome, including a young Barn Swallow and Rough-winged Swallows. Eastern and Western Kingbird, Meadowlark, Vesper Sparrow, White-faced Ibis, were just a few of the others seen.
Once again, I changed plans and had to forget about another area, where I had hoped to drop off a couple of photos. The long drive back home was ahead of me and I was already beginning to feel tired of driving. It was a great day, though, and it got me away from the indoor heat in my home. Even at 8:00 am, I was starting to feel queasy from the indoor heat and knew I needed my car's air-conditioning for the day.
Tags: Alberta Canada SE of Calgary field Canola fence gate hills
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Saturday, 31 July 2021: our temperature is 31C (feels like 33C) at 7:00 pm. Sunrise is at 6:01 am, and sunset is at 9:22 pm. Another smoky day from the wildfires in British Columbia. We are under a Heat Warning yet again.
Yesterday, 30 July 2021, was a very hot, rather windy, and smoky day. When I saw the weather forecast, I almost cancelled my plans, as I had hoped to go for a long drive to see if there were any Canola fields still in bloom. As it was, I only saw maybe three or four fields that were still yellow, and most of those were a mix of yellow and green. I was thankful that I had not postponed this drive or else I would have missed the last of the golden fields. The wind, the heat distortion, and especially the smoke from the British Columbia wildfires, did not help with photography!
This drive was similar to a couple of previous drives. Though I have visited part of the area covered many times, the newer couple of roads are now some of my favourite. Just wish it wasn't such a long drive.
As usual, I started out later than I had hoped. Driving south of the city was reasonably quiet, but during the day, there were more and more large motorhomes on the roads. Coming home early evening was bad. A lot of traffic on the highway, and a two-car collision that sent four people to hospital was a most unwelcome happening. Fortunately, I didn't see it happen, and there were about six emergency vehicles at the scene by the time I reached the area. So many drivers in a hurry yesterday, making it most unpleasant to be on the road. This is a long weekend here and some people must have already been on their way on the Friday. Even one of my favourite back roads had endless huge trucks going both ways - not sure what they were transporting. The dust hardly cleared before yet another vehicle came along,
In between all the dust flying, reducing visibility, I managed to see and photograph quite a variety of birds The highlight was finding that a family of At Risk/Endangered Ferruginous Hawks had now fledged and made it as far as their closest fence line. Close for them and distant for me. Lots of zoom, so my photos are smoky and blurry. Always such a privilege to see this beautiful species. Much further in my drive, I did see a single individual perched on a very distant fence.
A few waterbirds and some young birds were all welcome, including a young Barn Swallow and Rough-winged Swallows. Eastern and Western Kingbird, Meadowlark, Vesper Sparrow, White-faced Ibis, were just a few of the others seen.
Once again, I changed plans and had to forget about another area, where I had hoped to drop off a couple of photos. The long drive back home was ahead of me and I was already beginning to feel tired of driving. It was a great day, though, and it got me away from the indoor heat in my home. Even at 8:00 am, I was starting to feel queasy from the indoor heat and knew I needed my car's air-conditioning for the day.
© All Rights Reserved
Saturday, 31 July 2021: our temperature is 31C (feels like 33C) at 7:00 pm. Sunrise is at 6:01 am, and sunset is at 9:22 pm. Another smoky day from the wildfires in British Columbia. We are under a Heat Warning yet again.
Yesterday, 30 July 2021, was a very hot (32C), rather windy, and smoky day. When I saw the weather forecast, I almost cancelled my plans, as I had hoped to go for a long drive to see if there were any Canola fields still in bloom. As it was, I only saw maybe three or four fields that were still yellow, and most of those were a mix of yellow and green. I was thankful that I had not postponed this drive or else I would have missed the last of the golden fields. The wind, the heat distortion, and especially the smoke from the British Columbia wildfires, did not help with photography!
This drive was similar to a couple of previous drives. Though I have visited part of the area covered many times, the newer couple of roads are now some of my favourite. Just wish it wasn't such a long drive.
As usual, I started out later than I had hoped. Driving south of the city was reasonably quiet, but during the day, there were more and more large motorhomes on the roads. Coming home early evening was bad. A lot of traffic on the highway, and a two-car collision that sent four people to hospital was a most unwelcome happening. Fortunately, I didn't see it happen, and there were about six emergency vehicles at the scene by the time I reached the area. So many drivers in a hurry yesterday, making it most unpleasant to be on the road. This is a long weekend here and some people must have already been on their way on the Friday. Even one of my favourite back roads had endless huge trucks going both ways - not sure what they were transporting. The dust hardly cleared before yet another vehicle came along,
In between all the dust flying, reducing visibility, I managed to see and photograph quite a variety of birds The highlight was finding that a family of At Risk/Endangered Ferruginous Hawks had now fledged and made it as far as their closest fence line. Close for them and distant for me. Lots of zoom, so my photos are smoky and blurry. Always such a privilege to see this beautiful species. Much further in my drive, I did see a single individual perched on a very distant fence.
A few waterbirds and some young birds were all welcome, including a young Barn Swallow and Rough-winged Swallows. Eastern and Western Kingbird, Meadowlark, Vesper Sparrow, White-faced Ibis, were just a few of the others seen.
Once again, I changed plans and had to forget about another area, where I had hoped to drop off a couple of photos. The long drive back home was ahead of me and I was already beginning to feel tired of driving. It was a great day, though, and it got me away from the indoor heat in my home. Even at 8:00 am, I was starting to feel queasy from the indoor heat and knew I needed my car's air-conditioning for the day.
