Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Falcon

This photo was taken on 6 April 2016, during a most enjoyable day trip east of Calgary, with five birding friends. The weather was gorgeous, with perfect clouds that were reflected in every pond/slough/wetland that we came across before the breeze disturbed the water. Our leader, Terry Korolyk, always writes such a detailed account of each trip, so there is no point in my repeating some of the information. Many thanks for another great day (including the write-up), Terry, and many thanks, Tony, for the ride! I think the main highlights for me were a Western Meadowlark that flew to a tall post within camera reach; a mixed pair of Red-tailed Hawks (one light morph and the other dark) perched together in a tree; and the beautiful LEUCISTIC Merlin (i.e. paler than it should be) that three of us were lucky enough to see after we split up to start our journey back to Calgary. It was enjoying a snack on top of a very tall utility pole. I suspect it would have flown if it hadn't been eating some kind of small bird, so we were lucky. The colour in this photo is quite different from a previously posted image, so I will add the other shot in a comment box. Taken on two different settings on my camera. We remember a greyish colour, as seen in today's photo. "Leucism is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment, particularly melanin, from being properly deposited on a bird’s feathers. As a result, the birds do not have the normal, classic plumage colors listed in field guides, and instead the plumage have several color changes, including white patches where the bird should not have any; paler overall plumage that looks faint, diluted or bleached; or overall white plumage with little or no color discernable. The degree of leucism, including the brightness of the white and the extent of pigment loss, will vary depending on the bird’s genetic makeup. Birds that show only white patches or sections of leucistic feathers – often in symmetrical patterns – are often called pied or piebald birds, while birds with fully white plumage are referred to as leucistic birds." From birding.about.com. birding.about.com/od/identifyingbirds/a/leucism.htm “Today's Nature Calgary Field Trip had beautiful weather for its trip east of Calgary. We met just west of the Rowing Club around 9:30 A.M., checking the Reservoir there firstly, then, heading east on Glenmore Trail. The only bird of note on the Reservoir was a Common Loon in the bay at the Yacht Club. We then headed east on Glenmore Trail turning south on Stoney Trail going as far as 114 Avenue where we turned left driving to 84 Street, then, going south to Ralph Klein Park. Birds of particular interest at the Park included American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt and, Lesser Yellowlegs, the latter of which we had the pleasure of observing a couple of flocks of significant size one of at least 70 birds fly in. This was a particularly good sign for the day as we saw many Yellowlegs totalling 227 birds in the final analysis. From Ralph Klein Park, we kept south on 84 Street to 146 Avenue where we turned east driving to Range Road 284 where we turned north checking sloughs along the way to Township Road 232 where we turned we turned east, then north on to Range Road 283. We followed Range Road 283 to Chestermere Lake stopping at the Dam; then Sunset Park on the east side of the Lake; then, the north end of the Lake north of Highway 1A. From there, we drove under the Trans-Canada Highway through the subdivision on the east side of the Highway to McElroy Slough. From McElroy Slough, we kept eastward on Inverlake Road driving to Highway 9, then, from Highway 9 south to Highway 560, turning east at the 4-way junction there driving to Weed Lake. From Weed Lake, we headed westward towards Calgary checking a slough at the Highway 560-Range Road 284 junction, then, from there we stayed westward to Stoney Trail turning north on Stoney Trail turning off at Peigan Trail, then westward on Peigan past the City of Calgary Landfill. We had many highlights; the most important of which was a mixed pair of Red-tailed Hawks. Of the pair, one adult was a RUFOUS MORPH bird; the other was a light-phase EASTERN RED-TAIL. The pair were together, but, I cannot divulge the location as this a sensitive pairing (rare). You can contact me if you wish more details. The birds have nested at this site previously. I did not see them there in 2015, but, saw them there previously 2 out of 3 years. I believe young were probably raised in at least one year; the year when the JAEGERS were at Weed Lake (POMARINE and PARASITIC). I believe it was 2013. At that time while going out to the Lake I noticed at least 3 rather unusual-looking Red-tails on the west side of Weed Lake and west of Weed Lake. Other highlights were an ALBINISTIC American Wigeon at a slough on Range Road 280 just south of Inverlake Road. The bird had 2 large white clear patches on each side; an incredible LEUCISTIC MERLIN photographed by Tony Timmons at the 4- way stop in Langdon (it looked like a miniature white-morph Gyrfalcon with a banded tail); five hybrid TUNDRA-TRUMPETER SWANS at McElroy Slough, and 50 AMERICAN PIPITS at a shallow wetland on 146 Avenue just east of 104 Street. Northern Pintail was the most numerous Duck of the day with 1621; American Wigeon came in at 1017; and, Northern Shoveler came in at 962. BLACK-NECKED STILTS and AMERICAN AVOCETS were a particularly wonderful sight at the south end of Weed Lake and at Langdon Corner Slough, which is at the Highways 1 and 9 junction. Two SWALLOWS were seen briefly at the Dam at Chestermere Lake, but, we were unable to identify them. One other DARK MORPH Red-tailed Hawk was seen, and 4 American Kestrels were seen. The City of Calgary Landfill had excellent numbers of Gulls; I would estimate their numbers at 1500 for anyone interested in doing some Gullwatching this coming week.”

