Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: hay bales

Tomorrow, 8 October 2019, the forecast is for more snow. That means a few days spent hibernating, waiting for most of it to melt. I so rarely go for a walk, so I have no idea if any of the paths in our city parks/natural areas are actually bare by now, after our recent 3-day snow storm that dumped just over 10" of snow in the city. They won't be tomorrow. Having seen the forecast, I made a quick decision to get back to the mountains - I don't drive there when there is snow on the roads. It was going to be sunny, but unfortunately, it was also very windy, which gave me a lot of not-quite-sharp images. Also, much of the highway through Kananaskis is closed for the winter months, for the protection of the wildlife. There were three or four locations that I wanted to photograph with snow on the peaks. With scenic shots in my mind, I took the south route, this time avoiding the dusty, gravel back road that I love to drive. Normally, I would never do a drive like this on a weekend day - more cars and people. Much of the drive was similar to my trip with friend, Pam, on 5 September. A little over a month ago already? The first part of my drive, before turning around and heading home, I had done before, but I had never driven myself the most northerly part. I really wanted to make sure I did this while I could, rather than have to leave it till next year, as I might have lost courage by then. Actually, this north stretch had not been in my plans, but as it was not yet noon, I decided to do it, driving further than Pam and I had gone. A couple of extra stops were added - Barrier Lake and Lorette Ponds. Keeping a close eye on how much gas was left, it was time to turn around and go back home the same way as I had driven earlier in the morning. Lots of animals on the road - mainly cattle! I don't think I have ever seen so many cows on the road before - and, oh, what a mess they were leaving behind them, everywhere! They were as stubborn about moving off the road as the three groups of Bighorn Sheep I came across during the day. So many people were out to go hiking and there were lots of cars parked in many places. On my return drive, I was not too impressed to see about a dozen cars lined up along the edge of the road - thinking 'hikers' and then suddenly thinking "bear?" As I drove past, I caught a glimpse of three brown shapes in the long grass. I did what I don't like doing - a U-turn and adding myself to the end of the line. My handful of highly zoomed photos were all taken through the windshield, turning them into green-tinted blurs. I have added two of them, just for the record. Not sure if I can rescue any others. I tried to read the blurry number on the pink ear tag, which may have shifted upside down, on her right ear. If I am correct, she may have been Grizzly Bear #251 or #125. She was busy feeding in the long grass with her two cubs, totally oblivious of the audience. I didn't notice if many people were out of their cars - I know the female idiot (oops, I mean 'driver') of the car in front of me, got out and walked down the road in the direction of the bears, but I couldn't see where she disappeared to. Eventually, a Park ranger arrived and shooed the beautiful bear family into the trees. Such an unexpected sighting and thrill - definitely the highlight of my 440 km drive. If I am right, I think I had only ever seen two Grizzlies before in all these years - a female with one cub.

The two old churches are just off to the right of this scene. Such a beautiful setting for them. Wow, what a day I had the day before yesterday, 5 August 2019! For a few decades, I had longed to get out east of the city again, to the Badlands of Alberta. I had been a few times in more recent years, either on botany trips to Horseshoe Canyon, or a couple of times for the Christmas Bird Count. However, we always carpooled and we never went to the places I really, really wanted to go to. Finally, in 2014, I took my daughter out there, taking the main highway into Drumheller. She has an amazing sense of direction and is great at navigating, so I knew I wouldn't get lost. This time, though, I wanted to avoid Drumheller itself, so I took a back way to the few places and things I wanted to see and photograph. Each year, I try and make a new, long drive that I have never done before. Trust me, a real challenge to someone with a driving phobia!! Now, there are a handful of places that I make myself get back to each summer, to make sure I don't lose the courage to make the drive by myself. Maps had been made, a few 'drives' taken along a few bits of road on Google Earth, so I was well-prepared. Still, I felt sick to the stomach at the thought of doing the last half of the drive. If I happened to take one wrong road, would I ever get out of the Badlands? When I checked the weather forecast, I noticed that rain was expected on some upcoming days, but not for that day, so I knew I needed to go. It was still quite hazy all day, getting up to 30C When I was almost ready to leave home, I suddenly realized that it was a public holiday! Never a good time to visit anywhere, with so many people everywhere. Normally, I would have stayed home. Left home at 8:45 am and got back home at 7:15 pm, after driving 402 km, using roughly three-quarters of a tank of gas. In this time, I was able to see my favourite hoodoos (with so many cars parked along the road and endless people climbing all over the hoodoos), a little almost-ghost town, and one of my absolute favourite old grain elevators. My route also took me past the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Dalum - I had seen photos of this church before and I had always wanted to photograph a church like this. One other stop had been on my mental list, but, even though I would have had time to get there, my big concern was running out of gas on the way home. There was only one unpleasant thing that happened and it still keeps coming to mind. Along one of the paved roads on the way to the Badlands, I had noticed a very scruffy looking hawk standing on the road. I turned around and drove back to see if I could check if it was OK. Just when I was going to pull over so that I could slowly walk back, I looked in the rear view mirror and there was a car coming behind me. Not sure if the driver tried to position his wheels so that they were either side of the hawk, or not. Anyway, the bird tried to fly and got caught up by the car, which ripped and mangled it. I could see it being tossed and caught back. I walked back to see if I could tell if it was still alive. I couldn't tell, but it was a real mess. Much as I would have liked to move it to the ditch, I couldn't. Trying to convince myself that, because it had looked so scruffy to start with, and stayed on the road, maybe it had been sick. I have seen plenty of dead wildlife of all kinds, but never before have I had to witness something actually being killed. Still haunts me. Yesterday, 6 August 2019, my daughter and I had planned to spend the day together but decided to cancel, as the forecast was for rain and it's no fun taking photos in the rain. Such a shame, as I had been looking forward to being out with her. Her free days are so few and far between. Sure enough, 4:30 pm and we had torrential rain, wind and thunder - SO glad we weren't out in this! Today, it is very overcast - happy I decided to do my long drive two days ago.

