Normally, I would never be driving all the way south to Coaldale twice in one month, or even one year : ) However, when I first drove down there on 24 August 2022, I didn't think my daughter would be free to go with me in time before the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre closed for the season, till April 2023. So, I made a last minute decision to drive there anyway. The other day, my daughter told me that she was going to have a free day yesterday, 4 September 2022. I told her to let me know where she would like to go for the day and she reckoned we should go down to the Centre. I was so pleased about this, as she had never been there before and I was sure she would enjoy herself (despite the heat!).
We managed a fairly early start (which, for me, was a very early start!), leaving Calgary around 8:00 am. For the first time, we had a smoky day. A very quick stop at Frank Lake gave us a wide open view of the smoky sun surrounded by a bright orange sky, as well as a chance to look for any insects on the Maximillan Sunflowers.
Because of the long distance, plus my need to get back to the city before the light started to fade, our drive was pretty much limited to fast highway driving, apart from one gravel back road on the way south.
Most of the journey, one thing that stood out was that there were SO many hawks! I didn't see every single hawk, as I like to keep my eye on the road. She reckoned that there were at least 100 seen, with which I agree, some on fence posts, others perched on tall utility poles, and some flying high over the harvested fields. Never have I ever seen so many hawks in one day. It was crazy.
Once we got to the Centre, we of course saw yet more hawks. Plus various owl species and Bald Eagles at various stages of development. I was so glad that my daughter got to experience having a cute young Burrowing Owl (named Sage) standing on her arm, as well and then a juvenile Great Horned Owl. As usual, I took plenty of photos, which I then couldn't identify when I got home. My ID skills for raptors is not good!
This was such an enjoyable day, despite the heat and long distance. Just like my previous solo drive down south, it was just under 500 km. The rare outing with my daughter is my favourite way of spending a day!
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Too late for these cacti to be in bloom, but happy to see them anyway, as I so rarely get the chance to see any cacti.
Normally, I would never be driving all the way south to Coaldale twice in one month, or even one year : ) However, when I first drove down there on 24 August 2022, I didn't think my daughter would be free to go with me in time before the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre closed for the season, till April 2023. So, I made a last minute decision to drive there anyway. The other day, my daughter told me that she was going to have a free day yesterday, 4 September 2022. I told her to let me know where she would like to go for the day and she reckoned we should go down to the Centre. I was so pleased about this, as she had never been there before and I was sure she would enjoy herself (despite the heat!).
We managed a fairly early start (which, for me, was a very early start!), leaving Calgary around 8:00 am. For the first time, we had a smoky day. A very quick stop at Frank Lake gave us a wide open view of the smoky sun surrounded by a bright orange sky, as well as a chance to look for any insects on the Maximillan Sunflowers.
Because of the long distance, plus my need to get back to the city before the light started to fade, our drive was pretty much limited to fast highway driving, apart from one gravel back road on the way south.
Most of the journey, one thing that stood out was that there were SO many hawks! I didn't see every single hawk, as I like to keep my eye on the road. She reckoned that there were at least 100 seen, with which I agree, some on fence posts, others perched on tall utility poles, and some flying high over the harvested fields. Never have I ever seen so many hawks in one day. It was crazy.
Once we got to the Centre, we of course saw yet more hawks. Plus various owl species and Bald Eagles at various stages of development. I was so glad that my daughter got to experience having a cute young Burrowing Owl (named Sage) standing on her arm, as well and then a juvenile Great Horned Owl. As usual, I took plenty of photos, which I then couldn't identify when I got home. My ID skills for raptors is not good!
This was such an enjoyable day, despite the heat and long distance. Just like my previous solo drive down south, it was just under 500 km. The rare outing with my daughter is my favourite way of spending a day!
© All Rights Reserved
Normally, I would never be driving all the way south to Coaldale twice in one month, or even one year : ) However, when I first drove down there on 24 August 2022, I didn't think my daughter would be free to go with me in time before the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre closed for the season, till April 2023. So, I made a last minute decision to drive there anyway. The other day, my daughter told me that she was going to have a free day yesterday, 4 September 2022. I told her to let me know where she would like to go for the day and she reckoned we should go down to the Centre. I was so pleased about this, as she had never been there before and I was sure she would enjoy herself (despite the heat!).
We managed a fairly early start (which, for me, was a very early start!), leaving Calgary around 8:00 am. For the first time, we had a smoky day. A very quick stop at Frank Lake gave us a wide open view of the smoky sun surrounded by a bright orange sky, as well as a chance to look for any insects on the Maximillan Sunflowers.
Because of the long distance, plus my need to get back to the city before the light started to fade, our drive was pretty much limited to fast highway driving, apart from one gravel back road on the way south.
Most of the journey, one thing that stood out was that there were SO many hawks! I didn't see every single hawk, as I like to keep my eye on the road. She reckoned that there were at least 100 seen, with which I agree, some on fence posts, others perched on tall utility poles, and some flying high over the harvested fields. Never have I ever seen so many hawks in one day. It was crazy.
