Pink Showy Cinquefoil

On 30 September 2018, 12 friends and I were lucky enough to see two beautiful Rusty Blackbirds. We were on a birding trip east of the city and we had stopped at one of the sloughs. IUCN Status: Vulnerable. I so rarely see these birds, so I’m always glad when I do see one.

“The Rusty Blackbird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has plunged an estimated 85-99 percent over the past forty years and scientists are completely puzzled as to what is the cause. They are relatively uncommon denizens of wooded swamps, breeding in the boreal forest and wintering in the eastern U.S. In winter, they travel in small flocks and are identified by their distinctive rusty feather edges and pallid yellow eyes.” From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/rusty_blackbird/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusty_blackbird

rustyblackbird.org/

One of our stops was by Chestermere Lake. Any birds were the far side of the lake, so I turned my camera lens to closer things, including this pink Showy Cinquefoil bush. Usually, bushes have yellow flowers, both in the wild and in gardens.

The weather forecast was sufficiently bad that I almost decided not to go on this trip. As it turned out, I was glad I went, especially as we were lucky enough to see the Rusty Blackbirds and so many Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese flying and down in the fields. Such an overcast day and SO cold! I think it was about -2C, with an icy cold wind. In fact, it was downright freezing and definitely not pleasant to be out in. At least it didn't snow. Why do we do it?? I'm not completely sure, lol.