Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: long

These beautiful White-faced Ibis flew over Frank Lake the day before yesterday. They were just distant, black silhouettes, but I took a very quick shot so that at least I would catch the shape of the curved bills. Fully zoomed and brightened till a bit of their iridescent colour showed. Such a poor quality shot, and normally I wouldn't post a photo that had headless or legless birds included : ) This is the closest in-flight shot I've ever taken of these Ibis - so I'm keeping it. Two days ago, 26 April 2015, I spent the day with a fair-sized group of friends, at Frank Lake. The weather was beautiful and, for once, not windy. Frank Lake and the surrounding area is one of my favourite places to spend a day or half a day. On a trip like this one, there are a lot of the birds that I don't see, as I don't use binoculars. Also, my interest is not to see as many species as possible, but to hopefully come across a few birds close enough to photograph. Fortunately, at the bird blind/hide, a pair of Eared Grebes and a Coot were within camera range. I will add the final list of the 51 species seen, complied by our Leader, Tony Timmons. Probably not of much interest to most people, but it does help my memory. Many thanks, as always, Tony, for a very successful and most enjoyable day! Really appreciate your giving up a precious weekend day to take us out there. "The birds put on a spectacular show for the 19 participants on the Frank Lake trip today. We tallied 51 species. Expected species were present in pretty good numbers; most noteworthy being American Avocet (200+) and White-faced Ibis (120). Thousands of ducks were on the Lake. Thanks to Dan Parliament and Al Borgardt for scoping birds and sharing sightings with the group. Before the start of the trip, Rose Painter spotted two Long-billed Curlew near Blackie. Later in the day, we searched for the birds without success. Eared Grebe 250 Western Grebe 20 Double-crested Cormorant 25 Black-crowned Night Heron 1 White-faced Ibis 120 Canada Goose Swan sp. 12 Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Blue-winged Teal Cinnamon Teal Green-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser 2 f. Ruddy Duck Northern Harrier 3 Swainson's Hawk 3 Gray Partridge 4 American Coot Killdeer 5 Black-necked Stilt 10 American Avocet 200+ Greater Yellowlegs 5 Lesser Yellowlegs 17 Franklin's Gull 1000 Bonaparte's Gull 10 Ring-billed Gull 5 California Gull 20 Rock Pigeon Great Horned Owl ( 3 ad. + 3 owlets ) Black-billed Magpie American Crow Common Raven Tree Swallow 60 Bank Swallow 1 Marsh Wren 4 American Robin European Starling Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark 5 Yellow-headed Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird 1 House Sparrow Tony Timmons"

Just had a brief problem with Flickr or with the Internet. After I'd typed the description for this photo, I got the message that Flickr was unable to save it. Then I had problems being able to open Flickr again. All seems OK now. After a rather disappointing day on 10 August, I decided yesterday to drive SE of the city and see what I could find. Some of the small sloughs had dried up or were quickly shrinking. The area near the blind at Frank Lake was also drying up. However, I was happy to see Barn Swallows, Eared Grebes, Coots, American Avocets including the one in my photo, and various shorebird species. Happened to notice the deer in my next photo making its way through a huge patch of Foxtails that were swaying to and fro in the wind. Was also glad to see a couple of Maximilians Sunflower plants at Frank Lake - all the rest looked like they had been dug up recently. To stop them spreading - or for someone's garden?? I've looked forward to seeing these flowers for quite a few years, so was happy to see that at least a few of them remain. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_avocet/lifehistory

Yes, I survived the full-day hike yesterday, though my body isn't moving quite like it should today, LOL. The scenery was spectacular and the wildflowers just wonderful. Two of us were taken to this trail by a friend who had been there a handful of times before. Both guys have had a lifetime of walking and hiking - and then there was me, LOL. However, we were stopping constantly to search for plants, record them and photograph them, so it was not a brisk-walking hike, thank goodness, otherwise I wouldn't have gone. Lost count of the number of times I glanced at the mountain sides to check that there were no Grizzly Bears in sight, though one had been along our trail at one point, turning over large rocks to see what was underneath. Thanks, David, for sharing this special place with us, and thanks for your patience with a slower walker : ) I SURVIVED!! Thanks, too, for finding the only Parry's Townsendia for us - I was thrilled to bits with this, as I had never seen one before. The flower in my photo is way past its best, but I still love it. The setting was perfect, too, surrounded by rocks and Lichens and other wildflowers. We were astounded by the number of Long-bracted Orchids there were everywhere, including at the top of this mountain ridge. Parry's Townsendia is a native wildflower that grows July-August on dry hillsides and grassy slopes. The flower head is 5-7 cms across. The achene (fruit) is a pappus of long, soft bristles, more attractive (in my opinion) than the actual flower (which looks rather like a Fleabane).