Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Dad

On the spur of the moment tonight, I decided that I might just try and get up early tomorrow morning and go for a drive. The smoke from the British Columbia wildfires hasn't been hanging around the last few days, so I really should make the most of a clear day. Rather than post my three photos in the morning, I thought I would post them tonight, to avoid leaving home later than I want. On 21 August 2018, it turned out to be such a great day, with some much-appreciated sightings. I must have spent about 8 or 9 hours driving and almost every inch of my body ached like crazy. Now, each summer, I try and do two or three longer (for me) drives, making sure I don't lose confidence to get there. I left home at 9:00 am, just a bit later than I had hoped. Arrived back home somewhere around 8:30 pm. Weather-wise, it was around 24C, so not too hot. Yes, it was still smokey from the British Columbia wildfires, making distant hills barely visible and deleting mountains from view, but it didn't have too much effect on closer photography. Unfortunately, this Bison is a domestic animal, on a farm. A Prairie Bison? I have seen wild Bison and I do have photos of them in the wild. Couldn't resist stopping to take a few shots of these animals. It was also a good day for Hawks, seeing three on the way south and a few on the way home. I almost missed two of the hawks, as the hay bale was way out in a large field. At first, I thought there were three hawks together, but when I stopped to take a few photos, I realized that there were only two - one looked almost like two hawks close together, but then I saw that it had its wings mantled. I guess it wanted to make sure that the second hawk behind it couldn't steal any of the food from it. A Horned Lark, a Vesper Sparrow, a Mourning Dove, and a Western Meadowlark gave me the chance for a photo or two and, to my delight, a hawk I spotted way in the distance turned out to be a Ferruginous Hawk. A happy sighting, as they tend to be few and far between. My actual destination was the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge. I know some people feel that photographing birds that are not out in the wild is cheating. I kind of agree, though I think it's fine as long as someone says where it was taken. I have seen and photographed many wild owls in their natural habitat, but I still love seeing them at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale - up close and personal, at least when zoomed.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday (as well as being April Fool's Day). I decided to join friends for an afternoon walk in Fish Creek Park, despite the overcast sky, cold temperature and a forecast for yet more snow. We only had a few snowflakes and this morning, there is just a light dusting over everything. The temperature this morning, 2 April 2018, is -9C (windchill -14C). The forecast for this week shows snow every other day. One of our stops yesterday was to see the male Great Horned Owl, perched where he was almost impossible to see, his camouflage was so good. This was the only photo I got, fully zoomed and from far away. Those eyes looked tightly shut and he was no doubt getting some sleep after a busy night of hunting. We were also lucky to see two Coyotes together, at first way off in the distance and then they came somewhat closer. Beautiful animals, though we were concerned to see them in the area, having been asked by a family if we had seen their puppy that had run off from the parking lot. We kept our eyes open for the two and a half hours that we were walking, but we saw the family still searching. To spot a white dog against all the snow would have been difficult, and it wasn't answering to its name being called. I do hope this had a happy ending! Migrating birds are beginning to be seen in and around Calgary - but, let's face it, who in their right mind would want to come to a place where spring is still an ongoing time of cold and snow?! After braving the cold, coffee at Tim Horton's was the perfect ending to our afternoon of birding. On the way there, we stopped to look at a new birding blind that we had heard about. Made from rusty metal with several holes cut out of it, it was certainly a rather unusual sight. Thanks, Bernie and Janet, for leading the walk - always appreciated.

