Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: bank

This morning, I am posting three more photos taken with the Nikon B700. Yesterday, 24 April 2018, I went for a morning walk in Carburn Park with a group of friends, hoping to see a few things to photograph. Late last night, I posted on Facebook about the huge issue I am having with this replacement camera, with images suddenly jumping upward, downward and to the side when I press the shutter button. I received a very helpful comment form someone, suggesting I try using the zoom lever on the side of the camera, instead of the zoom on the top. I had never used the side zoom on any camera that I have owned. As it was getting on for midnight, I only tried a series of shots indoors, but it seemed to work much better. Today, I will again have to do some more testing. This Mallard drake was looking very handsome with the sun bringing out the blue iridescence on his head feathers. Looks like these ducks are nesting. It was great to see a group of American White Pelicans near the edge of the river. I don't know if this was the same group I saw recently, just at a different location. Somehow, even after years of seeing these spectacular birds in the city, I still find it strange. They just look so exotic. Not the best light to photograph them, but it was good to see that the whites were not blown out and the white feathers had plenty of detail. Our crazy, crazy weather! Yesterday, I believe the temperature got up to about 20C. Of course, I wouldn't dream of saying that I was too warm before the end of the walk, lol. Not after the dreadful winter we have just survived. Just checked the forecast and I see it says 21C, 23C and 26C for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I still have a large snowdrift in my backyard!

This young White-tailed Deer was hanging out with its mother and sibling yesterday afternoon, when I joined friends for a 3-hour walk in Fish Creek Park. As you can see, there is so much snow on the ground! Difficult walking if one goes off the main path in the park. Even more snow this morning, after getting yet another snowfall overnight. Thankfully, the snow removal vehicles have just driven along the street where I live. Wish everyone would move their vehicles from the street so that the snow removers can clear closer to the curb! There were not many birds to see on the walk and I got just a very distant shot of a Townsend's Solitaire that landed in a low tangle of thin branches the far side of the creek. Really just a walk for exercise and the company of friends. The sun was shining and it really was a beautiful day.

I am posting these three photos this morning just for the record of yesterday's horribly cold walk in Fish Creek Park. The temperature was only around -15C (windchill was much colder!), but there was a light wind and it was the worst kind of cold. Our walk started at the Ranch and, after just a short walk west in the hope of finding a Pileated Woodpecker that strangers had told us about, we made our way east to the Bow River. It looked as cold as it felt! Worth it, though, to see a Great Horned Owl at the start of our walk, perched very high up in a Spruce tree. There was a tangle of thin twigs right in front of its face, but the owl lowered its head just once to see us better and I clicked. On the way to the river, we noticed, through the lightly-falling snow, several White-tailed Deer in the distance. Though the river was not frozen over, endless small pieces of ice were flowing fast, with a few ducks in the water, too. In this photo, if you look carefully, you can see two Bald Eagles perched in the trees on the far side of the river. It was a long walk, two and a half hours, giving me the 10,000 steps for the day - which so very rarely happens these days (the last two years). Because there were so few birds to stop and watch, the walk was almost non-stop walking, which I always find difficult and painful. The only way to fix that was with a stop at Tim Horton's for coffee afterwards : ) Always just as enjoyable to sit and chat as it is to be on a walk itself.