Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: orange-red

Some years, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton is held late in December. Other years, it ends up being held early January. The Count on 3 January 2016 was part of the 2015 Bird Count. I think these gorgeous Pine Grosbeaks, this one a juvenile male I believe, were the highlight of the day for me. We had been told about a farm family who had lots of these Grosbeaks at their feeders, and we are so glad that we arranged to call in. We also saw a Gray Jay there, to add to our species list. My small group of 4 friends and myself, travelling in two cars, did see 5 Golden Eagles, too, which was a thrill, but they were way off in the distance and I couldn't get any close photos like this one of a Grosbeak : ) "One of the larger members of its family, the Pine Grosbeak is a bird of the boreal forests, found across northern Eurasia and North America, and south into the mountains of western Canada and the United States. A large, unwary finch, it makes periodic winter irruptions into southern Canada and northern United States. It is the largest and rarest of the "winter finches." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pine_Grosbeak/id As you can see, the weather was bright and sunny for us this day. What you can't see was that it was very cold for the first part of the day, then warming up to a pleasant cold later on! I think it was -21C when we started. Two years ago, on the trip in January (for the 2013 Count), on the hour-long drive south of Calgary, we hit -34C (-29.2F)!!!!! Again, this year, there was no or very little wind, which makes all the difference. Also, the only walking we had to do was when we called in at various farms/acreages. We drove through such beautiful scenery when we were covering the SW quadrant of the Christmas Bird Count circle that centered on the town of Nanton, Alberta. A landscape over which the occasional Golden Eagle soars and in which some years - but definitely not on this day! - numerous Sharp-tailed Grouse wander on the ground or perch in trees. Unlike some years, we saw only a handful of very distant Grouse, perched on a group of hay bales. I absolutely love this area SW of Nanton! Some of the backroads are extremely steep and almost look vertical when seen from a distance. Some years, the whole area is white, covered in deep snow, so that you can't tell where the roadside ends and the ditch begins. This Count, it wasn't too bad, thank goodness, though I might have felt differently if I had been one of the two drivers for our group! Around lunch time, we returned to the Truch family's home as we were nearby, and ate our lunch in the warmth of their cosy home. After driving (being driven, for me, which is always pure luxury) the backroads from about 8:00 a.m. till around 3:30 p.m., we returned to the wonderful home of the Truch family. Not only do Bill and Leah Truch and their son, Mike, always welcome everyone with open arms, they also provide a much-appreciated breakfast snack for us and then, at the end of the day, a delicious supper. Have to say that I love travelling these scenic backroads, but I also really enjoy getting together with everyone afterwards. This is one of my favourite Bird Counts, and perhaps the most favourite. Just before leaving for Calgary at the end of the day, we were shown the family's Llamas, two Donkeys, Peacocks, and several tiny white Quail. I should have taken photos of these animals when it was daylight - but maybe I can do it next year. Thanks so much for doing all the driving, Tony and Andrew, and thanks, Leah, Bill and Mike for all the effort and time you put into your warm welcome! It was another well-organized Count, Mike, as usual - thanks. Can't wait for next Christmas! List of species seen by our small group, from Andrew Hart: Nanton general area Jan 3, 2016 8:45 AM Traveling 113.00 km 360 Minutes All birds reported? Yes Comments: -14 to +1 deg C sunny. Nanton CBC area D 32 Sharp-tailed Grouse 5 Golden Eagle 1 Bald Eagle 12 Rough-legged Hawk 50 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2 Eurasian Collared-Dove 8 Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 3 Northern Shrike 4 Gray Jay 100 Black-billed Magpie 28 Common Raven 16 Black-capped Chickadee 4 European Starling 2 American Tree Sparrow 105 Pine Grosbeak -- First 60 In a yard with feeders. Balance seen elsewhere along route. Another 35 in a yard off Williams Coulee. 3 White-winged Crossbill 220 Common Redpoll 4 Hoary Redpoll 40 House Sparrow Number of Species: 20

On my last visit to the Calgary Zoo, on 14 October 2014, I photographed the beautiful red berries of this Pyramidal Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia 'Fastigiata'). Native from Europe to Asia Minor. “Pyramidal Mountain Ash features showy clusters of white flowers held atop the branches in mid spring. It has dark green foliage throughout the season. The oval compound leaves turn an outstanding orange in the fall. The orange (red) fruits are held in abundance in spectacular clusters from early fall right through to late winter. This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and usually looks its best without pruning. Pyramidal Mountain Ash will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 7 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more. This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations.” search.millcreeknursery.ca/11050005/Plant/1409/Pyramidal_... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've only been on Flickr the last half hour, but I see that they have still not fixed the "views" problem that has been going on for many hours now. The Stats for Your Account (only available to the old Pro account members) seems to be working OK, but the number of views under each individual image is either stuck at 0 or counts just a very few of the actual number. Apparently, Staff do know about this issue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Looks like we had maybe 2-3" of snow yesterday and overnight. As I type, there is just very fine snow falling, barely noticeable. I think it may be very slippery out there, so it will probably be another day at home. It's 1°C right now, supposedly climbing to 3°C this afternoon. I was hoping that the snow on my car would all melt, but it doesn't look like that will happen.

This small mushroom was maybe an inch across, if that, from what I remember. Thank you, Susan, for pointing out this colourful find of yours : ) It was pushing through the soil at the Mountainview Handicapped and Sports Society Centre, north west of Calgary (near cremona), when we stopped to botanize the area on 30th July. We did this after spending a good part of the day botanizing a wonderful bog near Cremona. (FInding it difficult to remember where I've been and on what days - all my outings tend to blur into one, long outing in my mind, LOL!). Not a lot of fungi (yet!), but we are starting to see the occasional one on our outings. Not sure if this is Russula emetica (also called "The Sickener", as it is poisonous).

I'm glad I snapped this image before autumn vanished! I don' tknow what happened to fall this year : ) I am suffering from withdrawal symptoms so badly - always find it difficult to acccept that the wonderful days of spring and summer and endless photo opportunities are over. It's all about adjusting, though, that's all. This past week, I have found it really hard to get moving and, in fact, have barely moved from my computer, which has left me in a lot of pain. I missed a few walks so that I could try and get some extra hours of desperately-needed sleep, which was good, but I need to also keep my joints mobile. However, today, I spent the morning walking around Inglewood Bird Sanctuary - always love to see the two (far away) Harlequin Ducks on the Bow River there : ) Afterwards, I spent part of the afternoon at the Zoo, which is just a few minutes from IBS. Then, on the way home, I drove a few of the gravel roads south of the city - you should see my car after driving in muddy, gravelly ruts, LOL! Some really nice clouds, but I don't think I captured any good shots of them. The morning was overcast and poor light, but the sun did come out for a bit, while I was at the Zoo. Thought I'd better try and get a few different photos into my files, ready for when the "real" snow and bitterly cold temperatures arrive, LOL. I love photographing ice crystals, so ......