Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 21 July 2017, when friend, Dorothy, invited me over for a BBQ supper and the chance to maybe see and take photos of the beautiful Ruby-throated Hummingbird that has been visiting their colourful garden. I did try to get an OK photo when a group of us was there for a BBQ just a matter of days ago, but I didn't get a single photo that was fit to post. They suspect that any day now, this tiny bird will be leaving. She has been extra busy at their feeders full of sugar-water, getting ready for her long migration journey across the Gulf of Mexico. Her nonstop journey will be more than 1,030 km. This photo of her was taken when she was at a Red Birds in a Tree plant. I had never heard of this plant before, but it does look like a little flock of red birds perched on branches. "Red birds in a tree is a hummingbird’s delight. The hovering birds are attracted to the luscious cherry-red tubular flowers that sit atop dark green, ovate, toothed leaves. Just look at the flower and you will see how it earned its descriptive name. A relative of the penstemon, Scrophularia macrantha flowers continuously from spring through fall. The plant does not need much TLC and will re-bloom without deadheading. Vibrant color will illuminate your garden all summer long. Once established, it requires little water and is suitable for xeriscaping. The plant originates from the mountain slopes of New Mexico and adapts quite well to anywhere in your landscape that offers full sun to part shade. Red Birds in a Tree likes to entwine with other plants for support and will grow best in the back of a border." From link below. plantselect.org/plantstories/a-feast-for-the-eyes-and-the... Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such a lovely time! The meal was delicious, and it was so much fun to get a better look at your tiny Hummingbird. Like other years, you are going to miss her when she leaves!

It was the annual May Species Count on the weekend of 28 and 29 May 2016. My group's Saturday Count was down in Fish Creek Provincial Park at Votier's Flats and Shaw's Meadow. On the Sunday, our usual small group (six of us in two cars) covered an area SW of the city - which happens to be one of my favourite and most visited areas. We had a great day, stopping at a few wetlands and calling in at Barb Castell's acreage where she usually has amazing birds to show us. Several special species were missing, but we were delighted to watch a teeny Ruby-throated Hummingbird. We stopped at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park and ate our picnic lunches and then did a short walk to look for Calypso Orchids. I took too long to try and get a sharp photo of a group of fungi that I missed the orchids, but that was OK, as I have seen them a few times before. After the Count came to an end, I drove a few of the back roads again, taking a few more shots of the Wilson's Snipe. I will add the final list from our leader, Gus Y - 70 bird species seen, wow! "The count goes May 28-29: Calgary birders have been out in force every May since 1979, contributing to a broad census of the constantly changing patterns of bird distributions in North America. Last year (2015) we found 212 species. The count circle is the same as previous years, extending from Olds to Nanton, and from Exshaw to Standard, and includes a variety of environments." From NatureCalgary. "May species count, Terr. #22, Priddis Area: Plummers Rd, from Hwy 22 to #762, SW of Calgary, 0730-1530, Sun. 29May2016. 58 km. Mostly sunny, becoming overcast at noon, S wind, becoming gusty, 10 -20 kph. 13-18°C. Canada Goose-45 Gadwall-2 American Wigeon-6 Mallard-29. Blue-winged Teal-16 Cinnamon Teal-8 Northern Shoveler-3 Green-winged Teal-4 Redhead-6 Ring-necked Duck-12 Lesser Scaup-29 Bufflehead-5 Hooded Merganser-1 f. Ruddy Duck-11 Ring-necked Pheasant-3 Great Blue Heron-1 Swainson’s Hawk-2 Red-tailed Hawk-6 American Kestrel-2 Sora-6 American Coot-10 Killdeer-5 Spotted Sandpiper-8 Wilson’s Snipe-10 Wilson’s Phalarope-4 Black Tern-22 Mourning Dove-1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird-1 Red-naped Sapsucker-1 Black-backed Woodpecker-2 Northern Flicker-3 Western Wood-Pewee-5 Least Flycatcher-6 Easterm Phoebe-1 Easterm Kingbird-1 Gray Jay-2 Clark’s Nutcracker-1 Black-billed Magpie-6 American Crow-4 Common Raven-5 Tree Swallow-86 Cliff Swallow-6 Barn Swallow-2 Black-capped Chickadee-3 Mountain Chickadee-1 Boreal Chickadee-2 Red-breasted Nuthatch-2 House Wren-9 Mountain Bluebird-29 American Robin-13 Gray Catbird-2 European Starling-8 Tennessee Warbler-11 Yellow Warbler-6 Cape May Warbler-1 Chipping Sparrow-8 Clay-coloured Sparrow-13 Savannah Sparrow-4 Song Sparrow-1 Lincoln’s Sparrow-4 White-throated Sparrow-1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak-7 Black-headed Grosbeak-1, or hybrid. Red-winged Blackbird-178 Western Meadowlark-2 Yellow-headed Blackbird-2 Brewer’s Blackbird-7 Brown-headed Cowbird-6 Baltimore Oriole-4 American Goldfinch-5 Richardson’s Ground Squirrel-11 Muskrat-1 Mule Deer-1 White-tailed Deer-4 Boreal Chorus Frog-10+ Green Comma Butterfly-2 Western White-1 Tiger Swallowtail-2 Gus Yaki"