Once we got to the Centre, we of course saw yet more hawks. Plus various owl species and Bald Eagles at various stages of development. I was so glad that my daughter got to experience having a cute young Burrowing Owl (named Sage) standing on her arm, as well and then a juvenile Great Horned Owl. As usual, I took plenty of photos, which I then couldn't identify when I got home. My ID skills for raptors is not good!
This was such an enjoyable day, despite the heat and long distance. Just like my previous solo drive down south, it was just under 500 km. The rare outing with my daughter is my favourite way of spending a day!
Tags: Alberta Canada S of Calgary Coaldale near Lethbridge Alberta Birds of Prey Centre nature insect dragonfly Flame Skimmer? unidentified needs ID confirmation or correction
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We heard this owlet calling before it was spotted. We had both seen owls in these particular trees before, but I was not expecting there would be one seen in September. Not easy to find (from the car), but what a treat when my daughter eventually saw it. Nice when it flew to a more open branch. No sign of Mom or Dad anywhere, that we could see.
Normally, I would never be driving all the way south to Coaldale twice in one month, or even one year : ) However, when I first drove down there on 24 August 2022, I didn't think my daughter would be free to go with me in time before the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre closed for the season, till April 2023. So, I made a last minute decision to drive there anyway. The other day, my daughter told me that she was going to have a free day yesterday, 4 September 2022. I told her to let me know where she would like to go for the day and she reckoned we should go down to the Centre. I was so pleased about this, as she had never been there before and I was sure she would enjoy herself (despite the heat!).
We managed a fairly early start (which, for me, was a very early start!), leaving Calgary around 8:00 am. For the first time, we had a smoky day. A very quick stop at Frank Lake gave us a wide open view of the smoky sun surrounded by a bright orange sky, as well as a chance to look for any insects on the Maximillan Sunflowers.
Because of the long distance, plus my need to get back to the city before the light started to fade, our drive was pretty much limited to fast highway driving, apart from one gravel back road on the way south.
Most of the journey, one thing that stood out was that there were SO many hawks! I didn't see every single hawk, as I like to keep my eye on the road. She reckoned that there were at least 100 seen, with which I agree, some on fence posts, others perched on tall utility poles, and some flying high over the harvested fields. Never have I ever seen so many hawks in one day. It was crazy.
Once we got to the Centre, we of course saw yet more hawks. Plus various owl species and Bald Eagles at various stages of development. I was so glad that my daughter got to experience having a cute young Burrowing Owl (named Sage) standing on her arm, as well and then a juvenile Great Horned Owl. As usual, I took plenty of photos, which I then couldn't identify when I got home. My ID skills for raptors is not good!
This was such an enjoyable day, despite the heat and long distance. Just like my previous solo drive down south, it was just under 500 km. The rare outing with my daughter is my favourite way of spending a day!
Tags: Alberta Canada SE of Calgary nature wildlife avian ornithology bird bird of prey owlet young Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus side view perched tree branch outdoor 4 September 2022 Canon Powershot SX60 annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2022 © All Rights Reserved
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Normally, I would never be driving all the way south to Coaldale twice in one month, or even one year : ) However, when I first drove down there on 24 August 2022, I didn't think my daughter would be free to go with me in time before the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre closed for the season, till April 2023. So, I made a last minute decision to drive there anyway. The other day, my daughter told me that she was going to have a free day yesterday, 4 September 2022. I told her to let me know where she would like to go for the day and she reckoned we should go down to the Centre. I was so pleased about this, as she had never been there before and I was sure she would enjoy herself (despite the heat!).
We managed a fairly early start (which, for me, was a very early start!), leaving Calgary around 8:00 am. For the first time, we had a smoky day. A very quick stop at Frank Lake gave us a wide open view of the smoky sun surrounded by a bright orange sky, as well as a chance to look for any insects on the Maximillan Sunflowers.
Because of the long distance, plus my need to get back to the city before the light started to fade, our drive was pretty much limited to fast highway driving, apart from one gravel back road on the way south.
Most of the journey, one thing that stood out was that there were SO many hawks! I didn't see every single hawk, as I like to keep my eye on the road. She reckoned that there were at least 100 seen, with which I agree, some on fence posts, others perched on tall utility poles, and some flying high over the harvested fields. Never have I ever seen so many hawks in one day. It was crazy.
Once we got to the Centre, we of course saw yet more hawks. Plus various owl species and Bald Eagles at various stages of development. I was so glad that my daughter got to experience having a cute young Burrowing Owl (named Sage) standing on her arm, and then a juvenile Great Horned Owl. As usual, I took plenty of photos, which I then couldn't identify when I got home. My ID skills for raptors is not good!
This was such an enjoyable day, despite the heat and long distance. Just like my previous solo drive down south, it was just under 500 km. The rare outing with my daughter is my favourite way of spending a day!
Tags: Alberta Canada SE of Calgary drive to Alberta Birds of Prey Centre nature wildlife avian ornithology bird raptor hawk Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni perched fence post front/side view field harvest time trees smoky wildfire smoke outdoor summer 4 September 2022 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2022 © All Rights Reserved
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