Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: waterbird

These shorebirds are so hard to photograph - they move quickly in and out and through the cattails and other water plants. Always surprises me just how small they are - in my mind, they are larger. Saw this one and presumably its mate, SE of the city on 12 July 2014. These birds tend to be heard rather than seen, and I was determined to try and get at least one shot that was half OK. Happy to get any kind of photo, though. It was fun watching how they go about collecting insects for their young ones, who were hidden in amongst the Cattails and dense water plants. I could hear them, but not see them. My first stop was at Frank Lake, where I saw a few more Eared Grebes with their quite large "babies". The light was really bad, so it was impossible to get photos that showed colour and details. Will lighten one or two of them and see if that works. As well as these Soras, I also saw a few very distant White-faced Ibis, but I lucked out later, finding a lone Ibis at a slough somewhere around the lake. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sora/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sora_ (bird)

These shorebirds are so hard to photograph - they move quickly in and out and through the cattails and other water plants. Always surprises me just how small they are - in my mind, they are larger - until I see one. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sora/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sora_ (bird) On 10 July 2014, I checked the weather forecast before dashing down to the Frank Lake area, SE of the city. Pretty much a spur of the moment thing. The temperature had gone down a few degrees from the unbearably hot day before, and the sun was shining. On the Weather Network, I discovered that there was a weather Alert in effect, possibly huge hailstones and also the possibility of a tornado. Thinking I might get a chance to see some interesting clouds, I decided that I would still go. My destination was Frank Lake and the surrounding area, where I bumped into friend, Greg Wagner, who is extremely knowledgeable about the area and its wildlife, and does an amazing job of recording all his sightings. I saw Eared Grebes with their young ones (quite big now), a few White-faced Ibis and Black-crowned Night Herons (no photos). Did manage to get a few shots of a Sora (thanks for telling me to watch out for them, Greg!). After I'd finished at the blind, Greg took me to various spots around the lake, pointing out places where he had seen interesting things, hoping that they might still be there for me to see. Thanks so much, Greg - I enjoyed this and really appreciated it! One of the birds we saw was a Western Kingbird - our more common Kingbird is the Eastern, so I was very happy to see a Western. We also passed by a male Great Horned Owl, who was perched on one of the huge power pylons. The clouds were building up as the hours went by and it did rain just a little when I was driving home. Fortunately, no hail or tornado! The sky looked so dramatic in person, though my photos were a little disappointing. Good enough, though, to remind me of a most enjoyable few hours SE of the city.

This young Sora was, I would guess, somewhere between a week and 10 days old? Such a funny little thing - I'd never seen a young one before. Just like its parents, it wasn't easy to photograph in amongst the Cattails and other water plants. Managed to shoot this photo just in time to get the whole bird without any stem across its little body. They move constantly - and fast! Photo taken on 28 July 2014, when I drove SE of the city, mainly to escape from the heat of my house for a few hours. Frank Lake was my first stop and then I drove around the lake and further eastwards. Saw quite a few birds on this trip, including quite a nice look at a single White-faced Ibis in a small slough. It was interesting to watch it feeding in amongst a family of American Avocets. Other birds seen that afternoon/evening included a Western Kingbird (yet again, couldn't get a decent shot), a Western Meadowlark, a couple of Swainson's Hawks perched on tall power lines, Black-necked Stilts too far away, Phalaropes, a couple of Eared Grebes, Barn Swallow, and a Gray Partridge that quickly disappeared into the tall grasses. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sora/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sora_ (bird)

These shorebirds are so hard to photograph - they move quickly in and out and through the cattails and other water plants. Always surprises me just how small they are - in my mind, they are larger. Saw this one and presumably its mate, SE of the city yesterday, 12 July 2014. These birds tend to be heard rather than seen, and I was determined to try and get at least one shot that was half OK. Well, I got more than half this bird before it ran past me through the water, showing nothing but a rear view. Took lots of shots, but most will need to be deleted : ) Happy to get any kind of photo, though. It was fun watching how they go about collecting insects for their young ones - they were hidden in amongst the Cattails and dense water plants, so I could hear them, but not see them. My first stop was at Frank Lake, where I saw a few more Eared Grebes with their quite large "babies". The light was really bad, so it was impossible to get photos that showed colour and details. Will lighten one or two of them and see if that works. Saw Soras again - love these little guys, they are so cute. A few very distant White-faced Ibis, but I lucked out later, finding a lone Ibis at a slough somewhere around the lake. Also saw a couple of small birds that I'm not sure of the ID for, along the country backroads. Posted one of them today and will upload a very poor photo of the other sometime soon. "A small, secretive bird of freshwater marshes, the Sora is the most common and widely distributed rail in North America. Its distinctive descending whinny call can be easily heard from the depths of the cattails, but actually seeing the little marsh-walker is much more difficult." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sora/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sora_ (bird)

The Coots are arriving back in Alberta, but I have only seen a couple of very distant ones so far. Thought I'd post a photo from the archives, that was taken at a wetlland in SW Calgary, on 8 May 2010. "The American Coot (Fulica americana) (a.k.a. mud hen) is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken to be ducks, American Coots belong to a distinct order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies in North America. Groups of coots are called covers or rafts. The oldest known coot lived to be 22 years old." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Coot www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_coot/id

This beautiful Double-crested Cormorant was perched with two others on this piece of driftwood that stays in place in the middle of the Bow River at the Inglewood bird Sanctuary. Photographed on 3 September 2012. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-crested_Cormorant

One of a pair of beautiful Black Swans swimming on one of the small ponds at the Calgary Zoo. Taken on September 20th. Love the way their feathers curl - not sure if this is a sign of aggression : ) "The Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions. Black Swans are large birds with mostly black plumage (with white flight feathers) and red bills ....The Black Swan is protected under the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1979. It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan

Unfortunately, you can barely see the deep red eye of this Coot. However, at least I managed to capure feather detail in those black feathers : )

Seen on a day out with friends Ron and Trish on 24th April, south of the city. "Often mistaken for a duck, the American Coot is a common waterbird. Its all black body and white chicken-like beak distinguish this swimming rail from the real ducks .... American Coots can develop a dark red area on the upper part of the facial shield, but the bill is always mainly white." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_coot/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Coot