Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: almost winter

What a day I had with friends on 7 December 2014, in an absolute winter wonderland! We set off about 7:45 a.m. (still dark) and drove westwards to the Kananaskis area of our majestic mountains. Early in the drive, the sunrise turned the still distant mountains pink - this is always such an amazing sight to see. There was very low cloud lingering in some places, too, which I always love to see. Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that was still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter months) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day! My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose, and on this day they did really well, finding the beautiful female seen in this photo and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All this female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance :) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free car wash, anyone?? I should add that caution must always be kept in mind and respect given to an animal - any wildlife can be unpredictable. The EXIF data for this image is Focal Length (35mm format) - 1080 mm. Unfortunately, it's not as sharp as it could have been. Most of the time, this female was in the shade, as in this photo, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun. We saw this female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around either. I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. Of course, just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me. “The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female. The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose

Just posting two photos again today, 13 January 2017, both grabbed from my archives. I finally got out to run a few important errands yesterday, after being home for 7 or 8 days. Our deep-freeze is finally breaking and tomorrow is forecast to get up to -1C! What a day I had with friends on 7 December 2014, in an absolute winter wonderland! We set off about 7:45 a.m. (still dark) and drove westwards to the Kananaskis area of our majestic mountains. Early in the drive, the sunrise turned the still distant mountains pink - this is always such an amazing sight to see. There was very low cloud lingering in some places, too, which I always love to see. Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that was still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter months) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day! My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose, and on this day they did really well, finding the beautiful female seen in this photo and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All this female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance :) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free car wash, anyone?? I should add that caution must always be kept in mind and respect given to an animal - any wildlife can be unpredictable. Most of the time, this female was in the shade, as in this photo, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun. We saw this female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around either. I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. Of course, just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me. “The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female. The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose

This photo was taken a year ago, during the annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count. I've had to cancel for this year's Count, being held today, because of feeling dizzy, which is very annoying. Hope the three friends in my group have a successful, enjoyable day! It involves a whole day of walking, unlike most of the Counts I usually go on. This photo of a male White-winged Crossbill was taken on last year's Count - this male was so beautiful with a mix of dark pink, light pink and yellow mixed in with the dark brown and white plumage. The second bird is either a female or a juvenile. Several of these birds had flown down to the road and were hanging out on a few lumps of very dirty snow. Not the most attractive setting, but at least I managed to get a few photos of the birds. On last year's Count, we did SO much walking, starting at 8:00 am, getting home around 4:00 p.m., and then I was out all evening at the potluck supper held for the many participants who covered various parts of the city. Our first stop was at a place with a great view looking out over downtown Calgary. The sunrise colours were beautiful and the whole day gave us good weather. The Calgary Tower, which used to be the tallest building downtown, is now dwarfed by others. At this time of the year, the tower has Christmas coloured lights around the top section. From this location, we then spent the day driving short distances and then walking round the various residential streets. There were so many White-winged Crossbills! "A medium-sized finch of the boreal forest, the White-winged Crossbill is adapted for extracting seeds from the cones of coniferous trees. It moves large distances between years tracking the cone crop from place to place." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-winged_Crossbill/id The total overall number of species seen for the whole city last year was really good, though we haven't yet had the finalized number. The group of 4 of us that covered part of the NE had 24 species, which was also very good. Will add our small group's list in a comment box below.

What a day I had on 7 December 2014, with friends Cathy and Terry, in an absolute winter wonderland! We set off about 7:45 a.m. (still dark) and drove westwards to the Kananaskis area of our majestic mountains. Early in the drive, the sunrise turned the still distant mountains pink - this is always such an amazing sight to see. There was low cloud in some places, too, which I always love to see. Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that is still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter months) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day! My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose and on this day they did really well, finding the beautiful female seen in this photo and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! The closest we saw them both was when they approached the car. You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All this female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance :) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free carwash, anyone?? Most of the time, this female was in the shade, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun, as in this photo. We saw this female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around either. I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. I always tell my friends that just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me. “The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female. The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose

