A real poser

No matter how many times I see a Mountain Bluebird, I am still in awe at the amazing colour, the males especially. This handsome male, seen SW of Calgary on 12 June 2013, was busy bringing caterpillars, spiders and winged insects to feed his babies in the nest box. In between trips into the field, he would give me a few nice poses, this time with nothing in his beak. His mate was busy doing the same thing.

In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays."

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id

www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...

It's another dreary, rainy day today. Everyone is getting so tired of all this rain, though as usual, we really needed it. Later: just heard that a trip to one of my favourite places has been cancelled for tomorrow. I didn't realize that the flooding in Aberta is so serious!! Just saw two photos of Cougar Creek in Canmore (near Banff), one showing before the rain and the other after. Incredible, raging river now, not a quiet creek. So many main roads/highways outside Calgary are flooded and closed. Still more rain to come, too. A strange feeling, knowing that you are stuck in your own city, and can't drive anywhere. Stay safe, everyone!

I see that some of you have already transferred all your photos from Flickr to this new site, including your Sets. It's something I would like to do, but not sure just when I'll have time. Probably not before next winter, but, eventually ...

www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9091579857/in/photostream