Happy Christmas!
Sharp-tailed Grouse silhouette
Frosty fence and fields
White against blue
A curtain of hoar frost
Rambler
I love our blues and whites of winter
Just for the record
The farmyard cat
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Wild Licorice seedpods / Glycyrrhiza lepidota
Driving in a winter wonderland
Pileated Woodpecker in tree cavity
Playing with plastic wrap
Frosted Rose hips
Rolling hills in winter
Aged beauty
Badlands of Alberta
So beautiful
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Hoar frost
Happy New Year, everyone!
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Inukshuk Santa
Sunset on the Prairies
Happy Christmas, everyone!
Hoar frost on barbed-wire
My Christmas present to my daughter : )
Hoar frost everywhere you look
Christmas baubles
Walking in a winter wonderland
Pink for a change
Male Merlin with hoar frost
Glorious, hoar frost day
Three little kittens
Just for the record
Frosty old Chevrolet truck
Merlin male, back view
A few of the 25 Mule Deer seen
Always love an owl
Cold and damp - but so beautiful
A nice old barn
Three little birders of the wrong kind
Not easy being a birder or photographer : )
A beautiful hoar frost day
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Makes me think of Santa


The red painted wall feels Christmasy to me and gives a nice "warm" feel. This unusual wooden bird house was hanging on this outside wall at the home of Leah and Bill. I couldn't resist a quick shot.
We had been on the annual Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton all day and then returned to their home for a delicious supper that they so generously provide each year for us. You couldn't wish for a nicer family (includes their son, Mike, who puts in a lot of effort organizing this annual Count each year).
The LAST Nanton Count was originally supposed to have taken place on 28 December 2013, but the weather forecast warned of a Flash Freeze, and so it was postponed till 5 January 2014. The weather was bright and sunny for us that day. However, photos taken on that day did not show how brutally cold it was! On the hour-long drive south of Calgary, we hit -34C (-29.2F)!!!!! It did eventually warm up a few degrees and thankfully, there was no or very little wind, which makes all the difference. The only walking we had to do was when we called in at various farms and homesteads. One backroad in particular had too much snow on it, so we had to leave that one out. Also, there was just too much snow in many of the farmyards, so we weren't able to check out all the trees and bushes as thoroughly as we would like to have done. I absolutely love the scenery on this Count, so I was able to get a few shots to show some typical snowy landscapes.
THIS year's Nanton Count was so different, with snow seen only in places, making the roads so much easier to drive, and temperatures that were much milder. As usual, I didn't get many birds photos, but I was thrilled to get a few shots of one of the Sharp-tailed Grouse.
I'm posting Andrew Hart's E-bird Summary of our small (just four of us in one car) group's day (leader Tony Timmons). Won't be of interest to most of you, but it helps me remember what we see from year to year!
Andrew Hart
BirdLog Checklist Summary for: Dec 14, 2014
Number of Checklists: 7
Number of Species: 14
Checklists included in this summary:
(1): Williams Coulee
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 8:20 AM
(2): CA-AB-Cayley - 50.3485x-114.0250 - Dec 21, 2014, 8:57 AM
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 8:55 AM
(3): Nanton general area
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 9:45 AM
(4): CA-AB-Nanton - 50.3330x-113.8737 - Dec 21, 2014, 11:18 AM
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 11:18 AM
(5): Nanton general area
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 11:52 AM
(6): Williams Coulee
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 2:20 PM
(7): Nanton general area
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 2:30 PM
36 Sharp-tailed Grouse -- (2),(3)
6 Golden Eagle -- (1),(3),(5),(6)
3 Rough-legged Hawk -- (2),(3),(6)
102 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) -- (3),(4)
1 Hairy Woodpecker -- (1)
1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) -- (4)
1 Merlin -- (4)
1 Prairie Falcon -- (1)
27 Black-billed Magpie -- (1),(2),(3),(4),(5),(7)
42 Common Raven -- (1),(2),(3),(4),(5),(7)
11 Black-capped Chickadee -- (3),(4)
4 European Starling -- (4)
21 Common Redpoll -- (4)
38 House Sparrow -- (2),(4),(7)
Andrew Hart"
I will also add leader Tony Timmons' account - simpler to read : ) A few of the numbers are slightly different in each summary, though I'm not quite sure why. We were so lucky to see so many Golden Eagles this Count.
