Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: new roof

Yesterday, 3 April 2016, I was on a birding day trip with a group of friends, going SE of Calgary, E of High River. The weather was beautifully mild and, as always, it was a most enjoyable day. As always, my camera lens was turned to various other things, too, as usually happens when birds are little more than tiny silhouettes in the far, far distance. This was a rather plain, pale barn, but I still liked it. I saw it while we were driving along the gravel backroad and was wishing that if only we could stop, then I could get a photo. That is exactly what happened. The leader decided that we would stop and take a good look over a lake (was it Brant Lake?) and I was able to take a couple of shots. I will add the report from our leader, Tony Timmons. With all the birds so far away, it was really difficult, if not impossible, to even begin to count the numbers. Many thanks for a great day, Tony, and thanks so much for the ride! "Twelve people were on the trip Sunday, enjoying warm weather and lots of birds (mostly waterfowl). We birded Frank Lake, Brant Lake, and a brief stop at Third Lake; finding 40 species for the day. Greater White-fronted Goose -10 Brant Lake Snow Goose -7 Frank Lake Canada Goose Trumpeter Swan Tundra Swan Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Northern Shoveler Green-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup - 3 Brant Lake Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Ruddy Duck Northern Harrier -2 Third Lake Gray Partridge Ring-necked Pheasant American Coot - 300 Brant Lake Greater Yellowlegs - 1 Frank Lake Killdeer Ring-billed Gull California Gull Rock Pigeon Great Horned Owl - 2 on nest Northern Shrike -2 One close to Frank Lake gate, one N. of Third Lake Black-billed Magpie American Crow Common Raven American Robin European Starling Red-winged Blackbird -12 males, Frank Lake Area Yellow-headed Blackbird - 2 Frank Lake blind Western Meadowlark House Finch House Sparrow Two Red-tailed Hawks were overhead as We entered the city limits."

This is the same old Ford truck that I posted the other day, but the barn is a different one. Sometime during the past 12 months, this and various barns/sheds in the farmyard had been painted red, instead of the previous pink. This barn had also been given a new roof. This photo was taken near the end of a day of birding when 8 brave souls had faced the elements in order to document the birds and other wildlife east of High River. After less than two hours' sleep (for me) and setting our alarm clocks for some unearthly hour, we were rewarded with some nice sightings. Just like a year ago (December 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. Not sure if some of the frost is called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. By the time we got to this farm, the frost had pretty much gone. 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, 15-mile diameter 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, so a limit was put on the number of participants. 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. After our very first stop at Frank Lake, we then drove the various backroads around and near the 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. "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 potluck 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. LINK TO MY HIGH RIVER BIRD COUNT 2014 album, for comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157649826692885 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...

This is one of the barns that I saw when we were on the High River Christmas Bird Count, on 15 December 2015. Sometime during the past 12 months, this and various sheds in the farmyard had been painted red, instead of the previous pink. This barn had also been given a new roof - the previous wooden shingles had worn out. I have added a previously posted photo taken a year ago, in a comment box below. This photo was taken near the end of a day when 8 brave souls had faced the elements in order to document the birds and other wildlife east of High River. After less than two hours' sleep (for me) and setting our alarm clocks for some unearthly hour, we were rewarded with some nice sightings. Just like a year ago (December 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. Not sure if some of the frost is called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. 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, 15-mile diameter 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, so a limit was put on the number of participants. 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. After our very first stop at Frank Lake, we then drove the various backroads around and near the 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. "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 potluck 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. LINK TO MY HIGH RIVER BIRD COUNT 2014 album, for comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157649826692885 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...