On 25 October 2018, I dashed down to a place that I had been curious about for the last few years. Every time I drove the highway, I would pass a sign that said Kayben Farms. My daughter had posted photos from a visit there with friends a while ago and there were a few things that I wanted to see sometime. A spur-of-the-moment visit gave me the chance to do so. Actually, I suspect it may also have been a delaying tactic for all the endless things that I knew I should be seeing to. There were a few sheds/barns scattered around the grounds. Most were a pretty basic, simple shape and not old. However, I loved one little barn and absolutely loved the wonderfully bright and colourful door of two other buildings. The one barn had an assortment of ducks, chickens, pigs - and a rabbit that I only noticed when I was editing the image. There were several different kinds of domestic duck and two in particular caught my eye. A female domestic Turkey had two babies, one black and the other was a tan colour, and what a good mother she was. Wandering near the corn maze - now closed till next year - I came across a dead Sunflower hanging its head. One of my favourite things to photograph, at any stage of their life. As for a corn maze, nothing would make me enter .... nothing, unless the corn plants were no higher than my waist and if I was with someone who has an excellent sense of direction! Various pieces of old farm equipment dotted the area. I always enjoy coming across such things on any of my travels. In a nearby area, there was a variety of farm animals, including a very cute pig that was fast asleep and snoring loudly, and horses, sheep and goats were entertaining. All made for a very pleasant visit, just in time before the farm closed to the public for the winter season.

On 25 October 2018, I dashed down to a place that I had been curious about for the last few years. Every time I drove the highway, I would pass a sign that said Kayben Farms. My daughter had posted photos from a visit there with friends a while ago and there were a few things that I wanted to see sometime. A spur-of-the-moment visit gave me the chance to do so. Actually, I suspect it may also have been a delaying tactic for all the endless things that I knew I should be seeing to. There were a few sheds/barns scattered around the grounds. Most were a pretty basic, simple shape and not old. However, I loved one little barn and absolutely loved the wonderfully bright and colourful door of two other buildings. The one barn had an assortment of ducks, chickens, pigs - and a rabbit that I only noticed when I was editing the image. There were several different kinds of domestic duck and two in particular caught my eye. A female domestic Turkey had two babies, one black and the other was a tan colour, and what a good mother she was. Wandering near the corn maze - now closed till next year - I came across a dead Sunflower hanging its head. One of my favourite things to photograph, at any stage of their life. As for a corn maze, nothing would make me enter .... nothing, unless the corn plants were no higher than my waist and if I was with someone who has an excellent sense of direction! Various pieces of old farm equipment dotted the area. I always enjoy coming across such things on any of my travels. In a nearby area, there was a variety of farm animals, including a very cute pig that was fast asleep and snoring loudly, and horses, sheep and goats were entertaining. All made for a very pleasant visit, just in time before the farm closed to the public for the winter season.

