Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: rope

A few days ago, I started on photos taken during the week we spent in Quebec, 12-18 May 2018. Some photos were taken in the small, coastal village of Tadoussac itself, others were taken in the wonderful garden of the home in which we stayed all week, and the rest were taken on several drives we made further along the coast. Unfortunately, so many of my bird photos will have to be deleted, as there was no room for me right by the window, so I had to take the shots from further inside the room and that definitely did not work! This one was OK. The one morning, I made sure that I got to the window first and was able to get some reasonable images : ) For many of them, I used my Panasonic FZ1000, which only has a small zoom, but I like the quality of images taken with it. I had to give up trying to use the faulty Nikon B700 - I was just wasting precious time and photo opportunities, and ending up with ruined photos (camera was since returned and money refunded). Though I prefer a more natural setting, I am happy to take fence or feeder shots if they mean I can see the beautiful details of the birds up close. Link to my album (358 images) about Point Pelee and area, Ontario: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157667191771677 At the end of our 4-day stay at Point Pelee, we had to drive all the way back to Toronto, from where we flew to Quebec City airport. From there, we had a four-hour drive to Tadoussac on the coast of the St. Lawrence Seaway. This is such a delightful, small place and in a beautiful setting. One of our friends, Anne B, and her husband have a summer cabin further along the cliff from the few stores and port. She had invited the four of us to go with her from Pelee to spend a week at her beautiful home. What an absolute treat this was! We were able to meet some of her relatives, too, who also have built cabins out there. We were looked after so well, and we were able to see and photograph all sorts of birds and other things. We made several trips to see different places along the coast, including the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, where we were able to see endless thousands of Snow Geese, in flight and also up close. Breathtaking! We also had two boat trips from Tadoussac - one was a whaling trip in a Zodiac, where we saw very, very distant Beluga and Minke Whales. The Belugas looked almost like the white wave crests - but they were Belugas. The other boat trip was to the Brandy Pot Islands, inhabited by thousands of Razorbills and Common Murres, which were new birds for us, and Double-crested Cormorants that were nesting in tree tops. That long boat trip (in a tiny boat named Juno) started off in the rain and dark clouds and it was soooo cold! Thermal underwear, layers of fleece and toque and gloves were needed. This day was arranged through a contact of Anne's and it was so much enjoyed! Of course, we anchored a distance away from the island and sat there and ate our sandwiches and took endless photos - difficult when bobbing up and down on the rough water! It is forbidden to land on the island at nesting time. Anne B, I can't thank you enough for organizing this holiday for us all and for inviting us to spend a week at your cabin. You worked so hard and it was so much appreciated by each and every one of us. Thank you for doing all the many hours of driving, too! Janet and Anne, thank you so much for compiling the lists of birds seen each day at various locations, and posted to ebird. These entries will be a huge help while I try and sort out where we were and when, and what species we saw. Miss your cookies and muffins, Janet, that you kindly made for us in Tadoussac, to go along with the wonderful meals that Anne planned and made for us : )

This morning, I am only posting one photo, as I have a very early start to the day. Will have to add a better description later. This photo was taken yesterday, 24 September 2017, when I ended up driving east of the city on my own. The meeting time for a trip east with other birders was given incorrectly in our newsletter, which said 9:30 am instead of 8:00 am that was given in a different place. Three of us arrived around 9:15 am, only to discover that no one else turned up. So, we went for a walk at the meeting place, Carburn Park, and afterwards, I decided that I would drive east of the city and wander around a few of the back roads. It was definitely a good decision as, though I didn't see many birds, two of them were beautiful Great Horned Owls. Continuing in the evening.... I ended up driving very different back roads to what I had thought of doing. They were all in the south area, and many were new roads to me. Old barns outnumbered birds photographed, with about five new barns and just two owls. The first owl I came across flew low across the road in front of me. At first, I thought it was a hawk of some kind, as Great Horned Owls aren't often seen flying in the daytime, It landed on a fence post in a field, where it sat for a minute or two, before flying to a distant old barn window on a farm property. Needed full zoom to get photos of it. Later on, after getting myself completely lost, I realized that I was not too far from an old grain elevator that I had discovered four years ago. On that day, I remember being so happy to have come across this elevator. When I got out of my car and walked a bit closer to get photos, I couldn't believe my eyes when I noticed a Great Horned Owl sitting in a window. I never expected that there would be an owl in the window again, yesterday, but there it was! Happy day! As for today, 25 September 2017, I spent the day with a friend, travelling south of the city to the Pine Coulee Reservoir and area. The rolling hills of this whole area are so beautiful. The birds we saw were all far away, needing Tony's spotting scope, except for a Eurasian Collared Dove and several small birds. Meanwhile, I was enjoying the scenery and anything else that caught my eye. We called in at the Pine Coulee campground and the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground and did a walk at each. Both were deserted and very peaceful. At the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground, the silence was broken by the call of a Belted Kingfisher. There was a bright yellow sign warning that there was a Bear in the area, but it was nowhere to be seen. The weather was perfect all day, starting off chilly, but getting up to about 20C in the afternoon, and a sky full of clouds. Thanks so much for the invite, Tony - much appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed! Pure luxury, too, not having to drive.