Five photos taken on 3 June 2022, when I did another drive W and SW of Calgary. Such a windy day! Definitely a challenge for taking photos, unless I was sitting in my car. Rain in the forecast for the nest few days.
Five photos taken on 3 June 2022, when I did another drive W and SW of Calgary. Such a windy day! Definitely a challenge for taking photos, unless I was sitting in my car. Rain in the forecast for the next few days.
I repeated part of the area that four of us had covered on 29 May 2022, for the Calgary area May Species Count. Part of the reason I wanted to go back was to see how road repairs were going along one of my favourite roads. Not good, so I had to change my plans and see what I could find elsewhere. I was hoping to see one or two Mountain Bluebirds and possibly find a Bobolink again. I was in luck, though it/they were distant. The wind was so strong that some attempts ended up with no bird in the shot or maybe just the head. Happy to see this species again, though. A new Mountain Bluebird pair was a nice find, too, plus a Barn Swallow.
A quick check to see if there was any sign of the Loon west of the city showed me an empty pond. However, I was glad to see a pair of Common Grackles and Brewer's Blackbirds there.
On the way home, I drove along a back road that I used to drive more often than I do now. A couple of Swainson's hawks and a family of beautiful Mourning Doves were good to see.
www.natureconservancy.ca/en/what-we-do/resource-centre/fe...
"Perched on a grass stem or displaying in flight over a field, breeding male Bobolinks are striking. No other North American bird has a white back and black underparts (some have described this look as wearing a tuxedo backwards). Added to this are the male’s rich, straw-colored patch on the head and his bubbling, virtuosic song. As summer ends he molts into a buff and brown female-like plumage. Though they’re still fairly common in grasslands, Bobolink numbers are declining." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bobolink/id
"The Bobolink inhabits Canada's grassland and agricultural areas from the interior of British Columbia to the east coast. Relative to 1970 levels, this species has shown a large decrease across most of its range, with the exception of the Prairie Potholes Bird Conservation Region where populations have changed little. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed the Bobolink as Threatened in 2010 (COSEWIC 2010d). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada."
www.ec.gc.ca/soc-sbc/oiseau-bird-eng.aspx?sY=2014&sL=...
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Five photos taken on 3 June 2022, when I did another drive W and SW of Calgary. Such a windy day! Definitely a challenge for taking photos, unless I was sitting in my car. Rain in the forecast for the next few days.
I repeated part of the area that four of us had covered on 29 May 2022, for the Calgary area May Species Count. Part of the reason I wanted to go back was to see how road repairs were going along one of my favourite roads. Not good, so I had to change my plans and see what I could find elsewhere. I was hoping to see one or two Mountain Bluebirds and possibly find a Bobolink again. I was in luck, though it/they were distant. The wind was so strong that some attempts ended up with no bird in the shot or maybe just the head. Happy to see this species again, though. A new Mountain Bluebird pair was a nice find, too, plus a Barn Swallow.
A quick check to see if there was any sign of the Loon west of the city showed me an empty pond. However, I was glad to see a pair of Common Grackles and Brewer's Blackbirds there.
On the way home, I drove along a back road that I used to drive more often than I do now. A couple of Swainson's hawks and a family of beautiful Mourning Doves were good to see.
© All Rights Reserved
Five photos taken on 3 June 2022, when I did another drive W and SW of Calgary. Such a windy day! Definitely a challenge for taking photos, unless I was sitting in my car. Rain in the forecast for the next few days.
I repeated part of the area that four of us had covered on 29 May 2022, for the Calgary area May Species Count. Part of the reason I wanted to go back was to see how road repairs were going along one of my favourite roads. Not good, so I had to change my plans and see what I could find elsewhere. I was hoping to see one or two Mountain Bluebirds and possibly find a Bobolink again. I was in luck, though it/they were distant. The wind was so strong that some attempts ended up with no bird in the shot or maybe just the head. Happy to see this species again, though. A new Mountain Bluebird pair was a nice find, too, plus a Barn Swallow.
A quick check to see if there was any sign of the Loon west of the city showed me an empty pond. However, I was glad to see a pair of Common Grackles and Brewer's Blackbirds there.
On the way home, I drove along a back road that I used to drive more often than I do now. A couple of Swainson's hawks and a family of beautiful Mourning Doves were good to see.
© All Rights Reserved
Five photos taken on 3 June 2022, when I did another drive W and SW of Calgary. Such a windy day! Definitely a challenge for taking photos, unless I was sitting in my car. Rain in the forecast for the next few days.
I repeated part of the area that four of us had covered on 29 May 2022, for the Calgary area May Species Count. Part of the reason I wanted to go back was to see how road repairs were going along one of my favourite roads. Not good, so I had to change my plans and see what I could find elsewhere. I was hoping to see one or two Mountain Bluebirds and possibly find a Bobolink again. I was in luck, though it/they were distant. The wind was so strong that some attempts ended up with no bird in the shot or maybe just the head. Happy to see this species again, though. A new Mountain Bluebird pair was a nice find, too, plus a Barn Swallow.
A quick check to see if there was any sign of the Loon west of the city showed me an empty pond. However, I was glad to see a pair of Common Grackles and Brewer's Blackbirds there.
On the way home, I drove along a back road that I used to drive more often than I do now. A couple of Swainson's hawks and a family of beautiful Mourning Doves were good to see.
© All Rights Reserved
Five photos taken on 3 June 2022, when I did another drive W and SW of Calgary. Such a windy day! Definitely a challenge for taking photos, unless I was sitting in my car. Rain in the forecast for the nest few days.
I repeated part of the area that four of us had covered on 29 May 2022, for the Calgary area May Species Count. Part of the reason I wanted to go back was to see how road repairs were going along one of my favourite roads. Not good, so I had to change my plans and see what I could find elsewhere. I was hoping to see one or two Mountain Bluebirds and possibly find a Bobolink again. I was in luck, though it/they were distant. The wind was so strong that some attempts ended up with no bird in the shot or maybe just the head. Happy to see this species again, though. A new Mountain Bluebird pair was a nice find, too, plus a Barn Swallow.
A quick check to see if there was any sign of the Loon west of the city showed me an empty pond. However, I was glad to see a pair of Common Grackles and Brewer's Blackbirds there.
On the way home, I drove along a back road that I used to drive more often than I do now. A couple of Swainson's hawks and a family of beautiful Mourning Doves were good to see.
Tags: Alberta Canada SW of Calgary nature wildlife avian ornithology bird Mountain Bluebird Sialia currucoides male back/side view perched barbed-wire field bokeh outdoor spring 3 June 2022 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2022 © All Rights Reserved
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