Flickr is a mess this afternoon, at least for me. The site disappeared for a while when I was trying to post five new photos and now some of my albums are gone, too. When I clicked on the very first page I ever uploaded, just to check if that was working, I got the "You have no public photos" message. Hopefully, this will all sort itself out as soon as possible.

Yesterday morning, 26 October 2021, I went on a birding walk with a small group of birding friends. The day started off chilly but gradually warmed up to maybe 11C. The sun was shining and there was a quite impressive Chinook Arch to enjoy. My group saw 25 bird species, with the highlight being a Black-backed Woodpecker, uncommonly seen here. You can't tell in this photo, but this is a male with a small, yellow patch on its forehead. A different group of birders did not see this species, but they did see a tiny Northern Pygmy-owl.

This was only the second time that I had seen the newly constructed stormwater ponds. This time, it was a better look, though the few birds seen there were very distant. Nice to see a male Barrow's Goldeneye, with its beautiful white crescent marking on its cheeks.

At one spot on the walk, there were a few patches of ice patterns, so we know winter has started. The first snow has already fallen in Calgary, but didn't settle. Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow and the next day, unfortunately.

Today, 27 October, I went on another walk, this time in the SIkome/Hulls Wood/Bow Valley Ranche areas. Very quiet as far as birding was concerned, but very enjoyable with just four friends. The original plan was to go to the Lafarge area, but it is still closed to access while bridge construction continues (for another year, till October 2022?). Thanks for the great walk, Tony!

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Flickr is a mess this afternoon, at least for me. The site disappeared for a while when I was trying to post five new photos and now some of my albums are gone, too. When I clicked on the very first page I ever uploaded, just to check if that was working, I got the "You have no public photos" message. Hopefully, this will all sort itself out as soon as possible.

Yesterday morning, 26 October 2021, I went on a birding walk with a small group of birding friends. The day started off chilly but gradually warmed up to maybe 11C. The sun was shining and there was a quite impressive Chinook Arch to enjoy. My group saw 25 bird species, with the highlight being a Black-backed Woodpecker, uncommonly seen here. You can't tell in this photo, but this is a male with a small, yellow patch on its forehead. A different group of birders did not see this species, but they did see a tiny Northern Pygmy-owl.

This was only the second time that I had seen the newly constructed stormwater ponds. This time, it was a better look, though the few birds seen there were very distant. Nice to see a male Barrow's Goldeneye, with its beautiful white crescent marking on its cheeks.

At one spot on the walk, there were a few patches of ice patterns, so we know winter has started. The first snow has already fallen in Calgary, but didn't settle. Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow and the next day, unfortunately.

Today, 27 October, I went on another walk, this time in the SIkome/Hulls Wood/Bow Valley Ranche areas. Very quiet as far as birding was concerned, but very enjoyable with just four friends. The original plan was to go to the Lafarge area, but it is still closed to access while bridge construction continues (for another year, till October 2022?). Thanks for the great walk, Tony!

© All Rights Reserved

Flickr is a mess this afternoon, at least for me. The site disappeared for a while when I was trying to post five new photos and now some of my albums are gone, too. When I clicked on the very first page I ever uploaded, just to check if that was working, I got the "You have no public photos" message. Hopefully, this will all sort itself out as soon as possible.

Yesterday morning, 26 October 2021, I went on a birding walk with a small group of birding friends. The day started off chilly but gradually warmed up to maybe 11C. The sun was shining and there was a quite impressive Chinook Arch to enjoy. My group saw 25 bird species, with the highlight being a Black-backed Woodpecker, uncommonly seen here. You can't tell in this photo, but this is a male with a small, yellow patch on its forehead. A different group of birders did not see this species, but they did see a tiny Northern Pygmy-owl.

This was only the second time that I had seen the newly constructed stormwater ponds. This time, it was a better look, though the few birds seen there were very distant. Nice to see a male Barrow's Goldeneye, with its beautiful white crescent marking on its cheeks.

At one spot on the walk, there were a few patches of ice patterns, so we know winter has started. The first snow has already fallen in Calgary, but didn't settle. Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow and the next day, unfortunately.