Normally, I don't get the chance to see and photograph tiny Hummingbirds, so I was thrilled to bits to try and get a few shots of this little one. I think this is probably the last one to post, and this time you can see the whole of the long bill. I'm still not 100% sure if it's a female or juvenile Calliope, or a female or juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird but, with that small white mark behind the eye, I think it must be a Ruby-throated. On 7 August 2015, four of us were extremely fortunate to have the chance to visit the home and highly varied topographic 62-acre property belonging to Frances and David Dover. We felt honoured and privileged to meet and spend time with Frances and David, and also their daughter Carolyn and her husband Clair. A delightful family who welcomed us so warmly into their home and land. This acreage of grassland, forest, rolling hills - and special gardens - is not far from Millarville, SW of Calgary. In fact, it's in an area that I often drive through when I only have time for, or only feel like doing, a short drive. Amazing what little hidden gems exist out there. This is not just a beautiful property, but is very special for various reasons. For one thing, read any history of Alberta and you will find the Dover family, including David's mother, Mary Dover. Second, among the trees and open "lawns", there are Peony flower beds, containing 100-150 heritage Peonies, each one different, that have now multiplied to more than 300 plants. Unfortunately, they bloomed a couple of weeks early this year, and all the flowers had gone to seed by the time we visited. Another open area had a different kind of ground cover - Thyme, which smelled wonderful. If I remember correctly, this was the open space where the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra performed on one occasion! There are two large ponds on the property and another smaller area of water that they hope to turn into a Japanese Garden. There is a total of seven wetland basins, including these. It was while walking around the Japanese Garden that a large brown 'shape' could just be seen through the dense trees - a handsome Moose buck. I will look properly at the four or so photos I just managed to get and might slip one of them into my photostream sometime soon, just for the record, definitely not for the photo quality : ) This was also where a Great Horned Owl was seen flying through the trees by some of us (not me, ha!). There are grassy paths winding through the acreage, up and down hill, that take David seven hours to mow. They are not pristine, velvety paths, but instead, they seem to take nothing away from the wildness of the whole area. One of the animals that have passed through is the Cougar. In fact, several years ago, I saw a video taken on a nearby (or adjacent?) property, where a 'kill' and night-time camera had been set up and a total of six different Cougar individuals were seen! Even the Dover's home is unique and beautiful. It is completely built of concrete (and glass) - floors, walls, ceilings, roof, deck, and so on. A Hummingbird feeder and regular bird feeders, set up on the patio, attract a variety of birds. We sat on the patio after our walk, to eat our packed lunches - and to enjoy a delicious Orange Pound Cake that Frances had kindly made for us, along with refreshing Iced Tea - thank you so much for this, Frances! While I was waiting for one of three tiny Hummingbirds to come back, I was lucky enough to see a little Mountain Chickadee, along with many Pine Siskins. We could also hear a Red-tailed Hawk in the area. Saw a total of 22 bird species. There is just so much I could write about this visit and family. Instead, or for now, I will add several links to more information on the Internet. This was a memorable day for us. Thank you so much, Frances and David, Carolyn and Clair, for being so kind and welcoming us into your home and gardens. books.google.ca/books?id=Tr36Tq_gadcC&pg=PA290&lp... www.westernwheel.com/article/20110727/WHE06/307279983/-1/... David's mother, Mary Dover (her father was A. E. Cross), was "a dynamic and distinguished Calgarian, particularly known for her work with the military during World War II." As well as being an army officer, and an alderman, she was also a preservationist. See the following link. www.albertachampions.org/champions-mary_dover.htm#.VcY1KP... ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesMainResults.aspx?XC=/searc... glencoe.org/documents/10184/637479/The-History-of-Elbow-P... page 44-45