© All Rights Reserved
Saturday, 31 July 2021: our temperature is 31C (feels like 33C) at 7:00 pm. Sunrise is at 6:01 am, and sunset is at 9:22 pm. Another smoky day from the wildfires in British Columbia. We are under a Heat Warning yet again.
Yesterday, 30 July 2021, was a very hot, rather windy, and smoky day. When I saw the weather forecast, I almost cancelled my plans, as I had hoped to go for a long drive to see if there were any Canola fields still in bloom. As it was, I only saw maybe three or four fields that were still yellow, and most of those were a mix of yellow and green. I was thankful that I had not postponed this drive or else I would have missed the last of the golden fields. The wind, the heat distortion, and especially the smoke from the British Columbia wildfires, did not help with photography!
This drive was similar to a couple of previous drives. Though I have visited part of the area covered many times, the newer couple of roads are now some of my favourite. Just wish it wasn't such a long drive.
As usual, I started out later than I had hoped. Driving south of the city was reasonably quiet, but during the day, there were more and more large motorhomes on the roads. Coming home early evening was bad. A lot of traffic on the highway, and a two-car collision that sent four people to hospital was a most unwelcome happening. Fortunately, I didn't see it happen, and there were about six emergency vehicles at the scene by the time I reached the area. So many drivers in a hurry yesterday, making it most unpleasant to be on the road. This is a long weekend here and some people must have already been on their way on the Friday. Even one of my favourite back roads had endless huge trucks going both ways - not sure what they were transporting. The dust hardly cleared before yet another vehicle came along,
In between all the dust flying, reducing visibility, I managed to see and photograph quite a variety of birds The highlight was finding that a family of At Risk/Endangered Ferruginous Hawks had now fledged and made it as far as their closest fence line. Close for them and distant for me. Lots of zoom, so my photos are smoky and blurry. Always such a privilege to see this beautiful species. Much further in my drive, I did see a single individual perched on a very distant fence.
A few waterbirds and some young birds were all welcome, including a young Barn Swallow and Rough-winged Swallows. Eastern and Western Kingbird, Meadowlark, Vesper Sparrow, White-faced Ibis, were just a few of the others seen.
Once again, I changed plans and had to forget about another area, where I had hoped to drop off a couple of photos. The long drive back home was ahead of me and I was already beginning to feel tired of driving. It was a great day, though, and it got me away from the indoor heat in my home. Even at 8:00 am, I was starting to feel queasy from the indoor heat and knew I needed my car's air-conditioning for the day.
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Highly zoomed on a windy, smoky day. Location undisclosed.
A blog about Ferruginous Hawks, from 2013:
blog.abmi.ca/2013/12/19/httpwww-biodiversityandclimate-ab...
"Not only does Alberta’s changing climate pose challenges for us humans, it does so for lots of other creatures as well. For a species like the Ferruginous Hawk, which already faces a variety of threats, climate change could have disastrous consequences for its survival in Alberta." From blog above.
Yesterday, 30 July 2021, was a very hot, rather windy, and smoky day. When I saw the weather forecast, I almost cancelled my plans, as I had hoped to go for a long drive to see if there were any Canola fields still in bloom. As it was, I only saw maybe three or four fields that were still yellow, and most of those were a mix of yellow and green. I was thankful that I had not postponed this drive or else I would have missed the last of the golden fields. The wind, the heat distortion, and especially the smoke from the British Columbia wildfires, did not help with photography!
This drive was similar to a couple of previous drives. Though I have visited part of the area covered many times, the newer couple of roads are now some of my favourite. Just wish it wasn't such a long drive.
As usual, I started out later than I had hoped. Driving south of the city was reasonably quiet, but during the day, there were more and more large motorhomes on the roads. Coming home early evening was bad. A lot of traffic on the highway, and a two-car collision that sent three people to hospital was a most unwelcome happening. Fortunately, I didn't see it happen, and there were about six emergency vehicles at the scene by the time I reached the area. So many drivers in a hurry yesterday, making it most unpleasant to be on the road. This is a long weekend here and some people must have already been on their way on the Friday. Even one of my favourite back roads had endless huge trucks going both ways - not sure what they were transporting. The dust hardly cleared before yet another vehicle came along,
In between all the dust flying, reducing visibility, I managed to see and photograph quite a variety of birds The highlight was finding that a family of At Risk/Endangered Ferruginous Hawks had now fledged and made it as far as their closest fence line. Close for them and distant for me. Lots of zoom, so my photos are smoky and blurry. Always such a privilege to see this beautiful species. Much further in my drive, I did see a single individual perched on a very distant fence.
A few waterbirds and some young birds were all welcome, including a young Barn Swallow and Rough-winged Swallows. Eastern and Western Kingbird, Meadowlark, Vesper Sparrow, White-faced Ibis, were just a few of the others seen.
Once again, I changed plans and had to forget about another area, where I had hoped to drop off a couple of photos. The long drive back home was ahead of me and I was already beginning to feel tired of driving. It was a great day, though, and it got me away from the indoor heat in my home. Even at 8:00 am, I was starting to feel queasy from the indoor heat and knew I needed my car's air-conditioning for the day.
Tags: Ferruginous Hawk two immature siblingsrecently fledged standing fence post fence field grass outdoor summer 3 July 2021 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott
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