25 October 2017: yet another wildfire burning to the south of us. I had been thinking of going for a drive this week down in that area, but obviously won't do so now. This summer and fall have been horrendous for wildfires, north, south, east and west of us. The strong winds continue, which is the absolute worst when it comes to wildfires spreading. When will this end??? "Grass fire prompts evacuation alert near Alberta's Chain Lakes Provincial Park. Another wildfire fanned by high winds has broken out in southern Alberta, prompting an evacuation alert and the closure of a 70-kilometre stretch of Highway 22. There is a serious fire which is affecting the Chimney Rock Road area of the MD of Ranchland," reads a warning issued Wednesday by the Alberta Emergency Alert system. "Prepare for possible evacuation. Take all necessary precautions. Avoid the area if possible." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This photo was taken further along the road than the previously posted photo in a comment box below. I prefer the drama in the lower photo. This was part of the powerful fall storm on 17 October 2017, seen near the city of Calgary's western limits. A strong Pacific Jetstream caused dramatic weather, along with rain and very strong winds that brought down trees, powerlines, falling glass from windows of office blocks in downtown, fanned wildfires, and so on. This photo was taken at sunset, at the end of a day out in the mountains. I was almost home, but, when I saw the sky, I suddenly changed my mind and headed west instead, to see what I could photograph. "Widespread wind gusts in excess of 90 km/h, with some reaching as high as 130 km/h, blasted southern and central Alberta Tuesday afternoon and evening (17 October 2017), fanning wildfires and leaving some 10,000 customers without power." To put things into perspective, sustained winds between 119-153 km/h are considered Category 1 hurricane-force by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Friend Gayle had asked if I would like to go out for the day and we ended up driving through the Springbank area and then on to Canmore. I had checked the weather forecast and, I have to admit that if I was planning to go out of the city on my own, I might have changed my mind and stayed home instead. However, we decided to at least get out for a while and see how far we would go. As it turned out, we got as far as Canmore in the mountains, where we had lunch - Lasagne for me : ) Feeling re-energized, we decided to start driving up the mountainous road that leads from Canmore to the Spray Lakes area. This rough, narrow road is quite an adventure at any time. It gives a wonderful view looking down over the whole of Canmore and the river. It is also a popular road for Mountain Sheep, and we were lucky to see four of them in a little group, licking the salt from the bottom of the cliff rock face. It is incredible how these wild animals can climb the steep, rocky surface - done very cautiously. This is their road and if they want to stand in the middle of it, then cars wait. Part way up the mountain, we took the turn-off to Quarry Lake, a place I had heard of and seen photos of, but had never been there myself. We parked and decided to walk round the lake, which turned out to be very unpleasant, with strong winds picking up grit and leaves and whipping our faces. For the first time ever, I saw a tree come crashing down at the edge of the forest. Once safely back to the car, we thought we would drive a little further and see what conditions were like. Rain and very strong winds continued and once we reached the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir, we made the decision to turn around and head back down. The mountains were disappearing from sight, so there wasn't much point in continuing, anyway. Gayle had hoped to go on as far as Banff, but there was no point in doing so in such dreadful weather. As often happens, the weather seemed to brighten somewhat once we were out of the mountains. It felt so good to actually see some blue sky. Getting closer to Calgary, the car radio was announcing which city roads were blocked by a fallen tree or downed powerlines. I was not far from home, shortly before sunset, when I noticed some impressive clouds and, on the spur of the moment, drove along one of the gravel back roads just within the edge of the city. It was worth it, though I was quite relieved when I finally reached home. Many thanks, Gayle, for a great day out, braving the weather! We had fun and it certainly was an interesting experience. I really appreciated the chance to use my camera once more, before snow arrives again and stays on the ground for the next few months.

"Widespread wind gusts in excess of 90 km/h, with some reaching as high as 130 km/h, blasted southern and central Alberta Tuesday afternoon and evening (17 October 2017), fanning wildfires and leaving some 10,000 customers without power." To put things into perspective, sustained winds between 119-153 km/h are considered Category 1 hurricane-force by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A strong Pacific Jetstream caused dramatic weather the day before yesterday, along with rain and very strong winds that brought down trees, powerlines, falling glass from windows of office blocks in downtown, fanned wildfires, and so on. Friend Gayle had asked if I would like to go out for the day and we ended up driving through the Springbank area and then on to Canmore. I had checked the weather forecast and, I have to admit that if I was planning to go out of the city on my own, I would have changed my mind and stayed home instead. However, we decided to at least get out for a while and see how far we would go. As it turned out, we got as far as Canmore in the mountains, where we had lunch - Lasagna for me : ) Feeling re-energized, we decided to start driving up the mountainous road that leads from Canmore to the Spray Lakes area. Though I have been on this road at various times, I have never driven it myself. If I want to get to the Spray Lakes area, I go from the south and all the way along Highway 40. This rough, narrow road is quite an adventure at any time. It gives a wonderful view looking down over the whole of Canmore and the river. It is also a popular road for Mountain Sheep, and we were lucky to see four of them in a little group, licking the salt from the bottom of the cliff rock face. It is incredible how these wild animals can climb the steep, rocky surface - done very cautiously. This is their road and if they want to stand in the middle of it, then cars wait. "One of the most important features of the bighorn sheep is the unique structure of its hooves. Rather than being hard like those of a horse or cow, the sheep have rubber-like hooves that allow excellent mobility on steep rock faces." www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/rocky_mountai... Part way up the mountain, we took the turn-off to Quarry Lake, a place I had heard of and seen photos of, but had never been there myself. We parked and decided to walk round the lake, which turned out to be very unpleasant, with strong winds picking up grit and leaves and whipping our faces, as the storm moved in. For the first time ever, I believe, I saw a tree come crashing down at the edge of the forest. Once safely back to the car, we thought we would drive a little further and see what conditions were like. Rain and very strong winds continued and once we reached the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir, we made the decision to turn around and head back down. The mountains were disappearing from sight, so there wasn't much point in continuing, anyway. Gayle had hoped to go on as far as Banff, but there was no point in doing so in such dreadful weather. As often happens, the weather seemed to brighten somewhat once we were out of the mountains. It felt so good to actually see some blue sky. Getting closer to Calgary, the car radio was announcing which city roads were blocked by a fallen tree or downed powerlines. I was not far from home, shortly before sunset, when I noticed some impressive clouds and, on the spur of the moment, drove along one of the gravel back roads just within the edge of the city. It was worth it, though I was quite relieved when I finally reached home. Many thanks, Gayle, for a great day out, braving the weather! We had fun and it certainly was an interesting experience. I really appreciated the chance to use my camera once more, before the next snowfall arrives and stays on the ground for the next few months.