I tried making this image a bit brighter, but then the glow from the colour of the neck feathers lessened. The flash of brilliant, iridescent colour is simply amazing. Not a close photo, but I don't think this photo could have coped with any further cropping. Usually, when I do see a Hummingbird on the rare occasion, it is a Calliope, so this sighting was a real treat. "Approximately 9–10 cm long. Adult males are metallic green on the upperparts, iridescent ruby red on the throat, white on the underparts and green along the sides. Adult females look similar to males but with a white throat, greyish belly and buff along the sides of the belly, sometimes with a little red on the throat. Immature males look similar to females but with red streaks down the throat." From Canadian Wildlife Federation. cwf-fcf.org/en/discover-wildlife/flora-fauna/fauna/birds/... "These brilliant, tiny, precision-flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun, then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source. Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds, and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer. Enjoy them while they’re around; by early fall they’re bound for Central America, with many crossing the Gulf of Mexico in a single flight." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird/id This photo was taken on 31 May 2015, during the annual May Species Count. Eight of us covered a large area SW of Calgary, checking out the backroads, ponds, wetlands, sloughs. The highlight each May is calling in at a wonderful property where we are able to see some great species, including Evening Grosbeaks, Baltimore Orioles, and this year, this tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird male. We had a great day, stopping en route at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park to eat our lunch. This year, we didn't go into the park to look for Calypso Orchids, partly because a week ago, we did call in and found several of the small, pink Orchids. The temperature was 12C - 23C, with blue sky. Total distance travelled was 93 km and our total number of bird species was 63. After the Count, we called in at a little tea place and enjoyed relaxing with welcome cups of coffee. Thanks so much, Monica, for treating us all to this and for driving your daughter and myself around all day - greatly appreciated! The list, compiled by our leader, Gus Yaki, is long, but I will add it here, for my own memory. I'll add that, as usual, there were a lot of the birds that I didn't see - I don't use binoculars and also so many of the birds seemed to be the seen from the opposite side of the car, lol. 1. Canada Goose-19 + 20 juv. 2. Gadwall-2 3. American Wigeon-3 4. Mallard-27 +11 juv. 5. Blue-winged Teal-7 6. Cinnamon Teal-2 7. Northern Shoveler-1 f. 8. Green-winged Teal-5 9. Lesser Scaup-15 10. Ring-necked Duck-9 11. Bufflehead-3 12. Ruddy Duck-6 13. Pied-billed Grebe-1 14. Accipiter sp. Sharp-shinned Hawk?-1 15. Red-tailed Hawk-13 16. American Coot-7 17. Sora-5 18. Killdeer-1 19. SPOTTED SANDPIPER-9 20. WILSON’S SNIPE-6 21. Wilson’s Phalarope-4 22. Mourning Dove-2 23. Black Tern-16 24. Ruby-throated Hummingbird-1 25. Red-naped Sapsucker-2 26. Hairy Woodpecker-1 27. Northern Flicker-3 28. WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE-9 29. Alder Flycatcher-2 30. LEAST FLYCATCHER-10 31. Eastern Kingbird-6 32. Warbling Vireo-1 33. Black-billed Magpie-9 34. American Crow-12 35. Common Raven-6 36. Tree Swallow-55 37. Northern Rough-winged Swallow-2 38. Barn Swallow-3 39. Black-capped Chickadee-4 40. White-breasted Nuthatch-1 41. House Wren-10 42. Marsh Wren-1 43. Ruby-crowned Kinglet-2 44. Mountain Bluebird-20 45. Swainson’s Thrush-1 46. American Robin-14 47. European Starling-5 48. Tennessee Warbler-5 49. YELLOW WARBLER-8 50. Cape May Warbler-1 51. Chipping Sparrow-7 52. CLAY-COLORED SPARROW-13 53. Savannah Sparrow-6 54. Lincoln’s Sparrow-2 55. Rose-breasted Grosbeak-5 56. Red-winged Blackbird-178 57. Brewer’s Blackbird-25 58. Brown-headed Cowbird-17 59. BALTIMORE ORIOLE-3 60. Pine Siskin-49 61. AMERICAN GOLDFINCH-4 62. Evening Grosbeak-2 63. House Sparrow-4 Boreal Chorus Frogs, singing-at 5 locations. Red Squirrel-2 Least Chipmunk-1 Richardson’s Ground Squirrel-6 Muskrat-2 White-tailed Deer-5

