Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: natural area

Tonight, I have just added 8 extra photos of poor quality. They were taken during a walk with friends this morning, 15 September 2018, at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. I just wanted to add them to various albums for the record. The weather was so unpleasant today - cold (just a few degrees above freezing), misty and drizzling. Longjohns, gloves, two fleece jackets and a light shell were all needed. Some people were even wearing their thick, padded winter jackets. The atrocious light was useless for photography. However, I so rarely get to this location and so I wanted to add several sightings that were much appreciated, especially an American Mink that was spotted the far side of the lagoon, a few deer and a very distant Great Blue Heron. After our walk, some of us went for lunch at the Blackfoot Diner. It was cold enough outside to make it feel really good to be able to wrap our fingers round cups of hot coffee, Everyone here is really hoping that we will actually have an autumn this year. Quite a few of the trees have turned yellow, but we have had rain and snow this week and some of the leaves are already on the ground. This is SUMMER! What a crazy summer we have had this year - heat (including breaking an all-time record for here!), slightly cooler days in between, snow and rain accompanied by temperatures that are barely above freezing and windchills that have plunged below 0C. Oh, and weeks of very poor air quality because of the smoke that was blowing in from the Britisih Columbia wildfires. Just when we were thinking that fall has arrived early, along came the snow. Keeping fingers crossed that another week of crummy weather and hopefully fall will return, with much-needed sunshine and warmth.

Yesterday morning, 9 September 2017, I joined several friends for a morning's bird walk at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary in Calgary. I will add our leader's report in a comment box below. Thanks for a very enjoyable walk, Janet, followed by lunch at the nearby Blackfoot Truckstop Diner! At the Sanctuary, people must stay on the path. There are various deer trails or places where Beavers have dragged logs to the lagoon. These are not 'paths' for visitors to walk along. Our leader is a steward at the Sanctuary and she explained about staying on the path to a young woman who was ignoring the rules. However, this woman took no notice and stayed where she was, wanting to take photos. Ignorant. "The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Nature Centre have been providing migratory birds with a place to rest their wings since 1929. That's more than 80 years of conservation! To date, 270 species of birds, 21 species of mammals and 347 species of plants have been recorded at the Sanctuary and Nature Centre by members of the public, volunteers and staff. In 1883, Colonel James Walker settled the land that is now occupied by the sanctuary. In 1910, the current brick house - then named Inglewood - was built, and the surrounding area was named for the most prominent property in the area. From 1929 to 1952, several Chinese families leased land from Colonel Walker and established market gardens to serve the needs of a growing city. These highly productive gardens were used to grow vegetables and bedding plants, and represent an early example of urban agriculture and horticulture in the city. As part of the engagement process for Bend in Bow, it was discovered the descendants of one of the families, the Koo family, still reside in Calgary. Colonel Walker's son, Selby, applied to the Federal government in 1929 to have 59 acres on the west side of the Bow River be designated as a Federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary. His request was granted and the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary was born. When Selby died in 1953, Ed Jefferies acquired the property and leased it to the Alberta Fish & Game Association. In 1970, The City of Calgary purchased the property and has been managing it as a natural reserve ever since. The sanctuary's Nature Centre was built in 1996 and grassland restoration projects began in that same year. The Colonel Walker House is currently used by Parks staff and volunteers as a classroom and office." www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SE-parks/Inglew...

This photo might do funny things to your eyes - sorry : ) I guess the fast movement of all those thousands of tiny bee wings made things slightly blurry. When I called in at Fish Creek Park for half an hour on 11 May 2016, a lady who was down there spotted this enormous bee colony. Later, I read on friend Larry's website that a bee keeper had since been called in to remove this huge mass and that the bee keeper had estimated the number of bees to be 15,000-20,000! There was no activity from the Great Horned Owl family during the very brief time I was there, and the owls were so well hidden by all the leaves and branches that there was no chance to get photos. The only other thing I did see there was the work of local Beavers. Took me by surprise when I saw how they had changed the creek and flooded part of the ground.

Such sad news from the Calgary Zoo just now (16 May 2016): "We are deeply saddened to share that silverback gorilla, Kakinga, passed away Saturday night at the age of 37. Often called the zoo’s gentle giant, Kakinga was an exceptional silverback; a kind, loving, protective and diligent leader. Our Veterinary team has determined he died as a result of developing a large tear in his aorta which caused the sac around his heart to become filled with blood and ultimately stopped his heart. This is one of the well-recognized causes of mortality in gorillas, especially males. Kakinga was born December 1, 1978 at the Jersey Zoo in the United Kingdom and arrived at the Calgary Zoo in 1984. After nine years, he transitioned into the role of silverback, or leader of the troop in 1993, a role he held for the past 23 years. During his time as silverback, he fathered 13 offspring, eight of which are surviving with the most recent being born just this past March at our zoo. Of those eight, five are males and three are females. But Kakinga is known for more than just his impressive genetics. His calm and gentle natured endeared him to all zoo staff who cared for him. He was very involved in his role as leader of the troop, acting as a peacekeeper, a protector and in some very tender moments, a father." From the Calgary Zoo. "Western Lowland Gorillas are part of a Species Survival Program authorized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and are considered endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Their last chance for survival may be a few gorilla sanctuaries in Africa, zoos, and other captive environments and breeding programs throughout the world." From the Calgary Zoo. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This photo might do funny things to your eyes - sorry : ) I guess the fast movement of all those thousands of tiny bee wings made things a bit blurry. When I called in at Fish Creek Park for half an hour on 11 May 2016, a lady who was down there spotted this enormous bee colony. Later. I read on friend Larry's website that a bee keeper had since been called in to remove this huge mass and that the bee keeper had estimated the number of bees to be 15,000-20,000! There was no activity from the owl family during the very brief time I was there, and the owls were so well hidden by all the leaves and branches that there was no chance to get photos. The only other thing I did see there was the work of local Beavers. Took me by surprise when I saw how they had changed the creek and flooded part of the ground.