On 18 August 2017, I made a very last-minute decision (just after midnight) to return to HIghway 40, Kananaskis. Last year (2016), I had finally made myself do this long drive (293 km), after longing for years to be able to get there on my own. I was determined to go again this summer, and 18 August was the day. I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and took the scenic back road to Highway 40, seen in this photo. Unfortunately, we are still getting the smoke from the British Columbia and Alberta wildfires, so distant shots are not the best, though this one seems clear. As of 19 August 2017, there were 140 wildfires currently burning across B.C., and this year's wildfire season is now officially B.C.’s worst ever wildfire season. However, the landscape on this whole drive is spectacular and I could never tire of it. I would imagine most people drive the whole loop along Highway 40, but my destination was the place where Pikas (or Rock Rabbits) live, keeping my fingers crossed that at least one of them would show up. I was in luck and saw two of them, and managed to get a few photos, though I have taken better photos on previous visits. While I was standing near the base of the huge talus/scree slope, I started hearing the sound of rocks falling! The first thing that flashed through my mind was that I was not standing in the best place if a rock slide happened, and then I remembered seeing someone's photo of a bear with her two cubs walking across the rocks just above where I was standing. Looking around, I could see nothing - and then, suddenly, I could just make out the tiny silhouette of a Bighorn Sheep on the very top of the very distant ridge, and then several others came along. In a short time, one of them walked to the end of the ridge and stood there, on guard the whole time it took for the rest of the herd to slowly make its way down the rocky mountain side. Sometimes, they would stop and feed for a while. They ended up passing me on a closer, low ridge and finally reached the road. What a journey they made in order to get salt off the road surface! I watched them for a long time, while they hung around just below me, refusing to leave the road when cars came along. Nothing would make them budge! It was just as interesting to watch the reaction of the drivers - most slowed right down or stopped, and most people stayed in their vehicles. After calling in again at Highwood House to pick up a much-needed coffee, I carried on with the drive home via various backroads, including the Priddis area. My early morning drive had given me just two birds - a Northern Harrier and some other Hawk. The return drive gave me maybe four Hawks, none of which stayed long enough for a photo. A strange, empty feeling, as two days earlier, friends and I had seen dozens of Hawks during a day's drive. For maybe the previous 10 days or so, I had been wondering why the little orange maintenance light had not come on, on the dashboard of my car. I have had the vehicle one year now and felt sure that I should have been notified to get an oil change way before now. Each time I hade done a long drive recently, I was worried that the light would come on when I was in the middle of nowhere. Well, on this day, it finally did come on (at around 9,200 km), right where the Pikas live. My old car was 17 years old - how different new cars are!

I knew I should not have stayed up till around 3;30 am this morning, deleting 600+ emails - but it needed to be done, and I was on a roll. Still a few thousand more to go through. I need to do a similar thing - again - with my photos, or else I will get another message telling me I need to get another hard drive because I am out of room on my computer. Summer just isn't a good time to do things like this. Anyway, today, 7 August 2017, is the last day of a 3-day weekend. Heritage Day is celebrated in Alberta on the first Monday of August each year. Although it is not a statutory holiday, many Canadians in Alberta use this day as an optional holiday for celebrating the province’s heritage. I would imagine the roads and parks will be absolutely packed with people, the thought of which is more than enough to keep me home today. Apparently, Waterton Lakes National Park had to close its gates yesterday for the first time EVER, there were so many people. Yesterday, I was out much of the day and so I feel like staying home anyway. A few of us were invited to return to one of our absolute favourite places - Rod Handfield's acreage, SW of the city. This is always such a treat, and Rod and his wife are always so welcoming. They have an amazing forest that is usually full of so many fungi species in August. However, we knew that this was not going to be the case yesterday, as everywhere is bone dry. While in the forest, our leader said that normally, we would have seen 75+ species of fungus by then. Instead, we saw maybe three very small mushrooms that I didn't even bother to photograph, plus the little cluster of Oyster mushrooms that I posted this morning. I don't know if the situation is likely to change, even if we got a lot of rain in the next little while (none in the next week's forecast). Can someone do a rain dance for us ... please? Our morning hike was still very enjoyable, of course, and in pleasant weather and with good friends. There was a bit of smoke haze, as can be seen in this zoomed-in photo, taken from a hillside on the Handfield's property. I love the shape of the distant foothills. Also love to see a field dotted with hay bales. After the hike, seven of us went for lunch in the tiny strip mall in the hamlet of Priddis, on the way home. Friends had said how good the food is at Jane's Cafe, and we agreed. Made a lovely end to our botany morning.

