Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Spotted Sandpiper

This photo was taken yesterday, 28 June 2016, when I went with friends, Dorothy and Stephen, to Bow Valley Provincial Park They are leading a day trip out there in the near future and wanted to do a dry run and very kindly invited me to go with them. These mountains are the first ones you come to, when you drive westwards on Highway 1A from Calgary. Mt. Yamnuska is a spectacular sight, and very popular with rock-climbers and hikers. I've never hiked up there - and am never likely to : ) The flat area at the foot of these mountains is Bow Valley Provincial Park, very popular with botanists and birders. It is less than an hour's drive west from Calgary. Our main walk was following the Many Springs Trail, which is perhaps the most rewarding in the park. We saw a reasonably good variety of wildflowers, including Western Wood Lilies, Yellow Lady's-slippers, Sticky False Asphodel, and lots of Gaillardia. Though the end of June is usually the best time to go for the wildflowers, you still never know what you will find. We barely had a spring this year, it was so hot and so dry, more like summer. Birds were much harder to find, even though we heard them. There were quite a few small birds flitting about, but our best sightings were of a brightly coloured male Yellow Warbler and some kind of flycatcher (Least Flycatcher?) near the boardwalk at Many Springs. Both were on the move constantly, though I did manage to get a few less-than-good photos. One of my Warbler shots made me smile when I saw it on my computer. The bird was perched, with a beak full of insects, right next to a large spider's web. Kind of robbing ones neighbour. I took three or four rapid shots of this Spotted Sandpiper and then we left the area, as she was making it clear that she had a nest or young ones somewhere. The weather forecast for yesterday mentioned the risk of thunderstorms, but we were so lucky. The sun shone all day and the sky was full of puffy clouds. Once our visit was over and we were ready to drive back to Calgary, a bit of rain did arrive. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such an enjoyable day! It was a real treat to go to the mountains, as I so rarely go. www.albertaparks.ca/bow-valley-pp/ The link below is a map showing the turn off to the park and the layout of the lake areas. The roads at the junction with highway 1A are quite confusing! x-powered.com/camping/maps/BowValleyPP_Map.gif

This photo was taken SW of Calgary, on a short drive along familiar backroads, on 1 July 2014. I had seen this or a different beautiful Spotted Sandpiper there on a previous occasion and was happy to see that it was still there. I rarely get to see this species, especially close enough to be photographed. "The dapper Spotted Sandpiper makes a great ambassador for the notoriously difficult-to-identify shorebirds. They occur all across North America, they are distinctive in both looks and actions, and they're handsome. They also have intriguing social lives in which females take the lead and males raise the young. With their richly spotted breeding plumage, teetering gait, stuttering wingbeats, and showy courtship dances, this bird is among the most notable and memorable shorebirds in North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/spotted_sandpiper/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_sandpiper

No very recent photos to post, other than owls, so I'm going back a few months for two of my images today. I had seen this beautiful Spotted Sandpiper on a previous occasion and was happy to see that it was still at the same location, SW of the city. I rarely get to see this species, especially close enough to be photographed. "The dapper Spotted Sandpiper makes a great ambassador for the notoriously difficult-to-identify shorebirds. They occur all across North America, they are distinctive in both looks and actions, and they're handsome. They also have intriguing social lives in which females take the lead and males raise the young. With their richly spotted breeding plumage, teetering gait, stuttering wingbeats, and showy courtship dances, this bird is among the most notable and memorable shorebirds in North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/spotted_sandpiper/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_sandpiper

This Spotted Sandpiper was perched on a fence post right next to a small slough/pond, and I had to take my photos looking towards the sun. Seen SW of Calgary on 26 June 2013, when I went for a drive along some of the backroads. Other than a few patches of damaged gravel road, there was no sign of the "Flood of the Century" that has hit Calgary and many places in the province so hard. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9156995135/in/photostream

Sorry the background is rather hard on the eyes, lol, but it is so rare for me to see a Spotted Sandpiper and to get any kind of photo of one, that I did want to add this one to my Birds of Alberta set. Taken on 29 May 2011 during our out-of-town (SW of the city) May Species Count. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/spotted_sandpiper/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_Sandpiper

This was taken yesterday, in the rain and snow, when we were doing the annual May Species Count in Fish Creek Park. This Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius syn. Actitis macularia) looked less than impressed! We spent about six hours in temperatures of 0.8-2C! Out came the winter boots, the sweater, the fleece jacket, the thick winter jacket, toque, two pairs of gloves and long-johns - and it's June the day after tomorrow, lol. I was halfway to being soaked to the skin! An enjoyable walk, though, as usual. We saw a total of 47 bird species, compared to 58 species May 2009. I'd never taken a photo at ISO 400 before (can you believe it?), so hardly the best quality : )

This Spotted Sandpiper was on a muddy bank down by the Elbow River in Weaselhead, vocalizing madly and doing the tail-bobbing.

This Spotted Sandpiper was down on the mudflats along the Elbow River in the Weaselhead natural area, vocalizing noisily and constantly.

Not a good quality photo (distant and poor lighting) but I liked how the driftwood framed the sandpiper. Pretty good camouflage, too.

Again, a heavily cropped image, hence the rather unpleasant look of the driftwood.