This is the adult male Great Horned Owl ("Dad") seen two days ago, on 17 June 2017, when five of us went east of the city for the day, to visit our friend, Shirley, at her seasonal trailer. All three owlets and Mom were perched in the same tree while Dad was keeping watch over his beautiful family from a nearby tree. Apparently, there had been a fourth owlet, but it died a few days ago. "With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/id Most of our birding was done at and near Shirley's trailer site, including seeing this wonderful owl family, two Killdeer and their nests, a Baltimore Oriole, and (finally!) a pair of Brown Thrashers. I had hoped for several years to see one of these birds, so it was a real treat to see a 'lifer'. It was far away and so high up, but I managed to get a couple of shots just for the record. As we were walking around the grounds, two ladies stopped us and showed us some baby birds that they had had to remove from the engine of their vehicle. They wondered if we knew what kind of birds they were, but we were unable to help. I posted a photo of them a couple of days ago, just in case someone can ID them. The ladies had a bird house that they were going to put the babies into, hoping that the parents would hear them calling and be able to continue feeding them. Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you while you were there for the weekend! It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. Such a great variety of species! Wow, what a lunch we had, sitting at a table under the Tree Swallow tree, with a very vocal American Robin just a few feet away. How DO birds manage to sing non-stop?! Hot chili made by Shirley, and a whole array of delicious salads and desserts left me feeling full till the early evening. Many thanks, Anne B, for picking up three of us and for driving us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated!

This was my MAIN photo today, but apparently did not show as the main one for everyone - thanks for letting me know, Bonnie! Oops, slept through three very loud alarm clocks and a kitchen timer for an hour!!! Will have to add all info later, as I'm hoping to find my friends for birding. Think I'm going to be too late, though. Sigh .... Two days ago, the weather was beautiful and I was able to get out for a walk in Fish Creek Park with birding friends. We started off at the Boat Launch, checking the Bow River for any waterfowl, then walked to the first storm water pond. From there, we walked down the path by the river, where, among other things, we spotted a little male Tree Swallow working at his nest cavity. Also a Black-capped Chickadee doing exactly the same thing. At one point, we heard a rustling in the dead leaves on the ground and then caught sight of a Meadow Vole. We even heard one litte squeak : ) Our last stop on our walk was to check on the pair of Great Horned Owls. Dad was sleeping in a tree not far from the nest tree and Mom was on the nest. We couldn't see any young ones. "With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics. Great Horned Owls are nocturnal. You may see them at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree limbs at the edges of open areas, or flying across roads or fields with stiff, deep beats of their rounded wings. Their call is a deep, stuttering series of four to five hoots." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_horned_owl The Balsam Poplar trees were full of bright red (male) catkins - they always look so beautiful, especially when seen against a blue sky. We saw one flower on our walk - yellow, and I think it was Silverweed, if I remember correctly. When I returned home later, I was welcomed by another yellow flower - my first Dandelion of the season : ) I happen to be one of those people who love Dandelions. After the bird walk, I had intended going straight home, but on the spur of the moment, I turned on to the small road leading down to Bankside (still in Fish Creek Park). Sometimes, I get the feeling that I am meant to go somewhere, that there is a reason, and usually it ends up with my seeing something beautiful. Well, that day, the 'something' was a gorgeous male Ring-necked Pheasant! On the drive to the parking lot, I had already seen another male, but the second one ended up crossing the path, giving a much closer view. As soon as I got out of my car, I recognized a lady in the distance - it was friend, Shirley, who had already spotted this bird. A fisherman mentioned it to us, as well. After watching the very well-hidden bird, we were treated to a clear view when it walked across the path ahead of us. Such a spectacular bird! I will add the list of species seen on the first walk, compiled by our leaders: Spring Birding, Boat Launch, FCPP, Calgary, 0915-1215, Thu07Apr2016. Sunny, calm, 3 – 15°C. Combined results of three groups. Canada Goose-20 American Wigeon-2 Mallard-20 Common Goldeneye-10 Common Merganser-5 RED-TAILED HAWK-1 WILSON’S SNIPE-1 FRANKLIN’S GULL-5 Ring-billed Gull-15+ Rock Pigeon-2 Great Horned Owl-2 Downy Woodpecker-6 Hairy Woodpecker-2 Northern Flicker-7+ Black-billed Magpie-3 Common Raven-3 TREE SWALLOW-3. One male was excavating nest-hole Black-capped Chickadee-10,One pair were excavating nest-hole White-breasted Nuthatch-2+ American Robin-4 European Starling-40+ SONG SPARROW-2+ RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD-3 m. Meadow Vole-1 Muskrat-2