On 20 December 2015, I had a really long day out, taking part in the annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count. We did SO much walking, starting at 8:00 am, getting home around 4:00 p.m., and then I was out in the evening at the potluck supper held for the many participants who covered various parts of the city. Our first stop was at the place seen in this photo, looking out over downtown Calgary. The sunrise colours were beautiful and the whole day gave us good weather. The Calgary Tower, which used to be the tallest building downtown, is now dwarfed by others. At the moment, it has Christmas coloured lights around the top section, though they don't show up too well in this photo. From this location, we then spent the day driving short distances and then walking round the various residential streets. There were so many White-winged Crossbills! The total overall number of species seen for the whole city this year was really good, though we haven't yet had the finalized number. The group of 4 of us that covered part of the NE had 24 species, which was also good. Will add our small group's list below. Species 24: Canada Goose 200+ Mallard 100+ Raven 11 American Crow 4 Magpie 86 Rock Pigeon 38 Starling 2 Bald Eagle 1 Merlin 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 21 Blue Jay 2 American Robin 3 White-winged Crossbill 340 Red Crossbill 24 House Finch 134 Black-capped Chickadee 26 Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Common Redpoll 21 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 House Sparrow 750 Eurasian Collared Dove 63 Tony T. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHY THE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT MATTERS news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141227-christmas...

A week ago, on 20 December 2015, I had a really long day out with three friends, taking part in the annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count. We did SO much walking, starting at 8:00 am, getting home around 4:00 p.m., and then I was out all evening at the potluck supper held for the many participants who covered various parts of the city. Our first stop was at a place with a great view looking out over downtown Calgary. The sunrise colours were beautiful and the whole day gave us good weather. The Calgary Tower, which used to be the tallest building downtown, is now dwarfed by others. At tthis time of the year, it has Christmas coloured lights around the top section. From this location, we then spent the day driving short distances and then walking round the various residential streets. There were so many White-winged Crossbills! The bird in this photo is a female - the males are red. "A medium-sized finch of the boreal forest, the White-winged Crossbill is adapted for extracting seeds from the cones of coniferous trees. It moves large distances between years tracking the cone crop from place to place." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-winged_Crossbill/id The total overall number of species seen for the whole city this year was really good, though we haven't yet had the finalized number. The group of 4 of us that covered part of the NE had 24 species, which was also very good. Will add our small group's list below. Species 24: Canada Goose 200+ Mallard 100+ Raven 11 American Crow 4 Magpie 86 Rock Pigeon 38 Starling 2 Bald Eagle 1 Merlin 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 21 Blue Jay 2 American Robin 3 White-winged Crossbill 340 Red Crossbill 24 House Finch 134 Black-capped Chickadee 26 Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Common Redpoll 21 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 House Sparrow 750 Eurasian Collared Dove 63 Tony T.

It's very rare that I post my "daily three" very late at night or shortly after midnight. However, this is one of those times, and I will probably have to finish off descriptions, tags, etc. late tomorrow evening. I have to set my two alarm clocks and kitchen timer for about 4:15 am (and it's already just after 1:00 am!). Just hope I don't sleep right through my alarms, as does happen sometimes. Have to be at the meeting place by 6:30 am, ready to spend a very long day travelling to and from the Drumheller area in the Alberta Badlands, east of Calgary. Takes roughly two hours to get there. Think I'd better get off my computer and head for bed! It was a really long day out on 20 December 2015, taking part in the annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count. We did SO much walking, starting at 8:00 am, getting home around 4:00 p.m., and then I was out all evening at the potluck supper held for the many participants who covered various parts of the city. Our first stop was at the place seen in this photo, looking out over downtown Calgary. The sunrise colours were beautiful and the whole day gave us good weather. The Calgary Tower, which used to be the tallest building downtown, is now dwarfed by others. At the moment, it has Christmas coloured lights around the top section. From this location, we then spent the day driving short distances and then walking round the various residential streets. There were so many White-winged Crossbills! The total overall number of species seen for the whole city this year was really good, though we haven't yet had the finalized number. The group of 4 of us that covered part of the NE had 24 species, which was also good. Will add our small group's list below. Species 24: Canada Goose 200+ Mallard 100+ Raven 11 American Crow 4 Magpie 86 Rock Pigeon 38 Starling 2 Bald Eagle 1 Merlin 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 21 Blue Jay 2 American Robin 3 White-winged Crossbill 340 Red Crossbill 24 House Finch 134 Black-capped Chickadee 26 Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Common Redpoll 21 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 House Sparrow 750 Eurasian Collared Dove 63 Tony T.