I had today's three images from two days ago ready to post yesterday, but I overslept by about an hour and a half yesterday, which left me just 27 minutes from waking up suddenly and actually leaving the house!! This is always my biggest concern on any Count day - will I wake up in time or might I sleep through my two alarm clock radios and a kitchen timer. Well, yesterday, it was the latter, and it was not pleasant! Annoying, too, as yesterday's Count is my favourite Count. I did three long-day counts within the last four days, with the last two being back to back days, which is just too much. By the way, this is the 113th Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, so it has been going on for more than a century! Today will be a day for staying home, but tomorrow morning, I take part in the 27th annual New Year's Day Fish Creek Park Count in the city. The forecast for tomorrow is more snow. All three photos posted this morning, 31 December 2016, were taken two days ago, when three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went two days ago, travelling in just one car, and the area we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). We had to be way NW of the city by 8:00 am, ready to start driving our Count area. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start this Count. One of the highlights of this Count for me is seeing several Llamas on one of the farms. Unfortunately, it was very overcast all day. Several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the driver's vehicle, just in case. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a shy, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop - of course, it IS a birding trip : ) A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen it from before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below.

Just noticed that it is snowing again this morning, 18 December 2015. Temperature is -12C (windchill -20C) as I type. A poor quality photo, but I wanted to add it to my bird count album, for a record of this very distant Snowy Owl. A fully 48x zoomed and cropped image. I still haven't been out looking for Snowy Owls myself, but will be going soon, with my daughter. Just like a year ago (2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Or is this kind of frost called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. cathybell.org/2013/01/02/hoar-frost-and-rime-ice-whats-th... On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. The sun came up when we were standing at the outlet at Frank Lake and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the open water. So beautiful. After our very first stop there, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2, on our way home. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

In the morning of 25 September 2015, six of us were lucky enough to explore a tiny part of the land belonging to Frances and David Dover. For two of us (myself and our leader), this was our second visit - for the rest, it was a first time there. A few minutes before reaching their property, I just had to pull over and take a couple of shots looking west over our beautiful foothills. The morning sun made the landscape almost glow. This area looks so beautiful in the winter, too. Talking of winter, snow was in the forecast for Saturday/Sunday but I see that has changed to just rain on Saturday, with a high of 5C, and sun for Sunday! Then we should be back to the low to mid teens again. I will copy and paste the description I posted on Flickr from our first visit to the Dover's acreage, on 7 August 2015: "Yesterday, 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 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. 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. It was while walking around the latter that a large brown 'shape' could 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 will 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 - 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 made for us, along with refreshing Iced Tea - thank you so much for this, Frances! Yesterday, while I was waiting for one of three tiny Calliope 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. 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 ." After our visit to the Dover's on 25 September 2015, I decided to drive eastwards along a road that I'd never driven before, until I reached the main road going south. From there, it was a fairly short drive to the Saskatoon Farm. As usual, I wandered round the grounds with my camera and then, when I was ready to leave, I ordered a pizza to take home with me. The inside of the gift shop has recently been renovated and they now have a pizza oven and area.

