Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Accipitriformes

This has been our weather the last two or three days : ) We saw this juvenile Bald Eagle by the Bow River down at Hull's Wood, Fish Creek Park, when we were on a three-hour walk yesterday morning. Cold, dreary and snowing. By the time we got back to the parking lot, we looked rather how these branches looked ... brrrr. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bald_eagle/id

You'd laugh if you knew just how far away this hawk really was! I so rarely even bother to try and get birds in flight, but I think this image is just about fit to add to my Birds of Alberta set : ) Taken on 23 September 2012, when I was still within city limits on the south west edge of the city. I was trying to get a few shots of combine harvesters (or similar) and there must have been about a dozen of these hawks circling way, way overhead. I got in and out of my pulled-over car endless times - somehow, every time I got out, the Hawks would fly even further away. By the time I had got myself settled back in my vehicle, I'd glance upwards and find that the raptors were now that much closer, ha.

I think this majestic Bald Eagle almost looks rather annoyed that I've taken its photo while it was taking a bath in a very tiny stream that runs through its enclosure, ha. Not the best photo of it, with the messy background, but it doesn't often happen when I visit the Calgary Zoo, that one of the three Bald Eagles is down on the ground and reasonably close to the wire fence. It was a beautiful day yesterday, but the sun was so horribly harsh on everything. I'm lucky enough to see Bald Eagles in the wild here in the city, but can never get a close shot of them.

Taken at the Calgary Zoo yesterday when I called in. They really are such magnificent birds of prey. Such amazing feathers! This one was perched at the far back of the enclosure, on a low broken tree stump with a wooden structure behind it, giving the image a rather different look from the more usual blue sky that you see in most photos. This was even taken in low light, so I was very surprised to see it turn out this way, at least in this small size : ) Best thing of all yesterday, though, was the fact that I actually drove home on Deerfoot Trail. In almost 34 years of living in Calgary, I have only ever once driven on it (a different section), and that was by mistake. I've always vowed I would never drive on this major highway. A week ago, though, I again missed a turn off and ended up on Deerfoot, very thankfully heading in the direction I needed! Yesterday, I actually chose to come home that way! Not bad going for someone with a driving phobia, I can tell you, ha! Snowing again today, so a day at home seems more appealing than having to go out. Think I'll go and make a steaming mug of coffee and hope that I can summon up enough self-discipline to back-up at least another handful of photo folders, as I am almost out of space on my hard drive. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bald_eagle/id/ac en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle

Actually, I'm not sure I had ever seen this Hooded Vulture at the Calgary Zoo before, so I was really happy to finally get a look at it. "The Hooded Vulture, Necrosyrtes monachus, is an Old World vulture in the order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus Necrosyrtes. It breeds in a stick nest in trees (often palms) in much of Africa south of the Sahara, laying one egg. Birds may form loose colonies. The population is mostly resident. One of the smaller vultures of the old world with a length of 70cm and an average weight of 2.12kg (4lb 11oz) Like other vultures it is a scavenger, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals and waste which it finds by soaring over savannah and around human habitation, including waste tips and abattoirs. It often moves in flocks, and is very abundant. In much of its range, there are always several visible soaring in the sky at almost any time during the day. This vulture is typically unafraid of humans, and frequently gathers around habitation. It is sometimes referred to as the “garbage collector” by locals. The Hooded Vulture is a typical vulture, with a bald pink head and a greyish “hood”. It has fairly uniform dark brown body plumage. It has broad wings for soaring and short tail feathers. It is a small species compared to most vultures." From Wikipedia.