Yesterday, 20 December 2015, was a really long day out, taking part in the annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count. We did SO much walking, starting at 8:00 am, getting home around 4:00 p.m., and then I was out all evening at the potluck supper held for the many participants who covered various parts of the city. Our first stop was at the place seen in this photo, looking out over downtown Calgary. The sunrise colours were beautiful and the whole day gave us good weather. The Calgary Tower, which used to be the tallest building downtown, is now dwarfed by others. At the moment, it has Christmas coloured lights around the top section, though they don't show up too well in this photo. From this location, we then spent the day driving short distances and then walking round the various residential streets. There were so many White-winged Crossbills! The total overall number of species seen for the whole city this year was really good, though we haven't yet had the finalized number. The group of 4 of us that covered part of the NE had 24 species, which was also good. Will add our small group's list below. Species 24: Canada Goose 200+ Mallard 100+ Raven 11 American Crow 4 Magpie 86 Rock Pigeon 38 Starling 2 Bald Eagle 1 Merlin 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 21 Blue Jay 2 American Robin 3 White-winged Crossbill 340 Red Crossbill 24 House Finch 134 Black-capped Chickadee 26 Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Common Redpoll 21 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 House Sparrow 750 Eurasian Collared Dove 63 Tony T. My daughter and I are having a day out together today, which consists of driving out of the city with our cameras to see what we can find, first having breakfast at a really nice place IF there are any tables left!. The best way possible to spend a day : )

Yesterday, 20 December 2015, was a really long day out, taking part in the annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count. We did SO much walking, starting at 8:00 am, getting home around 4:00 p.m., and then I was out all evening at the potluck supper held for the many participants who covered various parts of the city. Our first stop was at a place with a great view looking out over downtown Calgary. The sunrise colours were beautiful and the whole day gave us good weather. The Calgary Tower, which used to be the tallest building downtown, is now dwarfed by others. At the moment, it has Christmas coloured lights around the top section. From this location, we then spent the day driving short distances and then walking round the various residential streets. There were so many White-winged Crossbills! The bird in this photo is a female - the males are red. The total overall number of species seen for the whole city this year was really good, though we haven't yet had the finalized number. The group of 4 of us that covered part of the NE had 24 species, which was also very good. Will add our small group's list below. Species 24: Canada Goose 200+ Mallard 100+ Raven 11 American Crow 4 Magpie 86 Rock Pigeon 38 Starling 2 Bald Eagle 1 Merlin 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 21 Blue Jay 2 American Robin 3 White-winged Crossbill 340 Red Crossbill 24 House Finch 134 Black-capped Chickadee 26 Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Common Redpoll 21 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 House Sparrow 750 Eurasian Collared Dove 63 Tony T. My daughter and I are having a day out together today, which consists of driving out of the city with our cameras to see what we can find, first having breakfast at a really nice place IF there are any tables left!. The best way possible to spend a day : )

Yesterday, 20 December 2015, was a really long day out, taking part in the annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count. We did SO much walking, starting at 8:00 am, getting home around 4:00 p.m., and then I was out all evening at the potluck supper held for the many participants who covered various parts of the city. Our first stop was at a place with a great view looking out over downtown Calgary. The sunrise colours were beautiful and the whole day gave us good weather. The Calgary Tower, which used to be the tallest building downtown, is now dwarfed by others. At the moment, it has Christmas coloured lights around the top section. From this location, we then spent the day driving short distances and then walking round the various residential streets. There were so many White-winged Crossbills! The total overall number of species seen for the whole city this year was really good, though we haven't yet had the finalized number. The group of 4 of us that covered part of the NE had 24 species, which was also very good. Will add our small group's list below. Species 24: Canada Goose 200+ Mallard 100+ Raven 11 American Crow 4 Magpie 86 Rock Pigeon 38 Starling 2 Bald Eagle 1 Merlin 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 21 Blue Jay 2 American Robin 3 White-winged Crossbill 340 Red Crossbill 24 House Finch 134 Black-capped Chickadee 26 Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Common Redpoll 21 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 House Sparrow 750 Eurasian Collared Dove 63 Tony T. My daughter and I are having a day out together today, which consists of driving out of the city with our cameras to see what we can find, first having breakfast at a really nice place IF there are any tables left!. The best way possible to spend a day : )