This photo was taken on 16 December 2014, which was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of High River. This town is SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. My small group travelled in two cars, 8 people in total, and we covered the SE quadrant of the Count circle. Towards the end of my description, I will add the report compiled by our leader, Gus Yaki. As usual, there were several of these sightings listed that I, myself, did not see. Also, I ended up with poor photos of most of the things that I did see. The day was absolutely beautiful, but the light was even worse than I had realized. The amazing hoar frost, that covered everything, surprisingly lasted pretty well the whole day - usually, it lasts only a very short time. So, even though the light wasn't good for photos, the hoar frost beauty stayed with us all day long - just breathtaking. For our drive down to High River, we had fog which, in patches, was quite thick. Wondered if we would see anything at all when we reached our area, ha. It was cold and damp, as well as foggy. In addition to that, some of the birds, such as the three Snowy Owls (I only saw two of them) were SO far away, there was no chance for photos except just for the record. Only 35 species were seen in the total for the complete Count circle. Of course, as always happens, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including several barns, cloud formations, farm cats, an old truck, scenery and so on. At one of our stops, we were looking in the bushes/shrubs at the edge of a farm, where a Northern Saw-whet Owl had been sighted last Christmas Count. No luck with an owl, but one of the birders spotted a male Merlin very high up on a power pole. A short while later, it was spotted just down the road, perched on a fence post. Such a beautiful bird - but such lousy light! We had finished our count by 5:00 pm, by which time it was, of course, completely dark. A few of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by the generous birding people down in High River. Lorrie and John gave a slide show of their recent trip to Africa. So many great shots of beautiful bird species that I have never seen. Thanks, Lorrie and John, for spending time going through all your slides at home and choosing a lovely selection for us. Many thanks, too, for driving Shirley and myself all day long! "HIGH RIVER CBC, SE quadrant, Frank Lk; E of #2, S of #23. 0830-1700, 16Dec2014. Overcast, heavy fog, created great hoarfrost on everything. Winds, variable direction, 10-15kph. -7°C. Ground mostly bare of snow; Little Bow River 95% frozen. 1. Mallard-1 f. 2. Scaup sp.- juv or f, likely Lesser-1 3. Gray Partridge-7 4. Ring-necked Pheasant-2 5. Bald Eagle-3 ( 2 ad/ 1 juv.) 6. Merlin-1 m. 7. Rock Pigeon-8 8. Great Horned Owl- 5 [an additional one seen N of Hwy 23, just W of Frank Lk exit at 16:56 pm.] 9. Snowy Owl-3 10. Downy Woodpecker-2 11. Northern Flicker-2 12. Black-billed Magpie-83 13. Common Raven-15 14. Horned Lark-20 15. Black-capped Chickadee-7 16. Common Redpoll-155 17. House Sparrow-669 18. 17 species of birds MAMMALS: Deer Mouse-1, deceased. White-tailed Jackrabbit-1 Mule Deer-25 White-tailed Deer-44 Total Km by car-111; by foot- 3. Total hours by car – 6; on foot-2.5 Gus Yaki"

Two days ago, 16 December 2014, it was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of High River. This town is SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. My small group travelled in two cars, 8 people in total, and we covered the SE quadrant of the Count circle. I will add the report compiled by our leader, Gus Yaki. As usual, there were several of these sightings that I, myself, did not see. I ended up with poor photos of most of the things I did see - the day was absolutely beautiful, but the light was even worse than I had realized. If your computer monitor is smaller than mine, my images might look a little better : ) The amazing hoar frost, that covered everything, surprisingly lasted pretty well the whole day - usually, it lasts only a short time. So, even though the light wasn't good for photos, the hoar frost beauty stayed with us all day long - breathtaking. This photo of one of the old sheds at the farm where we saw several beautiful kittens, will give you an idea of what we brave souls sometimes have to endure when do our winter bird counts, lol - wish you could feel the cold and dampness, too. For our drive down to High River, we had fog which, in patches, was quite thick. Wondered if we would see anything at all when we reached our area, ha. In addition to that, some of the birds, such as the three Snowy Owls (I only saw two of them) were SO far away, there was no chance for photos except just for the record. Only 35 species were seen in the total for the complete Count circle. Of course, as always happens, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including several barns, cloud formations, farm cats, and so on. We were looking in the bushes/shrubs where a Northern Saw-whet Owl had been sighted last Christmas Count - no luck with an owl, but one of the birders spotted a beautiful male Merlin very high up on a power pole with a "cover", which made it look as if the bird was sitting under a hair dryer at a hair salon, lol. A short while later, it was spotted just down the road, perched on a fence post. We had finished our count by 5:00 pm, by which time it was completely dark. A few of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by the generous birding people down in High River. Lorrie and John gave a slide show of their recent trip to Africa. So many great shots of beautiful bird species that I have never seen. Thanks, Lorrie and John, for spending time going through all your slides at home and choosing a lovely selection for us. Many thanks, too, for driving Shirley and myself all day long! "HIGH RIVER CBC, SE quadrant, Frank Lk; E of #2, S of #23. 0830-1700, 16Dec2014. Overcast, heavy fog, created great hoarfrost on everything. Winds, variable direction, 10-15kph. -7°C. Ground mostly bare of snow; Little Bow River 95% frozen. 1. Mallard-1 f. 2. Scaup sp.- juv or f, likely Lesser-1 3. Gray Partridge-7 4. Ring-necked Pheasant-2 5. Bald Eagle-3 ( 2 ad/ 1 juv.) 6. Merlin-1 m. 7. Rock Pigeon-8 8. Great Horned Owl- 5 [an additional one seen N of Hwy 23, just W of Frank Lk exit at 16:56 pm.] 9. Snowy Owl-3 10. Downy Woodpecker-2 11. Northern Flicker-2 12. Black-billed Magpie-83 13. Common Raven-15 14. Horned Lark-20 15. Black-capped Chickadee-7 16. Common Redpoll-155 17. House Sparrow-669 18. 17 species of birds MAMMALS: Deer Mouse-1, deceased. White-tailed Jackrabbit-1 Mule Deer-25 White-tailed Deer-44 Total Km by car-111; by foot- 3. Total hours by car – 6; on foot-2.5 Gus Yaki"

