Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#99

I went for a short drive SW of the city early evening on 7 May 2016. I was hoping to see Mountain Bluebirds, but my 'usual' pair don't seem to be at their old nesting box. At least, there was no sign of them yesterday, and Tree Swallows were circling around this box and the one just a few feet away. I did find a different pair, being harassed by Tree Swallows, and was able to get several distant, quick shots. I was also hoping to see a Wilson's Snipe at the usual place and I was lucky to find this one standing on a fence post. Usually, these birds will stay for a while, but this one let me get a couple of photos and off it flew. It was SO good to see one again - they are one of my favourite birds to photograph. Other species seen were a Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, a Coot, various distant ducks and an extremely distant pair of Red-necked Grebes. "These plump, long-billed birds are among the most widespread shorebirds in North America. They can be tough to see thanks to their cryptic brown and buff coloration and secretive nature. But in summer they often stand on fence posts or take to the sky with a fast, zigzagging flight and an unusual “winnowing” sound made with the tail." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wilsons_snipe/id "Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a small, stocky shorebird. This species was considered to be a subspecies of the Common Snipe (G. gallinago) until 2003 when it was given its own species status. Wilson's Snipe differs from the latter species in having a narrower white trailing edge to the wings, and eight pairs of tail feathers instead of the typical seven of the Common Snipe. Its common name commemorates the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson's_snipe According to Fisher and Acorn's book, "Birds of Alberta", "the common Snipe is both secretive and well camouflaged, so few people notice it until it flushes suddenly from a nearby grassy tussock. As soon as the Snipe takes to the air, it performs a series of quick zigzags - an evasive maneuver designed to confuse predators. Because of this habit, Snipes were among the most difficult birds to shoot (in the days when shorebirds were hunted for sport), and skilled sportsmen were known as "snipers" - a term later adopted by the military." youtu.be/Z16CUdX2g5Q

A photo of this Bald Eagle from deep down in my archives, taken on 16 May 2009, at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre (near Lethbridge). I came across it while juggling and deleting more photos last night, in readiness for all my data being transferred to a new computer tomorrow (all being well). Guessing it will be about three days before it will be ready to set up at home. Just in time before I have very minor surgery (local anaesthetic and nothing to do with the pain I always have, unfortunately)) on my back, which means I wouldn't be able to carry two heavy hard drives or crawl under my computer desk trying to work out what cord plugs into what, lol. Rather close timing for my liking, but it should all work out OK.

I had to go back into my archives a little way for this photo, to 22nd August. Seen in West Bragg Creek Natural Area. Looks like our mushroom season is pretty much over for this year, so most of my mushroom photos from now on will have to come from my archives. Love these beautiful, elegant white ones with their upturned caps, showing off their graceful gills. LOL, can you tell I absolutely love photographing fungi?

This a Yellow-headed Amazon Parrot at the Calgary Zoo. I find it so difficult to photograph most things behind glass at the Zoo. Occasionally, an image comes out all right, or at least I can rescue it : ) The eyes remind me of those old, glass Teddy bear eyes. It is an endangered amazon parrot of Mexico and northern Central America and is a popular pet and an excellent talker.