Today, 27 October, I went on another walk, this time in the SIkome/Hulls Wood/Bow Valley Ranche areas. Very quiet as far as birding was concerned, but very enjoyable with just four friends. The original plan was to go to the Lafarge area, but it is still closed to access while bridge construction continues (for another year, till October 2022?). Thanks for the great walk, Tony!

© All Rights Reserved

Flickr is a mess this afternoon, at least for me. The site disappeared for a while when I was trying to post five new photos and now some of my albums are gone, too. When I clicked on the very first page I ever uploaded, just to check if that was working, I got the "You have no public photos" message. Hopefully, this will all sort itself out as soon as possible.

Yesterday morning, 26 October 2021, I went on a birding walk with a small group of birding friends. The day started off chilly but gradually warmed up to maybe 11C. The sun was shining and there was a quite impressive Chinook Arch to enjoy. My group saw 25 bird species, with the highlight being a Black-backed Woodpecker, uncommonly seen here. You can't tell in this photo, but this is a male with a small, yellow patch on its forehead. A different group of birders did not see this species, but they did see a tiny Northern Pygmy-owl.

This was only the second time that I had seen the newly constructed stormwater ponds. This time, it was a better look, though the few birds seen there were very distant. Nice to see a male Barrow's Goldeneye, with its beautiful white crescent marking on its cheeks.

At one spot on the walk, there were a few patches of ice patterns, so we know winter has started. The first snow has already fallen in Calgary, but didn't settle. Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow and the next day, unfortunately.

Today, 27 October, I went on another walk, this time in the SIkome/Hulls Wood/Bow Valley Ranche areas. Very quiet as far as birding was concerned, but very enjoyable with just four friends. The original plan was to go to the Lafarge area, but it is still closed to access while bridge construction continues (for another year, till October 2022?). Thanks for the great walk, Tony!

Tags:   Calgary Alberta Canada Fish Creek Provincial Park Fish Creek Park Bebo Grove stormwater ponds

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Flickr is a mess this afternoon, at least for me. The site disappeared for a while when I was trying to post five new photos and now some of my albums are gone, too. When I clicked on the very first page I ever uploaded, just to check if that was working, I got the "You have no public photos" message. Hopefully, this will all sort itself out as soon as possible.

Yesterday morning, 26 October 2021, I went on a birding walk with a small group of birding friends. The day started off chilly but gradually warmed up to maybe 11C. The sun was shining and there was a quite impressive Chinook Arch to enjoy. My group saw 25 bird species, with the highlight being a Black-backed Woodpecker, uncommonly seen here. You can't tell in this photo, but this is a male with a small, yellow patch on its forehead. A different group of birders did not see this species, but they did see a tiny Northern Pygmy-owl.

As of 27 October 2021, I have only ever seen a Black-backed Woodpecker on five different occasions.
1. 24 November 2007 at Griffith Woods
2. 29 November 2007 at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park
3. 8 April 2008 at Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Park
4. 4 December 2014 at Votiers Flats, Fish Creek Park
5. 26 October 2021 at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park

This was only the second time that I had seen the newly constructed stormwater ponds. This time, it was a better look, though the few birds seen there were very distant. Nice to see a male Barrow's Goldeneye, with its beautiful white crescent marking on its cheeks.

At one spot on the walk, there were a few patches of ice patterns, so we know winter has started. The first snow has already fallen in Calgary, but didn't settle. Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow and the next day, unfortunately.

Today, 27 October, I went on another walk, this time in the SIkome/Hulls Wood/Bow Valley Ranche areas. Very quiet as far as birding was concerned, but very enjoyable with just four friends. The original plan was to go to the Lafarge area, but it is still closed to access while bridge construction continues (for another year, till October 2022?). Thanks for the great walk, Tony!

Tags:   Calgary Alberta Canada Fish Creek Park nature wildlife ornithology avian bird woodpecker Black-backed Woodpecker Picoides arcticus male side view feeding tree bark forest outdoor fall 26 October 2021 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott

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