Yesterday, just before nightfall, I spotted this blue heron, from my dining room window, on the edge of the lake (stocked with trout) here on Bluebird Estates, Alberta, Canada.
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The Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galapagos Islands, except for the far north, deserts and high mountains where there is no water in which for it to feed. It is an extremely rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England.

The Great Blue Heron is the largest North American heron, with a head-to-tail length of between three and five feet, a wingspan of between 6-1/2 and 7-1/2 feet, and a weight of five to eight pounds. This magnificent creature is notable not only for its size, but also for its dramatic appearance. The deep blue and blue-gray of its flight plumage contrasts with its white feathers, and orange bill and wing patches. Once you've seen one of these sizable avians, you won't soon forget the encounter!

Great Blue Herons can be found in a range of habitats, in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines, but they always live near bodies of water. Generally, they nest in trees or bushes near a body of water. The primary food for the Great Blue Heron is small fish, though they are also known to eat shellfish, insects, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, and small birds.

www.talismancoins.com/servlet/Detail?no=770

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Captured this robin with her catch as she landed on our balcony railing.

Hope your new week is off to a great start. Thanks for visiting.

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See one more "live" image below.

What an amazing sight to see! As I was sitting on our dock on a bright and sunny day I happened to look up and was amazed to see this flock of white pelicans circling above my head!!

PS I stand corrected. At first, I thought they were whooping cranes and was surprised that they were so silent since they are usually very loud but my Flickr contact Ellen (see her stream here):
www.flickr.com/photos/27784269@N06/

pointed out that they are in fact white pelicans which, of course, explains for me the absence of noise. Thanks, Ellen, for your keen observation skills.

The American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America and South America, in winter.[2]
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The plumage is almost entirely bright white, except the black primary and secondary remiges, which are hardly visible except in flight [...].
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_white_pelican

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Beautiful to watch as they dive and flit across the water here on Bluebird Estates.

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The common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. [...]. Adult females have a brown head [golden-yellow eye] and a mostly grey body. Their legs and feet are orange-yellow.

The incubation period ranges from 28 to 32 days. The female does all -the incubating and is abandoned by the male about 1 to 2 weeks into incubation. The young remain in the nest for about 24–36 hours. [...] These diving birds forage underwater.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_goldeneye

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Tags:   peggyhr P1160420 Bluebird Estates Alberta Canada The American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

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