Osprey take-off
Strawberries and cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Paintbrush - green flowers, red bracts
Mt Lorette Ponds, Kananaskis
Wind-blown Osprey
Unidentified fungus
Yellow Owl's-clover / Orthocarpus luteus
Treasures of the forest floor
Gaillardia with little visitor
Slightly patterned
Sharp-tailed Grouse / Tympanuchus phasianellus
Thistles galore
House Wren at the Ellis Bird Farm
A joy to behold
Beauty in the forest
Strawberries and Cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii
Don't call me 'Gopher'
Green jelly mass on Buller Pond
Above the tree line
Unexpected closeness
A view from Mt. Shark
Pine Siskin at Jackie's
Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria
Now they can't see me
Loved by Monarch butterflies
Large, fat-stalked mushroom
Homestead remnants
Reaching those faraway feathers
Memorial Rose for Carl Handfield
Strange, tall-stalked fungus
Happiness is .....
Northern Gentian
Slime mold
Mossleigh grain elevators
Goat's-beard
Poisonous Brown-Eyed Parasol / Lepiota helveola
Scabious growing in the wild
Red-belted Polypore with guttation droplets
Two of a kind
Splash of colour on a rainy day
Fading into the distance
Eyelash fungi
Eastern Kingbird
The 'Sickener' / Russula emetica
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Nest-building Dad


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...
This was a Mountain Bluebird male seen where I often take photos of Mountain Bluebirds, SW of Calgary. Taken on a cold, rainy day, on 21 May 2016, after I had spent the morning with a group of friends at Barb Castell's acreage. It had been arranged for us to visit to see birds such as Evening Grosbeaks, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Baltimore Orioles, and three species of Hummingbird. However, I guess they just didn't like the weather any more than we did and were keeping hidden and sheltered somewhere. We did still see a Tree Swallow, Mountain Bluebird, Sapsucker, etc., but not the less commonly seen birds. It was an early start to the day, too, as I had to leave the house at 7:00 am.
After spending time at Barb's place, we stopped at several sloughs to check on birds, and then we went our various ways. There were a few places I wanted to check out, plus a brief stop at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park (the best place because it has an outhouse!). When I was there, I thought I might as well at least take a few steps down the rough path, where I was happy to find a group of tiny mushrooms. Also bumped into a fellow birder, who spotted a Cape May Warbler on top of the tallest coniferous tree. I had never seen one before and must remember to see if I can brighten the very distant, black silhouette in a photo I took.
From Brown-Lowery, I called in again at a favourite slough to look for the Wilson's Snipes that I love to photograph and found a couple of them. Also found a pair of Mountain Bluebirds that were so cooperative. The male in this photo and his mate were busy collecting strands of dried grasses to line their nesting box. Quite amusing to watch the male try to handle one piece that was too long.
Normally, when the weather is very overcast and raining, I stay home : ) I was amazed that some of my photos came out reasonably well, at least when seen at this size, despite the low light.
The day after this, on 22 May 2016, it was the same kind of weather. The day was spent with my daughter (as an early birthday for me), but we were mainly in the car and not outside in the rain. Some photos came out OK and others were blurry - just thankful for the ones that came out well enough. We had a lovely day together, starting with a late breakfast at the Saskatoon Farm and then driving some of the back roads SW of Calgary. Thanks so much, Rachel!
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id
www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...
This was a Mountain Bluebird male seen where I often take photos of Mountain Bluebirds, SW of Calgary. Taken on a cold, rainy day, on 21 May 2016, after I had spent the morning with a group of friends at Barb Castell's acreage. It had been arranged for us to visit to see birds such as Evening Grosbeaks, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Baltimore Orioles, and three species of Hummingbird. However, I guess they just didn't like the weather any more than we did and were keeping hidden and sheltered somewhere. We did still see a Tree Swallow, Mountain Bluebird, Sapsucker, etc., but not the less commonly seen birds. It was an early start to the day, too, as I had to leave the house at 7:00 am.
After spending time at Barb's place, we stopped at several sloughs to check on birds, and then we went our various ways. There were a few places I wanted to check out, plus a brief stop at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park (the best place because it has an outhouse!). When I was there, I thought I might as well at least take a few steps down the rough path, where I was happy to find a group of tiny mushrooms. Also bumped into a fellow birder, who spotted a Cape May Warbler on top of the tallest coniferous tree. I had never seen one before and must remember to see if I can brighten the very distant, black silhouette in a photo I took.
From Brown-Lowery, I called in again at a favourite slough to look for the Wilson's Snipes that I love to photograph and found a couple of them. Also found a pair of Mountain Bluebirds that were so cooperative. The male in this photo and his mate were busy collecting strands of dried grasses to line their nesting box. Quite amusing to watch the male try to handle one piece that was too long.
Normally, when the weather is very overcast and raining, I stay home : ) I was amazed that some of my photos came out reasonably well, at least when seen at this size, despite the low light.
The day after this, on 22 May 2016, it was the same kind of weather. The day was spent with my daughter (as an early birthday for me), but we were mainly in the car and not outside in the rain. Some photos came out OK and others were blurry - just thankful for the ones that came out well enough. We had a lovely day together, starting with a late breakfast at the Saskatoon Farm and then driving some of the back roads SW of Calgary. Thanks so much, Rachel!
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