TAX TIME - has everyone got their Taxes done? Running out of time, so I had no choice but to stay home and start working on mine today, in a bit of a panic .... sigh. All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 16 April 2016, during a most enjoyable day trip east of Calgary, with five birding friends. The weather was gorgeous, with perfect clouds that were reflected in every pond/slough/wetland that we came across before the breeze disturbed the water. Our leader, Terry Korolyk, always writes such a detailed account of each trip, so there is no point in my repeating some of the information. Many thanks for another great day (including the write-up), Terry, and many thanks, Tony, for the ride! I think the main highlights for me were a Western Meadowlark that flew to a tall post within reasonable camera reach; a mixed pair of Red-tailed Hawks (one light and the other dark) perched together in a tree; and the beautiful LEUCISTIC Merlin (i.e. paler than it should be) that three of us were lucky enough to see after we split up to start our journey back to Calgary. It was enjoying a snack on top of a very tall utility pole. I suspect it would have flown if it hadn't been eating some kind of small bird, so we were lucky. "Leucism is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment, particularly melanin, from being properly deposited on a bird’s feathers. As a result, the birds do not have the normal, classic plumage colors listed in field guides, and instead the plumage have several color changes, including white patches where the bird should not have any; paler overall plumage that looks faint, diluted or bleached; or overall white plumage with little or no color discernable. The degree of leucism, including the brightness of the white and the extent of pigment loss, will vary depending on the bird’s genetic makeup. Birds that show only white patches or sections of leucistic feathers – often in symmetrical patterns – are often called pied or piebald birds, while birds with fully white plumage are referred to as leucistic birds." From birding.about.com. birding.about.com/od/identifyingbirds/a/leucism.htm “Today's Nature Calgary Field Trip had beautiful weather for its trip east of Calgary. We met just west of the Rowing Club around 9:30 A.M., checking the Reservoir there firstly, then, heading east on Glenmore Trail. The only bird of note on the Reservoir was a Common Loon in the bay at the Yacht Club. We then headed east on Glenmore Trail turning south on Stoney Trail going as far as 114 Avenue where we turned left driving to 84 Street, then, going south to Ralph Klein Park. Birds of particular interest at the Park included American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt and, Lesser Yellowlegs, the latter of which we had the pleasure of observing a couple of flocks of significant size one of at least 70 birds fly in. This was a particularly good sign for the day as we saw many Yellowlegs totalling 227 birds in the final analysis. From Ralph Klein Park, we kept south on 84 Street to 146 Avenue where we turned east driving to Range Road 284 where we turned north checking sloughs along the way to Township Road 232 where we turned we turned east, then north on to Range Road 283. We followed Range Road 283 to Chestermere Lake stopping at the Dam; then Sunset Park on the east side of the Lake; then, the north end of the Lake north of Highway 1A. From there, we drove under the Trans-Canada Highway through the subdivision on the east side of the Highway to McElroy Slough. From McElroy Slough, we kept eastward on Inverlake Road driving to Highway 9, then, from Highway 9 south to Highway 560, turning east at the 4-way junction there driving to Weed Lake. From Weed Lake, we headed westward towards Calgary checking a slough at the Highway 560-Range Road 284 junction, then, from there we stayed westward to Stoney Trail turning north on Stoney Trail turning off at Peigan Trail, then westward on Peigan past the City of Calgary Landfill. We had many highlights; the most important of which was a mixed pair of Red-tailed Hawks. Of the pair, one adult was a RUFOUS MORPH bird; the other was a light-phase EASTERN RED-TAIL. The pair were together, but, I cannot divulge the location as this a sensitive pairing (rare). You can contact me if you wish more details. The birds have nested at this site previously. I did not see them there in 2015, but, saw them there previously 2 out of 3 years. I believe young were probably raised in at least one year; the year when the JAEGERS were at Weed Lake (POMARINE and PARASITIC). I believe it was 2013. At that time while going out to the Lake I noticed at least 3 rather unusual-looking Red-tails on the west side of Weed Lake and west of Weed Lake. Other highlights were an ALBINISTIC American Wigeon at a slough on Range Road 280 just south of Inverlake Road. The bird had 2 large white clear patches on each side; an incredible LEUCISTIC MERLIN photographed by Tony Timmons at the 4- way stop in Langdon (it looked like a miniature white-morph Gyrfalcon with a banded tail); five hybrid TUNDRA-TRUMPETER SWANS at McElroy Slough, and 50 AMERICAN PIPITS at a shallow wetland on 146 Avenue just east of 104 Street. Northern Pintail was the most numerous Duck of the day with 1621; American Wigeon came in at 1017; and, Northern Shoveler came in at 962. BLACK-NECKED STILTS and AMERICAN AVOCETS were a particularly wonderful sight at the south end of Weed Lake and at Langdon Corner Slough, which is at the Highways 1 and 9 junction. Two SWALLOWS were seen briefly at the Dam at Chestermere Lake, but, we were unable to identify them. One other DARK MORPH Red-tailed Hawk was seen, and 4 American Kestrels were seen. The City of Calgary Landfill had excellent numbers of Gulls; I would estimate their numbers at 1500 for anyone interested in doing some Gullwatching this coming week.”

