Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: construction

When I was on a walk in South Glenmore Park a couple of mornings ago, I zoomed in across Glenmore Reservoir all the way to downtown Calgary. So, even though these buildings look like they are just behind these trees, they are way off in the distance, approximately to the north east. The Calgary Tower used to be the tallest building in the city. Now, seen next to it, the building under construction is the crescent-shaped buidling called The Bow. It will be 236 m (774 ft) tall, with 58 stories (storeys). Total cost : 1.4 billion dollars! "The Bow is a 158,000-square-metre (1.7 million sq ft) office building currently under construction for the headquarters of EnCana Corporation. It will also be occupied by Cenovus, which was spun off of Encana in late 2009. The skyscraper will be built in downtown Calgary, Alberta. The building will be the tallest office tower in Canada outside Toronto, a title currently held by the Suncor Energy Centre's West tower, also in Calgary. The Bow is also considered the start of redevelopment in Downtown East Village. It is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bow_ (skyscraper)

These are nests built by Cliff Swallows beneath the Highway 22X bridge that goes over the Bow River just south of the Boat Launch area in Fish Creek Park. I've tried several times to get a sharper photo, but the light just isn't good enough high up between the metal bars of the bridge. These nests work in a similar thermal way to an igloo. "•Although the Cliff Swallow can nest solitarily, it usually nests in colonies. Colonies tend to be small in the East, but further west they can number up to 3,700 nests in one spot. •Within a Cliff Swallow colony some swallows lay eggs in another swallow's nest. Sometimes the swallow may lay eggs in its own nest and then carry one of its eggs in its bill and put it in another female's nest." From www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cliff_Swallow/lifehistory . "Cliff swallow nests are gourd-shaped enclosed structures built of mud pellets, consisting primarily of sand with smaller amounts of silt and clay. (In contrast, barn swallow nests are cup shaped and the pellets contain coarse organic matter such as grass stems, horsehairs, and feathers.) The cliff swallow nest chamber is globular and extends forward into an entrance tunnel that opens downward. The tunnel may be absent from some nests. Nest dimensions vary from 5-1/2 to 10-1/2 inches in length and 5-1/2 to 8 inches in basal width, and the opening averages 1-3/4 inches in diameter. The nest is cemented with mud under the eave of a building, bridge, or other vertical surface. Usually the first nests are located at the highest point possible with subsequent nests attached below it, forming a dense cluster. Both sexes construct the nest, proceeding slowly to allow the mud to dry and harden. Depending on mud supply and weather, nest construction takes 1 to 2 weeks. Mud is collected at ponds, puddles, ditches, and other sites up to one-half mile away, with many birds using the same mud source. A typical nest contains 1,000 to 1,400 mud pellets, each representing one trip to and from the nest. Cliff swallows sometimes build two or three nests per season; not all nests are used, however." From www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7482.html

A shot of the Calgary Tower, which used to be the tallest construction downtown. A flame burns from the top for very special occasions.