Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: country road

Eleven years ago today, I posted my very first photo on Flickr - of a Savannah Sparrow seen in Weaselhead/North Glenmore Park : ) Amazing how time flies! This photo was taken two days ago, on 25 August 2017, when I at last did a long-overdue drive east of the city. This is my least favourite direction in which to drive from the city and I have to say it stresses me out so much. Once I reach the back roads, I can relax a little, but I am always worried about getting lost. I added a bit of filter in post-processing, to get rid of some of the heat distortion. The best few minutes in the five and a half hours I was out were when I came across a beautiful Swainson's Hawk juvenile perched on a fence post. Finally, a hawk perched along a back road, where I could stop. Amazingly, not one single vehicle came along while I was there. It felt so good to get a few photos of a hawk in the wild, unlike the ones I photographed recently at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. I had really hoped I would see a perched hawk and, in fact, I had seen another one earlier in my drive, though that one was more distant. That's all I needed, to make me feel happy and that the drive was worthwhile. For the first time ever, and after having driven past the location other times, I stopped at Weed Lake (south end). Lots of birds, but most were really too far to photograph. Still, I was happy to see a Killdeer and what I think was a little Semipalmated Plover close enough to get a few shots. One disturbing thing I found on the path was a large dead, white bird with a long neck. There were two cylindrical canisters on top of the remains - looks like these were empty fireworks. No idea how long this body had been there, or if anyone else has seen it there. Added later: apparently, this dead Swan has been there since at least April of this year.

Wednesday, 10 June 2015, was only what I would call a "magical" evening! Normally, I never go out in the evening - usually just too tired and there are all sorts of things needing to be done on my computer. However, having driven SW of the city the previous day and noticing a baby Mountain Bluebird poking its head out of its nesting box, I knew that any time now that it and its siblings would be suddenly gone. Since then, I have been back one time and a Tree Swallow poked its head out of the Bluebird nesting box, letting me know that this Bluebird family had fledged and moved away. It was early evening when I left home on 10 June, after a volunteer shift and a haircut. Really, I was just going to check on the Bluebirds and was not expecting to see all that much else.That's how the evening started, but as the evening progressed, the world seemed to come alive with bird song and activity. It has been a long, long time since I've experienced that, if ever. Though my trip was mainly just to check on the Bluebirds, I was also lucky to see an American Robin sitting on a barbed-wire fence just a couple of feet away from a brilliant blue male Bluebird. Talk about colour! They were way down the road, so I was only able to get a very distant shot. Also saw a number of Snipe that I love photographing. When I reached the point where I was going to turn around and head for home, I saw yet another Snipe perched on a fence. Just a few feet from it, on the same fence, was a beautiful Swainson's Hawk! After posing for a while, both birds took off, with the Hawk in hot pursuit of the Snipe. I couldn't see how the chase ended, but hopefully the world is not missing a Snipe. Closer to home, I suddenly spotted a beautiful female Moose (seen in this photo) at a small wetland, right before I turned on to the main highway. Not sure if it's because I took my first photos (not this one) of her from inside the car, across the passenger seat, but most were blurry. Eventually, she left and started walking along the road away from the highway. I crawled along, watching her way in the distance. She kept walking from side to side of the road and then stopped to lick some salt off the road, bending her front legs to kneel in what looked a very awkward move : ) When she had walked further down the road, I stopped my car and turned on the hazard flashing lights, as she wasn't too obvious in the shadows from the trees at the edge of the road. I can see how easily a collision can happen! Fortunately, only one car came along, from behind my car, and the guy slowed down and was smiling. Took a while, but eventually the huge, majestic animal leapt over a barbed-wire fence and sauntered off into the trees. Driving back to the highway, I stopped to watch three or four young White-tailed Deer having fun at the same wetland. One of them was standing in the water and would occasionally stamp one of its front legs to make a splash and then bound away a few feet. Funny to watch and so good to see it playing so happily. So, it was quite the evening, to say the least! I drove all the way home with a big smile on my face.

This is about all I photographed yesterday afternoon, when I drove an area I'd never driven before - all in the slim hope that I might just see a Northern Hawk Owl that had been seen there. This bird is at the top of my Wish List : ) My concentration went on the unfamiliar road, not to mention the fast-moving vehicles that always seemed to appear out of nowhere each time I wanted to slow down and look for birds : ) I think these bushes are Willows of some kind - they added such gorgeous colour to the snowy landscape here and there. Oh, and needless to say, I never did find the Owl. This area is in the Foothills of the Rockies, just before Bragg Creek, west of Calgary. I made no turn-offs on this road, to make sure I didn't get myself lost - and, oh, how I hate that feeling of not knowing where I am.