Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Chinook Arch

What??? Just checked our weather forecast and I found little snowflake icons for this coming Thursday, 13 September!! I am SO not ready for this. We did get snow in the mountains back in August. Yesterday, 8 September 2018, there was a second Fungi Foray out at West Bragg Creek. A handful of us from Calgary were there, plus so many people who belong to a mycological group. Many of them arrived armed with the dreaded baskets! Never a good sign, as that means mushrooms will be picked before those of us who are photographers and/or like to see mushrooms left where they are growing, get a chance to take photos. This year is not a particularly good year for mushrooms and other fungi. However, we did see quite a few different kinds, including this little family growing along the edge of a tree stump. As always, any IDs given are only tentative - have no ID for these. This little grouping was not in West Brragg Creek itself, but in a "secret" spot. Three of us went there after the foray. A treacherous place to try and walk, but a few different species can be found there. Definitely not a place for dozens of people. One of the things we wanted to check out in this second spot was a log that was covered in Blue Stain. On our last visit, we had photographed a white mushroom and when I got home, I noticed that the log below it had Blue Stain. We wanted to check if we could find any of the beautiful and unusual turquise fungi cups were to be seen. When we eventually found the right log in the forest (ha, ha!), we were delighted to see that there was a scattering of these teeny cups. Almost all of them were very pale, but some did have a turquoise rim. Will eventually post a photo of them. The weather was just perfect for our morning's walk. On the drive west of the city to West Bragg Creek, there was a beautiful Chinook Arch. I just had to pull over on the highway and take a quick shot through the windscreen. It was so tempting to keep driving further into the mountains - West Bragg Creek is right on the edge.

With a lot of snow forecast for 8 of the following 10 days, I feel very lucky that my daughter and I had such a beautiful day on 17 December 2017, for our Christmas get-together. Along with the snow will come much colder temperatures, too, unfortunately. It was such weird weather, as the colour of the sunrise sky lasted all day, till we left just before sunset. A gorgeous Chinook Arch crossed the sky, staying the whole day. Some of the fields were bare, and others had a light dusting of snow on them. The day started with breakfast at the Saskatoon Farm - always enjoyable. They do close from the end of the day on 23 December and open again in the morning of 17 January. A well-earned break for everyone who works there. As always, we walked around the grounds to look for things to photograph and, as usual, we were in luck - dead Sunflowers, cats, dogs, even a little House Sparrow that was inside one of the greenhouses. From there, we continued south to the area east of High River and drove some of the usual back roads; ones that I had driven just four days earlier. Of course, we were hoping that we might find a Snowy Owl, though I knew not to get our hopes up. Before too long, my daughter spotted our first Snowy Owl of the season - the tiniest speck of white that I could barely see with the naked eye, but it was a Snowy and that was all that mattered. Later in the day, she somehow spotted a second one; again, the tiniest speck perched on a very distant fence post. A few minutes before this second sighting, my daughter spotted two handsome Mule Deer bucks - looked like father and son - lying down next to a metal grain silo, near the edge of the road. They stayed there for a while, which was surprising, as males tend to be far more skittish. Eventually, they stood up and walked off into the field. Of course, we couldn't resist taking shots of any old barns, sheds and houses that we came across. Altogether, a great day that was much enjoyed. Thank you so much, Rachel, for spending the day with me, and doing something that we both love! These are my absolute favourite days in the year.

This photo was taken three days ago, 12 February 2015, which was spent SE of the city, with friends Cathy and Terry. They picked me up around 7:00 am and I think I was home somewhere around 7:30 pm, after a great day of searching for owls, barns, and anything else that caught our eye. The weather was beautiful. The temperature reached a brief high of 13C around 1:00 and 2:00 pm, which felt so good, especially for mid-winter. I always think the mountains look so beautiful when they are seen around sunset, between the darkened fields and a heavy layer of cloud. Many of the roads we travelled along were roads that I had driven on myself, some of them a number of times. A few of the roads were new to me, which was a treat, including a "trail" that was so deeply rutted and snow-covered that I'm amazed that we ever got out of there! This track and another backroad that was new to me led to a few old barns that I really appreciated being shown. I think my friends were amused that I fell asleep on this very rough track - after only an hour and a half's sleep the previous night, on top of always being very sleep-deprived, I'm really not surprised. It's strange how some fields in the whole area were more or less bare and yet others had a lot of snow covering the stubble, with piles of snow lining the edges of the road. As far as wildlife was concerned, we saw 11 owls - 8 Snowy Owls and 3 Great Horned Owls. The Snowies, other than the one perched on the "Wrong Way" sign that I posted the other day, were all extremely distant, so my photos are of white specks in a nice setting, ha. If I hadn't been with two people who can spot "everything", I'm sure that I would never have found most of these owls! Other birds included a flock of Snow Buntings, plus two individuals that were perched on a fence - haven't checked yet to see if I have a sharp enough photo. Another bird we saw was a beautiful Falcon perched on an electricity pylon - not a large bird, so presumably a Prairie Falcon, not a Gyrfalcon. Also a group of Grey Partridge that suddenly flew before we had noticed them. We had to deal with a lot of heat distortion during the day, so some photos are far from sharp. Many thanks, as always, Cathy and Terry, for a great day out, including the delicious chili you made and brought along. A fun and rewarding day! Really appreciated being with you, doing what we all enjoy so much. Thanks, too, for giving me time to photograph the various barns we came across!

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”

Many people might be very tempted to suggest that either I buy some kind of filter or to not shoot directly towards the sun, LOL. However, I don't mind the little shower of coloured lights that are added to the occasional snow photo : ) I have enough shots that don't have them : ) This was taken yesterday afternoon in Fish Creek Park near the Bow Valley Ranch. I had been on a walk right before this at Bebo Grove and had had a totally unsuccessful time trying to find birds. So, yet another snow scene, LOL. The sun came out very late yesterday afternoon - today it has been out all day. Today was a perfect day as far as the weather goes - you could even feel a slight warmth from the sun, which felt heavenly after all our -25C and -30C weather!

When I first looked at this photo, I almost felt as if I was viewing Frank Lake and the distant Rocky Mountains through a frame of ripped paper : ) We had a few hours south of the city today, searching sloughs (ponds) and Frank Lake for birds. Frank Lake is a well-known location and very popular with birders. I was very happy to see a Western Meadowlark, even though it was perched on a most unphotogenic, distant road sign, LOL. Took quite a few photos, but mainly landscapes - and most not really worth keeping. We are SO lucky to have this amazing scenery within easy reach!! Quite warm today, up to around 21C, but cooling off greatly tomorrow, with snow in the forecast sometime over the next few days.

A rather blurry shot taken through the car window early this morning, but the colour and light were incredible! The fields were bathed in sunrise light and there was a most impressive Chinook Arch. A friend had very kindly invited me to go along with him into the mountains to Highwood Pass, hoping to find a White-tailed Ptarmigan. We've tried the last couple of years, too, but so far no luck : ) When we got to Highwood Pass, we discovered that there was far too much snow to be able to walk - you need snowshoes or skis to prevent yourself from sinking into very deep snow with every step. I so rarely get to the mountains, so it is such a treat for me to be surrounded by such spectacular scenery.

One of our famous "Chinook Arches" that bring a short period of warmer temperatures to Calgary. In the winter, the warm winds melt a lot of the snow. Then the temperature drops and the melting snow freezes, making everywhere treacherous!

This is part of a Chinook Arch that Calgary is famous for. We welcome the change in weather that these arches bring - usually somewhat windy and warmer and in winter the Chinook wind brings warmer temperatures that melt the snow and ice. Not good news, though, for Migraine sufferers!