Posting this shot really just for the record and in the hope that someone might just happen to see it and be able to confirm or correct my ID. It was only a small bird of prey, so presumably a Prairie Falcon, not a Gyrfalcon. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/prairie_falcon/id This photo was taken on 12 February 2015, which was spent SE of the city with friends Cathy and Terry. My friends picked me up around 7:00 am and I think I was home somewhere around 7:30 pm, after a great day of searching for owls, barns, and anything else that caught our eye. The weather was beautiful, as you can see in this photo. The temperature reached a brief high of 13C around 1:00 and 2:00 pm, which felt so good, especially for mid-winter. We had to deal with a lot of heat distortion during the day, so some photos are far from sharp. Many of the roads we travelled along were roads that I had driven on myself, some of them a number of times. A few of the roads were new to me, which was a treat, including a "trail" that was so deeply rutted and snow-covered that I'm amazed that we ever got out of there! This track and another backroad that was new to me led to a few old barns that I really appreciated being shown. I think my friends were amused that I fell asleep on this very rough track - after only an hour and a half's sleep the previous night, on top of always being very sleep-deprived, I'm really not surprised. It's strange how some fields in the whole area were more or less bare and yet others had a lot of snow covering the stubble, with piles of snow lining the edges of the road. As far as wildlife was concerned, we saw 11 owls - 8 Snowy Owls and 3 Great Horned Owls. The Snowies, other than the one perched on the "Wrong Way" sign that I posted the other day, were all extremely distant, so my photos are of white specks in a nice setting, ha. If I hadn't been with two people who can spot "everything", I'm sure that I would never have found most of these owls! Other birds included a flock of Snow Buntings, plus two individuals that were perched on a fence - haven't checked yet to see if I have a sharp enough photo. Another bird we saw was this beautiful Falcon perched on an electricity pylon. Also saw a group of Grey Partridge that suddenly flew before we had noticed them. A Red Fox made a very fast appearance as it ran across the road, and we saw a small herd of Mule Deer. Many thanks, as always, Cathy and Terry, for a great day out, including the delicious chili you made and brought along. A fun and rewarding day! Really appreciated being with you, doing what we all enjoy so much. Thanks, too, for patiently giving me time to photograph the various barns we came across!

