Eastern Kingbird juvenile / Tyrannus tyrannus

It is 10:30 am on 24 August 2018, and the sky is smoke filled and dark as can be. An Air Quality alert continues. Rain is expected to arrive shortly (and, yes, here comes the rain!), which will be most welcome. Our temperature is only 11C! I was shocked to see the following warning yesterday, knowing the absolute devastation that our beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park suffered in the summer of 2017.

"PARKS CANADA HAS ISSUED AN EVACUATION ALERT FOR ALL AREAS IN WATERTON NATIONAL PARK DUE TO WILDFIRE:
Thursday August 23, 2018 - 10:45pm

Parks Canada has issued an Evacuation Alert for all areas in Waterton Lakes National Park.

A wildfire that started south of Waterton in the Boundary Creek valley is currently burning out of control. Because of the potential danger to life and health, Parks Canada has issued an Evacuation Alert for all of Waterton Lakes National Park.

An Evacuation Alert has been issued to prepare you to evacuate your premises or property should it be found necessary. Visitors and residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to evacuation; however you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions.

The wildfire in Waterton Lakes National Park approximately 5 km south of the townsite. It is located in the Boundary Creek Valley and approaching Upper Waterton Lake. Parks Canada staff are monitoring the fire.

People in Waterton Park should be prepared to evacuate on short notice."

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As you can tell by the photos I posted this morning, I got out of the forest and into the dry prairies. Three days ago, on 21 August 2018, it turned out to be such a great day, with some much-appreciated sightings. I must have spent about 8 or 9 hours driving and almost every inch of my body aches like crazy. Now, each summer, I try and do two or three longer (for me) drives, making sure I don't lose confidence to get there.

Weather-wise, it was around 24C, so not too hot. Yes, it was still smokey from the British Columbia wildfires, making distant hills barely visible and deleting mountains from view, but it didn't have too much effect on closer photography.

It was a good day for Hawks, seeing three on the way south and a few on the way home. I almost missed two hawks, as the hay bale they were standing on was way out in a large field. At first, I thought there were three hawks together, but when I stopped to take a few photos, I realized that there were only two - one looked almost like two hawks close together, but then I saw that it had its wings mantled. I guess it wanted to make sure that the second hawk behind it couldn't steal any of the food from it.

A Horned Lark, a Western Meadowlark juvenile, and a Vesper Sparrow gave me the chance for a photo or two, and a lone hawk I spotted way in the distance was a Ferruginous Hawk. A happy sighting, as these hawks are so few and far between.