Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Euphagus

I'm posting this image as much for the Dandelion bokeh as for the Brewer's Blackbird. Taken on 12 June 2014, when I went for a drive along the backroads SW of the city. "A bird to be seen in the full sun, the male Brewer’s Blackbird is a glossy, almost liquid combination of black, midnight blue, and metallic green. Females are a staid brown, without the male’s bright eye or the female Red-winged Blackbird’s streaks. Common in towns and open habitats of much of the West, you’ll see these long-legged, ground-foraging birds on sidewalks and city parks as well as chuckling in flocks atop shrubs, trees, and reeds." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/brewers_blackbird/id

Photographed this male Brewer's Blackbird a few days ago, on 27 June 2014, when I drove a few of the backroads SW of the city. This is such a busy time for birds, collecting insects to feed to their young. "A bird to be seen in the full sun, the male Brewer’s Blackbird is a glossy, almost liquid combination of black, midnight blue, and metallic green. Females are a staid brown, without the male’s bright eye or the female Red-winged Blackbird’s streaks. Common in towns and open habitats of much of the West, you’ll see these long-legged, ground-foraging birds on sidewalks and city parks as well as chuckling in flocks atop shrubs, trees, and reeds." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/brewers_blackbird/id The famous, annual Calgary Stampede begins tomorrow, with the Stampede Parade taking place in the morning. William Shatner (from Star Trek) is our Parade Marshall. No worries about the weather, as it's a beautiful, sunny day today and tomorrow is supposed to be good, too.

Not the greatest shot (OK in this size), but my first shot of a Rusty Blackbird. I'd never really seen one of these birds properly, but we saw a total of 16 of them along the edge of the Bow River on 28 October 2012, between Hull's Wood and LaFarge Meadow. When I was taking the photos and looking through my viewfinder, they seemed to be just plain, dark birds, but when I checked the images, the beautiful rust colour showed itself. Lol, I've only just this second noticed that it looks as if the bottom edge of the photo (i.e. snow) has been ripped off, leaving a jagged edge. "Rusty Blackbird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has plunged an estimated 85-99 percent over the past forty years and scientists are completely puzzled as to what is the cause. They are relatively uncommon denizens of wooded swamps, breeding in the boreal forest and wintering in the eastern U.S. In winter, they travel in small flocks and are identified by their distinctive rusty featheredges and pallid yellow eyes." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rusty_Blackbird/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusty_Blackbird