This photo was taken on 16 December 2014, which was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of High River. This town is SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. My small group travelled in two cars, 8 people in total, and we covered the SE quadrant of the Count circle. Towards the end of my description, I will add the report compiled by our leader, Gus Yaki. As usual, there were several of these sightings listed that I, myself, did not see. Also, I ended up with poor photos of most of the things that I did see. The day was absolutely beautiful, but the light was even worse than I had realized. The amazing hoar frost, that covered everything, surprisingly lasted pretty well the whole day - usually, it lasts only a very short time. So, even though the light wasn't good for photos, the hoar frost beauty stayed with us all day long - just breathtaking. For our drive down to High River, we had fog which, in patches, was quite thick. Wondered if we would see anything at all when we reached our area, ha. It was cold and damp, as well as foggy. In addition to that, some of the birds, such as the three Snowy Owls (I only saw two of them) were SO far away, there was no chance for photos except just for the record. Only 35 species were seen in the total for the complete Count circle. Of course, as always happens, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including several barns, cloud formations, farm cats, an old truck, scenery and so on. At one of our stops, we were looking in the bushes/shrubs at the edge of a farm, where a Northern Saw-whet Owl had been sighted last Christmas Count. No luck with an owl, but one of the birders spotted a male Merlin very high up on a power pole. A short while later, it was spotted just down the road, perched on a fence post. Such a beautiful bird - but such lousy light! We had finished our count by 5:00 pm, by which time it was, of course, completely dark. A few of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by the generous birding people down in High River. Lorrie and John gave a slide show of their recent trip to Africa. So many great shots of beautiful bird species that I have never seen. Thanks, Lorrie and John, for spending time going through all your slides at home and choosing a lovely selection for us. Many thanks, too, for driving Shirley and myself all day long! "HIGH RIVER CBC, SE quadrant, Frank Lk; E of #2, S of #23. 0830-1700, 16Dec2014. Overcast, heavy fog, created great hoarfrost on everything. Winds, variable direction, 10-15kph. -7°C. Ground mostly bare of snow; Little Bow River 95% frozen. 1. Mallard-1 f. 2. Scaup sp.- juv or f, likely Lesser-1 3. Gray Partridge-7 4. Ring-necked Pheasant-2 5. Bald Eagle-3 ( 2 ad/ 1 juv.) 6. Merlin-1 m. 7. Rock Pigeon-8 8. Great Horned Owl- 5 [an additional one seen N of Hwy 23, just W of Frank Lk exit at 16:56 pm.] 9. Snowy Owl-3 10. Downy Woodpecker-2 11. Northern Flicker-2 12. Black-billed Magpie-83 13. Common Raven-15 14. Horned Lark-20 15. Black-capped Chickadee-7 16. Common Redpoll-155 17. House Sparrow-669 18. 17 species of birds MAMMALS: Deer Mouse-1, deceased. White-tailed Jackrabbit-1 Mule Deer-25 White-tailed Deer-44 Total Km by car-111; by foot- 3. Total hours by car – 6; on foot-2.5 Gus Yaki"

This photo was taken on 16 December 2014, which was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of High River. This town is SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. My small group travelled in two cars, 8 people in total, and we covered the SE quadrant of the Count circle. Below, I will add the report compiled by our leader, Gus Yaki. As usual, there were several of these sightings listed that I, myself, did not see. Also, I ended up with poor photos of most of the things that I did see. The day was absolutely beautiful, but the light was even worse than I had realized. The amazing hoar frost, that covered everything, surprisingly lasted pretty well the whole day - usually, it lasts only a very short time. So, even though the light wasn't good for photos, the hoar frost beauty stayed with us all day long - just breathtaking. For our drive down to High River, we had fog which, in patches, was quite thick. Wondered if we would see anything at all when we reached our area, ha. It was cold and damp, as well as foggy. In addition to that, some of the birds, such as the three Snowy Owls (I only saw two of them) were SO far away, there was no chance for photos except just for the record. Only 35 species were seen in the total for the complete Count circle. Of course, as always happens, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including several barns, cloud formations, farm cats, an old truck, scenery and so on. At one of our stops, we were looking in the bushes/shrubs at the edge of a farm, where a Northern Saw-whet Owl had been sighted last Christmas Count. No luck with an owl, but one of the birders spotted a male Merlin very high up on a power pole. A short while later, it was spotted just down the road, perched on a fence post. Such a beautiful bird - but such lousy light! We had finished our count by 5:00 pm, by which time it was, of course, completely dark. A few of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by the generous birding people down in High River. Lorrie and John gave a slide show of their recent trip to Africa. So many great shots of beautiful bird species that I have never seen. Thanks, Lorrie and John, for spending time going through all your slides at home and choosing a lovely selection for us. Many thanks, too, for driving Shirley and myself all day long! "HIGH RIVER CBC, SE quadrant, Frank Lk; E of #2, S of #23. 0830-1700, 16Dec2014. Overcast, heavy fog, created great hoarfrost on everything. Winds, variable direction, 10-15kph. -7°C. Ground mostly bare of snow; Little Bow River 95% frozen. 1. Mallard-1 f. 2. Scaup sp.- juv or f, likely Lesser-1 3. Gray Partridge-7 4. Ring-necked Pheasant-2 5. Bald Eagle-3 ( 2 ad/ 1 juv.) 6. Merlin-1 m. 7. Rock Pigeon-8 8. Great Horned Owl- 5 [an additional one seen N of Hwy 23, just W of Frank Lk exit at 16:56 pm.] 9. Snowy Owl-3 10. Downy Woodpecker-2 11. Northern Flicker-2 12. Black-billed Magpie-83 13. Common Raven-15 14. Horned Lark-20 15. Black-capped Chickadee-7 16. Common Redpoll-155 17. House Sparrow-669 18. 17 species of birds MAMMALS: Deer Mouse-1, deceased. White-tailed Jackrabbit-1 Mule Deer-25 White-tailed Deer-44 Total Km by car-111; by foot- 3. Total hours by car – 6; on foot-2.5 Gus Yaki"