After nine days at home, making sure my stitches from minor surgery healed properly, an invitation by friends Cathy and Terry to go birding the day before yesterday (7 March 2014) was welcomed with open arms - as it always is! What a great day we had, searching SE of the city, and finding some really neat birds. Most were impossible to photograph because of distance, but also because we had "heat wave" distortion all day long, making it difficult to get photos that were sharp. It was one of THOSE amazing days, out of the house from 7:15 a.m. till about 8:15 in the evening. By the end of the day, we had seen a total owl count of 19, from three species - 8 Short-eared Owls, 8 Snowy Owls, 2 Great Horned Owls and one mystery owl. We couldn't decide if the latter was a Snowy Owl or a Short-eared Owl, as it was perched on top of a metal silo, way off in the distance. Posted a photo of this silo yesterday - the coloured spots from the sunburst leading ones eye to it. We missed a good photo opp with one of the Short-eared Owls, when we were pulled over, further down the road than several other photographers. We did see one down on the ground near the edge of the road in a different place, hiding in the dried grasses, but, again, my photo is blurry. The closest Snowy Owl (also posted today) was seen when we were driving past a small backroad that had been cleared and, like all the roads, had snowbanks along both sides. These are very uneven, with all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes on the top. Just past the entrance to this road, I looked back slightly and wondered if one of the shapes was in fact an owl. We decided to turn back and check it out, just in case. Sure enough, it was a beautiful, pure white male! Also saw this Gyrfalcon perched on the top of a metal silo in someone's field, and lots of Horned Larks - the latter constantly in flight or down on the road ahead of us. The "heat wave" distortion made it impossible to get anything but rather blurry shots of these, but I might be able to slightly improve one of them enough to post later. As you will no doubt agree, it was an amazing day! Thanks so much, Cathy and Terry, for another rewarding day (which had started off rather slowly down in that area). Lots of fun!

If you knew just how far away this bird was, lol! Not much more than a large speck in a distant tree, to the naked eye. So heavily cropped and a miracle it's just OK to post for ID purposes. The white line above the eye is clearly visible. Too bad that the falling snow makes it look like it has a few spotted feathers : ) I rarely see a Prairie Falcon, so this was a treat. Does anyone know if this a juvenile? Taken on 29 November 2012 at Hull's Wood, Fish Creek Park. A grey day today with freezing fog, with all the trees covered in whte snow/frost. Beautiful to see, but wish the sun would come out. It's -11C (12F) with windchill of -18C (0F). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Falcon

Although I have far better images of American Kestrels, they were taken at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge, southern Alberta. I believe the photo above is the first photo I have taken of a Kestrel in the wild that is close enough to be recognizable. It has been cropped to death, so very bad quality, but, hey, it's an American Kestrel (female) at last! Saw it perched way up on a wire when I drove up and down a few gravel side roads, just south west of the city two days ago.

This is a photo from earlier this year, taken at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge, southern Alberta. The Centre is a wonderful place that rescues and tries to rehabilitate injured birds of prey. Those that are able to be released are released and those that are injured too severely are kept and used in an educational way. Reckoned it was way more than time that I posted a photo of a bird, LOL! Once winter arrives, that is when I take most of my bird photos - in the spring and summer, botany tends to take over : )

Laurien and Joe, this one is for you! This is the species of bird that was perched on the wire at Burnsmead this afternoon, though the bird in my photo was taken on Saturday at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre. I still have to download my (very distant) photos to my computer, but I did check, and it was definitely an American Kestrel that we saw. Not sure yet if it was a male (as in my image) or female. Is this more or less how you remember the "orange" colouring that you mentioned? It was so much fun to unexpectedly bump into you both down there! Finally, we've met : )

I spent a wonderful day on Monday with a friend who had asked if I'd like to go to the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge, southern Alberta. It was just over a two-hour drive there and the temperature down south was 37C (roughly 106F)! This Centre is "Canada’s largest birds of prey facility. Situated on a 70-acre wetland area site, the centre is a celebration of nature featuring the hawks, falcons, eagles and owls of Alberta. Throughout the site and along the pathways, a number of birds of prey are sitting on their perches only feet away from visitors. These birds are all in various stages of training and receive lots of exercise in the daily flying programs. At the centre, they have one of North America's largest captive breeding populations for the endangered Burrowing Owl." This is a male American Kestrel. The Kestrel is the smallest of our five falcons. They typically perch on power lines.