Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#349

Just had a brief problem with Flickr or with the Internet. After I'd typed the description for this photo, I got the message that Flickr was unable to save it. Then I had problems being able to open Flickr again. All seems OK now, though. After a rather disappointing day on 10 August, I decided yesterday to drive SE of the city and see what I could find. Some of the small sloughs had dried up or were quickly shrinking. The edge of the area near the blind at Frank Lake was also drying up. However, I was happy to see Barn Swallows, Eared Grebes, Coots, American Avocets including the one in my next photo, and various shorebird species. Happened to notice this deer making its way through a huge patch of Foxtails that were swaying to and fro in the wind. Was also glad to see a couple of Maximilians Sunflower plants at Frank Lake - all the rest looked like they had been dug up recently. To stop them spreading - or for someone's garden?? I've looked forward to seeing these flowers for quite a few years, so was happy to see that at least a few of them remain.

On 25 January 2014, I spent an amazing day with friends Cathy and Terry, south of Calgary. A full day of excitement and enjoyment that left me tired out, but so happy. I had been missing being out and taking photos and was feeling lethargic and extremely tired, so this invite was welcomed with open arms. The crazy weather soared to a balmy 11C, though a lot of the day was colder, with a strong wind! Along one of the gravel backroads, we came across this old barn and noticed something in the window - a Pigeon, ha. Even though it was not an owl, I thought it still made a nice scene. Can you believe that we saw 17 owls that day? SEVENTEEN! I didn't photograph quite every single one, but my friends will let me know exactly how many of each owl we found, once they've gone through their photos. It was something like 10 Snowy Owls and 7 Great Horned Owls or maybe 11 Snowies and 6 Great Horned Owls. The closest Snowy Owl was seen when it was early evening and the light had gone, and my photos are all blurry. The other owls were little more than a tiny speck in the far, far distance, but I still managed to get some kind of shot of some of them (not fit to post!), using 48x zoom plus cropping. Perhaps I should add that maybe 16 of the owls that were seen would never have been seen by less experienced birders (and I include myself in that category!). My friends have brilliant eyes when it comes to spotting owls! Just left me shaking my head each time they found one! I'm not too bad at finding owls, but not at that distance! 10:00 a.m. this morning and it has just started snowing. Unless it stops very quickly, it will end up covering the ice that is everywhere, making it treacherous, especially for walking.

Today has been a mixed weather day - and I even saw the word SNOW in the forecast. Hopefully, nothing will materialize! Decided to post a bright, cheery flower, despite its being rather blurry.

I seem to remember that someone uprooted this little mushroom and that I placed it on this log to photograph it - does look like it, doesn't it, LOL? Taken at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 23rd August last year. Have hardly been on Flickr today - have instead spent hours downloading some of my 2008 Flickr photos to a file so that I can back them up and eventually burn to DVD (for my kids and for my own use). This is so monotonous to do, needless to say, but has to be done.

After a morning's walk in Weaselhead today, I decided to drive just south of the city to see how much snow was in the fields surrounding this now "famous" row of red sheds. Not a lot of snow in the field, but it was pretty deep along the edge of the road - as I found out when I tried to walk over to the fence : )

We saw this Short-eared Owl at the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre in southern Alberta. It was constantly moving, and I was unable to get a good, sharp image (apart from the eyes). I have seen several of these Owls in the wild outside the city. "This owl looks almost headless in flight, and it beats its long wings slowly and deeply, like a big butterfly, as it courses erratically low over meadows and fields. Uncommon to common in Alberta from March to November." From "Birds of Alberta" by Fisher and Acorn.