Two days ago, 17 December 2013, it was a long day of Christmas Bird Count south of the city. A group of nine of us, travelling in two vehicles, covered part of the huge circle around High River. A few others from Calgary, plus quite a few people from the town, covered the rest. We were so lucky with the weather - the temperature actually got up to 9C! (Ha, as I'm typing, it's -22C with a windchill of -30C!) We left Calgary at 7:15 a.m., but by the time we arrived at Frank Lake, our first destination (seen in the photo above), the sunrise was just beginning. On this count last year, every plant and blade of dry grass was covered in wonderful hoar frost - not so lucky this time. Snow depth was from bare ground to 15 cm, with drifts to 100cm, and there was no open water at the lake. From the report: 6 kms on foot; 75kms by car; 3 hrs on foot, 5 hours by car. The day was spent driving the side roads, and calling in at various homesteads and farms. We had three species of owl, which, as you can imagine, delighted everyone in my group. We had hoped to see a Snowy Owl, but no luck this year. My group had 19 species of bird by the end of the day - we finished driving around 3:00 p.m..Noticeably lacking were small birds, such as Snow Buntings - so I had to make do with owls, lol! The total species count for the whole of the circle was 40. The final list for our group, covering two areas, was: Mallard-12/ 0= 12 Northern Pintail-1 f./ 0= 1 Common Goldeneye-4/0= 4 Gray Partridge-17/30= 47 Ring-necked Pheasant-3/0= 3 Bald Eagle-1ad/1ad= 2 Northern Harrier-1/ 0= 1 Great Horned Owl-4/1= 5 Long-eared Owl-2/0= 2 Short-eared Owl-2/0= 2 Rock Pigeon-47/7= 54 Downy Woodpecker-1/ 0= 1 Northern Flicker-1/0= 1 Black-billed Magpie-7/24= 31 Common Raven-2/1= 3 Horned Lark-2/0= 2 Black-capped Chickadee-0/1= 1 American Tree Sparrow-6/0= 6 House Sparrow-35/140= 175 At the end of the day, some of the people involved in this count stayed for a pot-luck supper. Thanks so much to everyone who organized this annual Count and worked so hard with preparing for the meal. We always enjoy this time at the end of a long day, chatting about what we'd all been seeing in the various segments of the huge circle. Special thanks to Greg Wagner, who organized the whole event - well done, as usual, Greg : )

Another view of the mountains taken in Canmore on December 17th, when a few of us took part in the annual Banff/Canmore Christmas Bird Count. This annual Banff-Canmore Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is organized by the Bow Valley Naturalists and this was the 37th consecutive year for this event . The town of Canmore is surrounded by mountain peaks. The early morning sunrise cast a beautiful pink glow, which I'm not usually up in time to see in the mornings. (Location on map is only very approximate, just in case anyone is curious as to where Harvey Heights is). My small group covered the Harvey Heights area. The meeting place for the various groups was at the home of Colleen Campbell, who so generously opens up her home to us each year, including giving us a lovely warm place to go back to, to eat our lunches and to finalize the lists of birds seen by the end of the day. Colleen is a long-time Wildlife Researcher, who focused exclusively on grizzly bears from 1993 until 2006. She is also known for her incredibly beautiful artwork - photography is another of her keen interests. Recently, she took in two adorable little rescue kittens - they were so soft and gentle! There was room in my backback to have put both kittens in to take home with me - but I thought Colleen might notice that they were missing : ) Colleen, thank you so much from us all, for your generosity and welcome - and that includes the welcome that Jesse always gives everyone. What a sweet, intelligent dog she is!