On 16 November 2014, I joined a few friends for a most enjoyable day of birding SE of the city, in the Frank Lake area. I love this whole area, so usually jump at the chance to go there, especially with friends who are great birders. I stayed behind (painful back) while the others walked almost to the blind, but I was happy photographing scenery, bright orange lichens, and anything else that caught my eye : ) This meant that I didn’t see all of the birds on Andrew’s careful list and report, but I was happy to see the Great Horned Owl especially. Felt so good to get my “owl” fix! It was also good to know that there are at least a few Common Redpolls around so far, this winter. The long winter months seem kind of “empty” when these dainty little birds don’t visit us. I think the only birds I was able to photograph were the owl and the pheasants. This photo, by the way, is a zoomed photo - the mountains look much closer than they actually are. I will use Andrew’s account of the day – I never keep a list myself. Thought that one or two of you might just be interested to know what’s around so far this “winter”, SE of the city. Many thanks, as always, Andrew, for a most enjoyable and rewarding day out of the city. Thanks, too, for your detailed report. “We had eight participants. A nice break from recent weather. The temperature stayed right around -3 deg C all day, with mostly clear sunny skies. There was an occasional biting wind. We basically circled the lake area and walked down to the outfall near the blind. There were still a few pheasant hunters around. Apparently the final release was delayed to this weekend because the province is averse to releasing birds when the temperature is below -10 deg C. Number of Checklists: 4 Number of Species: 20 Checklists included in this summary: (1): Sutherland's Shelterbelt (and immediate area) Date: Nov 16, 2014, 9:00 AM (2): Frank Lake--NW lookout/blind Date: Nov 16, 2014, 10:10 AM (3): Frank Lake--Basin 2 (Southeast Corner) Date: Nov 16, 2014, 11:30 AM (4): Frank Lake Basin 3 Date: Nov 16, 2014, 12:00 PM 47 Canada Goose -- (1) 1 Tundra Swan -- (2) 6 Mallard -- (2) 1 Northern Shoveler -- (2) 9 Redhead -- (2) 4 Ring-necked Pheasant -- (3) 1 Prairie Falcon (3) 2 Bald Eagle -- (2),(4) 1 Rough-legged Hawk -- (1) 3 Killdeer -- (2) 10 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) -- (1) 3 Great Horned Owl -- (1),(4) 5 Black-billed Magpie -- (1),(2),(3),(4) 16 Common Raven -- (1),(2),(3),(4) 48 Horned Lark -- (3),(4) 8 Black-capped Chickadee -- (1) 8 Snow Bunting -- (4) 4 American Tree Sparrow -- (1),(3) 40 Common Redpoll -- (1) 8 House Sparrow -- (1) The few Snow Buntings we saw were all mixed in with larger flocks of Horned Larks. The Prairie Falcon appeared suddenly and spooked the group of Pheasants before flying off into a nearby tree. Andrew Hart”