Wow, I have to just add the following late this afternoon, as I am so impressed. Just a few hours ago, I posted a new thread in the Help Forum. I really prefer not to post there, but just had to after I happened to come across a website today that was displaying a lot of my photos for FREE downloading and in all sizes. My images are ALL copyright protected. Apparently, they were ALSO displaying download links for all available display sizes for people's photos that on Flickr are NOT set to be downloadable by visitors. Later today, Flickr staff member bhautik joshi PRO answered, saying: "What they are doing is not even remotely OK. We're looking into it." Almost immediately, all we could see on their website were blank, white pages. Amazingly fast action by a staff member, which is hugely appreciated! www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/72157668259472146/ flip.life/search/annkelliott/?p=6 flip.life/photo/15482189596/united-church-dorothy-alberta itunes.apple.com/cn/app/fliplife/id1112300459?mt=8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This photo might do funny things to your eyes - sorry : ) I guess the fast movement of all those thousands of tiny bee wings made things a bit blurry. When I called in at Fish Creek Park for half an hour a couple of days ago, on 11 May 2016, a lady who was down there spotted this enormous bee colony. Last night, I read on friend Larry's website that a bee keeper had since been called in to remove this huge mass and that the bee keeper had estimated the number of bees to be 15,000-20,000! There was no activity from the owl family during the very brief time I was there, and the owls were so well hidden by all the leaves and branches that there was no chance to get photos. The only other thing I did see there was the work of local Beavers. Took me by surprise when I saw how they had changed the creek and flooded part of the ground.

This photo was also taken yesterday, 24 October 2015, when I went on a walk with a small group of birding friends. It was around 2C when we started our walk and it was cold. Can’t believe I was wearing two fleece jackets and a fleece vest, light jacket, jeans and long-johns, woollen hat and two pairs of gloves! I always like this view, from one of the small bridges, looking along the lagoon towards the historic Colonel Walker House, built in 1910. This building is currently used by Parks staff and volunteers as a classroom and office. “The Colonel James Walker House is an early twentieth century, two-storey building constructed of red bricks and featuring sandstone trim, a low hipped roof and a wide verandah on the south and west sides. It is located on 0.98 hectares of land backing onto a lagoon on the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary in the Inglewood district of Calgary. The original brick carriage house adjacent to the building is also included in the designation.” From historicplaces.ca. www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=5137 I will add the list of species seen, thanks to our leaders, Janet and Bernie. Thanks, both of you, for a most enjoyable walk in beautiful sunshine. We were especially lucky to see the Red Crossbills, Great Blue Heron, Common Redpolls and a very distant Porcupine sitting very high up in a tall tree. It was great going for lunch at the Blackfoot Truckstop Diner afterwards, too. www.blackfootdiner.ca/ Inglewood Sanctuary, Calgary. 9-11:15 a.m. Sat. Oct 24/15. Sun/cloud mix, light North wind, 2 to 5C. 1. Double-crested Cormorant - 1 2. Great Blue Heron - 1 3. Wood Duck - 13 4. Mallard - 15 5. Hooded Merganser - 1 6. Rough-legged Hawk - 1 7. Bald Eagle - 1 8. Ring-billed Gull - 20 9. Feral Pigeon - 1 10. Northern Flicker - 2 11. Downy Woodpecker - 1 12. Black-billed Magpie - 10 13. American Crow - 4 14. Black-capped Chickadee - 10 15. White-breasted Nuthatch - 2 16. Red-breasted Nuthatch - 2 17. European Starling - 20 18. RED CROSSBILL - 25 19. COMMON REDPOLL - 4 Mule Deer - 7 Porcupine - 1 Eastern Gray Squirrel – 2

This is just a small, crustose Lichen, but when I looked more closely, I noticed all these patterns. I wonder if this particular species always looks like this, or if this particular specimen happened to dry up (?) in this way. I thought it was very attractive. Seen in West Bragg Creek on 12th August. This is where I should have been today, but when I woke up to thunder and heavy rain, I changed my mind : ) Rain has stopped now, but the light is very low - not good for forest photography.

I'd never seen these regular, very tiny Cladonia growing on soil on a dry, open hillside before (photo is macro, of course. Most people would never notice them). I always thought they were to be found in the forest. Fascinating little things - Shrek Ears, Golf Tees, Pixie Cups ..... LOL. (This sample was being collected to be examined further at home by one of our botany members.) Found on a botanizing trip yesterday to the Western Sky Land Trust's Wheatland #1, formerly Jack Nodwell’s Property, 59 acres of land near Carseland, Alberta.

A final photo of the little Long-tailed Weasel that I saw in a local park ten days ago. Despite its name, it only had a short tail with no black tip, thanks to some local predator! This little guy was as quick as lightning, darting in every possible direction, with just an occasional curious glance.

Took this photo on 28th September 2007, standing at the top of the cliff in North Glenmore Park, looking towards Weaselhead. The colours were so spectacular! Now, pretty well all the leaves have fallen - and the forecast for tonight is rain or snow flurries : (

I couldn't believe the glorious colour late this afternoon as I climbed the long hill up from the Weaselhead natural area. I don't remember seeing this before.