"Nanton Count-Area D
Species 14
Rough-legged Hawk 3
Golden Eagle 5
Merlin 1
Sharp-tailed Grouse 46
Rock Pigeon 106
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Northern Shrike 1
Black-billed Magpie 36
Common Raven 44
Black-capped Chickadee 11
Common Redpoll 21
European Starling 4
House Sparrow 38
Prairie Falcon 1 Seen in Williams Coulee, included in Area B
Tony Timmons"
We had been on the annual Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton all day and then returned to their home for a delicious supper that they so generously provide each year for us. You couldn't wish for a nicer family (includes their son, Mike, who puts in a lot of effort organizing this annual Count each year).
The LAST Nanton Count was originally supposed to have taken place on 28 December 2013, but the weather forecast warned of a Flash Freeze, and so it was postponed till 5 January 2014. The weather was bright and sunny for us that day. However, photos taken on that day did not show how brutally cold it was! On the hour-long drive south of Calgary, we hit -34C (-29.2F)!!!!! It did eventually warm up a few degrees and thankfully, there was no or very little wind, which makes all the difference. The only walking we had to do was when we called in at various farms and homesteads. One backroad in particular had too much snow on it, so we had to leave that one out. Also, there was just too much snow in many of the farmyards, so we weren't able to check out all the trees and bushes as thoroughly as we would like to have done. I absolutely love the scenery on this Count, so I was able to get a few shots to show some typical snowy landscapes.
THIS year's Nanton Count was so different, with snow seen only in places, making the roads so much easier to drive, and temperatures that were much milder. As usual, I didn't get many birds photos, but I was thrilled to get a few shots of one of the Sharp-tailed Grouse.
I'm posting Andrew Hart's E-bird Summary of our small (just four of us in one car) group's day (leader Tony Timmons). Won't be of interest to most of you, but it helps me remember what we see from year to year!
Andrew Hart
BirdLog Checklist Summary for: Dec 14, 2014
Number of Checklists: 7
Number of Species: 14
Checklists included in this summary:
(1): Williams Coulee
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 8:20 AM
(2): CA-AB-Cayley - 50.3485x-114.0250 - Dec 21, 2014, 8:57 AM
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 8:55 AM
(3): Nanton general area
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 9:45 AM
(4): CA-AB-Nanton - 50.3330x-113.8737 - Dec 21, 2014, 11:18 AM
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 11:18 AM
(5): Nanton general area
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 11:52 AM
(6): Williams Coulee
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 2:20 PM
(7): Nanton general area
Date: Dec 21, 2014, 2:30 PM
36 Sharp-tailed Grouse -- (2),(3)
6 Golden Eagle -- (1),(3),(5),(6)
3 Rough-legged Hawk -- (2),(3),(6)
102 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) -- (3),(4)
1 Hairy Woodpecker -- (1)
1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) -- (4)
1 Merlin -- (4)
1 Prairie Falcon -- (1)
27 Black-billed Magpie -- (1),(2),(3),(4),(5),(7)
42 Common Raven -- (1),(2),(3),(4),(5),(7)
11 Black-capped Chickadee -- (3),(4)
4 European Starling -- (4)
21 Common Redpoll -- (4)
38 House Sparrow -- (2),(4),(7)
Andrew Hart"
I will also add leader Tony Timmons' account - simpler to read : ) A few of the numbers are slightly different in each summary, though I'm not quite sure why. We were so lucky to see so many Golden Eagles this Count.
"Nanton Count-Area D
Species 14
Rough-legged Hawk 3
Golden Eagle 5
Merlin 1
Sharp-tailed Grouse 46
Rock Pigeon 106
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Northern Shrike 1
Black-billed Magpie 36
Common Raven 44
Black-capped Chickadee 11
Common Redpoll 21
European Starling 4
House Sparrow 38
Prairie Falcon 1 Seen in Williams Coulee, included in Area B
Tony Timmons"
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