Yesterday, 16 November 2014, I joined a few friends for a most enjoyable day of birding SE of the city, in the Frank Lake area. I love this whole area, so usually jump at the chance to go there, especially with friends who are great birders. I stayed behind (painful back) while the others walked almost to the blind, but I was happy photographing scenery, bright orange lichens, and anything else that caught my eye : ) This meant that I didn’t see all of the birds on Andrew’s careful list and report, but I was happy to see the Great Horned Owl especially. Felt so good to get my “owl” fix! It was also good to know that there are at least a few Common Redpolls around so far, this winter. The long winter months seem kind of “empty” when these dainty little birds don’t visit us. All three of the photos I’ve posted today were taken on yesterday’s trip. I think the only birds I was able to photograph were the owl and the pheasants. I will use Andrew’s account of the day – I never keep a list myself. Thought that one or two of you might just be interested to know what’s around so far this “winter”, SE of the city. Many thanks, as always, Andrew, for a most enjoyable and rewarding day out of the city. Thanks, too, for your detailed report. “We had eight participants. A nice break from recent weather. The temperature stayed right around -3 deg C all day, with mostly clear sunny skies. There was an occasional biting wind. We basically circled the lake area and walked down to the outfall near the blind. There were still a few pheasant hunters around. Apparently the final release was delayed to this weekend because the province is averse to releasing birds when the temperature is below -10 deg C. Number of Checklists: 4 Number of Species: 20 Checklists included in this summary: (1): Sutherland's Shelterbelt (and immediate area) Date: Nov 16, 2014, 9:00 AM (2): Frank Lake--NW lookout/blind Date: Nov 16, 2014, 10:10 AM (3): Frank Lake--Basin 2 (Southeast Corner) Date: Nov 16, 2014, 11:30 AM (4): Frank Lake Basin 3 Date: Nov 16, 2014, 12:00 PM 47 Canada Goose -- (1) 1 Tundra Swan -- (2) 6 Mallard -- (2) 1 Northern Shoveler -- (2) 9 Redhead -- (2) 4 Ring-necked Pheasant -- (3) 1 Prairie Falcon (3) 2 Bald Eagle -- (2),(4) 1 Rough-legged Hawk -- (1) 3 Killdeer -- (2) 10 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) -- (1) 3 Great Horned Owl -- (1),(4) 5 Black-billed Magpie -- (1),(2),(3),(4) 16 Common Raven -- (1),(2),(3),(4) 48 Horned Lark -- (3),(4) 8 Black-capped Chickadee -- (1) 8 Snow Bunting -- (4) 4 American Tree Sparrow -- (1),(3) 40 Common Redpoll -- (1) 8 House Sparrow -- (1) The few Snow Buntings we saw were all mixed in with larger flocks of Horned Larks. The Prairie Falcon appeared suddenly and spooked the group of Pheasants before flying off into a nearby tree. Andrew Hart”

Couldn't quite catch the feeling at this particular moment, but it gives a hint of what the light was like along with the blowing snow (which you can see over the distant hay bales). It was, in fact, quite beautiful, at least to see from the warmth inside the car. The day before yesterday, 31 January 2014, I was out all day on this fun and enjoyable birding trip north of the city, with superb birder, Phil. The weather forecast turned out to be far from accurate and we found ourselves driving the backroads with snow swirling over the roads and in some places, you couldn't see where the sky ended and the earth began. Everywhere and everything was white. Winter outside the city is so very different from facing icy roads and heavy traffic in the city, with roads edged in piles of dirty brown snow that has been cleared from the roads and just won't melt. Out in the countryside, winter has a pure, clean beauty, and we both loved the simplicity of the white landscape. Neither of us knew this area, east of Highway 22, though I may have been driven in some parts on a birding trip or two a few years ago. It's an area that is way beyond my driving comfort zone, so this was real treat for me. The cold, windy weather must have kept the birds taking shelter, though Phil did find a Great Horned Owl and, on the way back to the city, a Merlin. Lots of Ravens about and a few Sparrows and Pigeons, but no Snow Buntings or Horned Larks. I was just happy seeing the wintry countryside and a number of beautiful old barns. The shapes of these seem so different from barns that I see south of the city. Several white barns, too, as well as the more usual red ones. Thanks so much for a great day, Phil - much appreciated!

Today, 3 October 2013, I decided I would do the long drive NW of Calgary (total drive was about 280 kms), hoping I might just see an owl of some kind, but also wanting to find some beautiful fall colours. The weather forecast was for a mix of sun and cloud, which sounded good. However, it was thick, grey cloud for the whole journey out there, and I even had a few minutes of very light, very fine snow at my furthest point. My main sightings were cows and horses, though I did see a couple of dead Coyotes on the road, and a Hawk that flew before I came within shooting distance. Nothing to be seen, just nothing - where is everything? Not as much fall colour as I had expected, either, and I'm not sure if I was too early or too late (suspect the latter). Of course, without the sun, fall colours seem dull and lifeless, so maybe that was part of it. On my way home, I drove a few backroads SW of the city and found this small splash of colour. As you can see, by the time I was almost home, the sun managed to squeeze through the clouds - better late than never. This is a zoomed in shot, so the Rocky Mountains look closer than they really are. Once I was within city limits, I drove a couple of the gravel backroads and experienced about a minute of tiny hail. I don't know if it rained in the city yesterday, but these two roads were very wet and muddy and unpleasant to drive on. There were a couple of large vehicles at the side of the road, so maybe they were preparing the road in order to put down new gravel?

The weather forecast for yesterday had said sun with some cloud, so I decided to drive NW of Calgary, where I hadn't been for many months. We hadn't had any fresh snow, so I thought I had better get out there before our next snowfall. Apart from a few stretches of gravel road that were still covered in hard-packed snow, the roads were fine. No sign of any owls, but I did see a female Moose and a few horses. On the way home, I decided to drive part way along the Springbank Road, which I had never done before. This is where I took this view, looking west towards the distant mountains. Drab brown and blues : ) I'm going to need to find a splash of colour for my photostream after the three photos I posted today, lol!