Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#179

I love these Eared Grebes, with their bright red eyes that look like red buttons. They are only small, 28–34 centimetres (11–13 in) long. I spent a while trying to photograph several of them at Frank Lake (SE of Calgary) two days ago, 12 July 2014. I say "trying", as they are fairly fast swimmers, who like to keep changing direction and who were almost constantly diving for food. They were also preening most of the time. There were a handful of young ones, too, looking cute in their light grey feathers. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eared_Grebe/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-necked_Grebe Two days ago, 12 July 2014, I spent a few hours in the late afternoon till mid-evening, driving just a few of the backroads SE of the city, in the Frank Lake area. I had been there the day before, too, and just couldn't resist a few more hours there. Some of the fields were aglow with vibrant yellow Canola crops, which I look forward to every year. The sun was shining, but it was such a hazy day, I believe from the large forest fires in the next province to our west (British Columbia). 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, unless the sun happened to catch the golden "ear" feathers. Saw Soras again - love these little guys, they are so cute. A few very distant White-faced Ibis were in the area, but I lucked out later, finding this lone Ibis at a slough. The Barn Swallows are vicious at the moment, dive-bombing anyone who approaches the blind! You not only hear them as they whoosh past your head, you also feel them! Hang on to your camera if you take photos from inside the blind, as they will continue to dive-bomb. It's too bad, as they really don't make it very pleasant for people. Also saw a couple of small birds that I'm not sure of the ID for, along the country backroads. Posted one of them yesterday and will upload a very poor photo of the other sometime soon. I see that, on Flickr, one can no longer click and open a link that's included in one's own description. Instead, it works if one right clicks on the link and then opens in a "new tab". Why on earth did they change from just one simple click?!

If I hadn't gone looking for Prairie Crocuses on 30 April 2014 and taken this photo, I might not have believed this had really happened. You could say we are back to winter yet again. There must be around 8" of snow on my fence this morning - and it's still snowing! I decided not to go on a birding day out, east of the city, today, as I wasn't sure what any of the roads would be like. I had half expected the trip to be cancelled. Not sure I can even go out very locally, as I don't think I'll be able to lift my arms high enough to clear all the snow off my car, with my painful arms and shoulder. It's quite the winter wonderland, though. We are now into the eighth month of snow!!!! Just noticed that we have a Snowfall Warning in effect: "Snowfall late morning to early morning Sunday (tomorrow). A long period of snowfall, with total amounts of 20 to 30 cm is expected. 10 to 20 centimetres of snow has fallen since last night. An additional 10 centimetres of snow will fall today." From the Weather Network. "The prairie crocus (Anemone patens), is the first plant to bloom on the prairie each year. The true harbinger of spring, its mauve, petal-like sepals dot the still drab prairie landscape, often before the last snow of winter has melted. By blooming so early, the crocus assures itself of the complete attention of available pollinators - small bees and other insects. Its seeds can then ripen by early June and if moisture is available they will germinate right away. If the prairie is too dry the seeds will go dormant, then germinate the following spring. Tufts of much-divided leaves emerge once flowering is finished and the risk of severe frost is over, but still well before most other prairie plants. The saucer-shaped construction of many spring flowers like the crocus, is no accident. Neither is the fuzzy centre of the crocus (composed of numerous yellow stamens and a tuft of greyish pistils - that become plumed fruit), nor its highly reflective petals. It all adds up to solar heating . . . Crocus Style! The sunlight that reaches the crocus' shiny petals is reflected into the flower centre. This energy is bounced around between the stamens and pistils warming these vital reproductive parts of the flower. On a sunny day the temperature inside a crocus flower can be as much as 10 C (18 F) warmer than the temperature of the surrounding air. Not only does the dish shaped flower concentrate the sun's warmth, it tracks the sun across the sky, maximizing the length of time each day that it can stay warmer than the surrounding air." From naturenorth.com. www.naturenorth.com/spring/flora/crocus/Prairie_Crocus2.html

Posted at an unearthly hour this morning, as I have to be part way across the city by 6:50 a.m. for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Bird Count. Will finish when I get back.

Sorry, folks, I've been playing again - it can be quite addictive, unfortunately! Try explaining that to my family and friends who won't be receiving their Chistmas cards and letters till after Christmas, LOL. These "candy cane" water droplets are on a single petal of a white Chrysanthemum, taken in my kitchen. Just thought it was a bit Christmasy : ) Can almost smell and taste Peppermint : ) Rebecca - I know they aren't exactly pearls, but ....

I found this little pair of mushrooms on 15th September last year (2008), when I drove out to Maclean Pond, off Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66), Kananaskis. Beautiful texture of their caps and love that green moss. I am so happy that I have fungi odds and ends in my archives, to keep me going for a while longer : )

The Sea Holly (biological binomial term: Eryngium maritimum) is a species of Eryngium in the plant family Apiaceae and native to most European coastlines. In some ways it resembles a flowering thistle, in that its flower is burr-shaped, though these are metallic blue, rather than mauve. The flowers above are not blue, but I have seen the blue ones elsewhere. I took this photo in a friend's garden this morning, but we have seen it growing wild, too. Sea Holly was nominated the 2002 County flower for the city of Liverpool, England.

I am always so thrilled to bits when, on the very rare occasion, I come across one of these gorgeous caterpillars. My youngest daughter has always loved these colourful caterpillars, too, so they always remind me of her. They grow to about 4 cm long. The first caterpillars are out by early August and last well into September. This species over-winters as pupae and, in Alberta, the very drab adults are flying in June and July. These Woolly Bear caterpillars turn into Spotted Tussock Moths.

My usual little White-breasted Nuthatch (male). Happy Feathery Friday, everyone!