Mural at Ralph Klein Park, Calgary

This is one of the very few photos I took while on a trip with friends, east of the city on 13 April 2019. We called in at Ralph Klein Park and a number of sloughs. Though 48 bird species were seen, pretty well all of them were so far away that I couldn't even see them - and I don't have binoculars. I knew this would happen, but I always enjoy spending the day with friends. I was able to zoom in on this pair of beautiful Pintails, though. Such elegant birds.

Well, our snow has stopped for now, though there could be a few flurries tonight. The Winter Storm Warning has been lifted, but no doubt the road conditions will be bad. Several inches of snow fell yesterday in a huge spring storm, with almost white-out conditions. This morning, our temperature is -3C (windchill -10C). Last night, when I saw how bad the storm was, I decided not to go on a birding trip today. I had been looking forward to this so much, but just could not face the thought of having to clear all the snow off my car and trudge through snow. Our winter deep-freeze was dreadful - enough is enough, though the moisture is much needed! Of course, the sun is shining this morning.

The timing of this storm is most unfortunate, as Calgary is taking part (for the very first time) in the 2019 City Nature Challenge that is taking place from 26-29 April. This is a competition among 130 cities around the world to find and document the diversity of species in their own city. Cities around the world compete to see who can make the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people. I think Calgary is the most northerly city taking part. A young man from the University has organized this, and I feel so bad for him that the weather has made this so much more difficult.

Anyone who takes part in this, sends their photos to the iNaturalist website, where they will be checked for IDs and counted. Apparently, the competition in 2018 saw the San Francisco Bay Area winning all three categories. Last year, 68 cities took part, with Observations: 441,888, and People: 17,329. The results gave observations of 599 rare, endangered, and threatened species globally, and added over 100 new species that had not previously been recorded on iNaturalist EVER!