The best I could do, but I'm so happy that I had the chance to watch this tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird yesterday. I don't think this photo could have coped with any further cropping. Usually, when I do see a Hummingbird on the rare occasion, it is a Calliope, so this sighting was a real treat. "Approximately 9–10 cm long. Adult males are metallic green on the upperparts, iridescent ruby red on the throat, white on the underparts and green along the sides. Adult females look similar to males but with a white throat, greyish belly and buff along the sides of the belly, sometimes with a little red on the throat. Immature males look similar to females but with red streaks down the throat." From Canadian Wildlife Federation. cwf-fcf.org/en/discover-wildlife/flora-fauna/fauna/birds/... "These brilliant, tiny, precision-flying creatures glitter like jewels in the full sun, then vanish with a zip toward the next nectar source. Feeders and flower gardens are great ways to attract these birds, and some people turn their yards into buzzing clouds of hummingbirds each summer. Enjoy them while they’re around; by early fall they’re bound for Central America, with many crossing the Gulf of Mexico in a single flight." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird/id This photo was taken yesterday, 31 May 2015, during the annual May Species Count. Eight of us covered a large area SW of Calgary, checking out the backroads, ponds, wetlands, sloughs. The highlight each May is calling in at a wonderful property where we are able to see some great species, including Evening Grosbeaks, Baltimore Orioles, and this year, this tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird male. Sometimes, when it turned its head in just the right position, the sun caught its throat and flashed this brilliant red. We had a great day, stopping en route at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park to eat our lunch. This year, we didn't go into the park to look for Calypso Orchids, partly because a week ago, we did call in and found several of the small, pink Orchids. The temperature was 12C - 23C, with blue sky. Total distance travelled was 93 km and our total number of bird species was 63. After the Count, we called in at a little tea place and enjoyed relaxing with welcome cups of coffee. Thanks so much, Monica, for treating us all to this and for driving your daughter and myself around all day - greatly appreciated! The list, compiled by our leader, Gus Yaki, is long, but I will add it here, for my own memory. I'll add that, as usual, there were a lot of the birds that I didn't see - I don't use binoculars and also so many of the birds seemed to be the seen from the opposite side of the car, lol. 1. Canada Goose-19 + 20 juv. 2. Gadwall-2 3. American Wigeon-3 4. Mallard-27 +11 juv. 5. Blue-winged Teal-7 6. Cinnamon Teal-2 7. Northern Shoveler-1 f. 8. Green-winged Teal-5 9. Lesser Scaup-15 10. Ring-necked Duck-9 11. Bufflehead-3 12. Ruddy Duck-6 13. Pied-billed Grebe-1 14. Accipiter sp. Sharp-shinned Hawk?-1 15. Red-tailed Hawk-13 16. American Coot-7 17. Sora-5 18. Killdeer-1 19. SPOTTED SANDPIPER-9 20. WILSON’S SNIPE-6 21. Wilson’s Phalarope-4 22. Mourning Dove-2 23. Black Tern-16 24. Ruby-throated Hummingbird-1 25. Red-naped Sapsucker-2 26. Hairy Woodpecker-1 27. Northern Flicker-3 28. WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE-9 29. Alder Flycatcher-2 30. LEAST FLYCATCHER-10 31. Eastern Kingbird-6 32. Warbling Vireo-1 33. Black-billed Magpie-9 34. American Crow-12 35. Common Raven-6 36. Tree Swallow-55 37. Northern Rough-winged Swallow-2 38. Barn Swallow-3 39. Black-capped Chickadee-4 40. White-breasted Nuthatch-1 41. House Wren-10 42. Marsh Wren-1 43. Ruby-crowned Kinglet-2 44. Mountain Bluebird-20 45. Swainson’s Thrush-1 46. American Robin-14 47. European Starling-5 48. Tennessee Warbler-5 49. YELLOW WARBLER-8 50. Cape May Warbler-1 51. Chipping Sparrow-7 52. CLAY-COLORED SPARROW-13 53. Savannah Sparrow-6 54. Lincoln’s Sparrow-2 55. Rose-breasted Grosbeak-5 56. Red-winged Blackbird-178 57. Brewer’s Blackbird-25 58. Brown-headed Cowbird-17 59. BALTIMORE ORIOLE-3 60. Pine Siskin-49 61. AMERICAN GOLDFINCH-4 62. Evening Grosbeak-2 63. House Sparrow-4 Boreal Chorus Frogs, singing-at 5 locations. Red Squirrel-2 Least Chipmunk-1 Richardson’s Ground Squirrel-6 Muskrat-2 White-tailed Deer-5