Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Potentilla concinna

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 14 May 2016, when I went on a morning walk with birding friends. We met at the Boat Launch in Fish Creek Park and walked in the Sikome and Lafarge Meadows areas. This included checking on the usual Great Horned Owl family - all four members were way up high in the trees, more or less hidden from view. Later today, I will add the list of bird species seen. After this walk, I drove a short distance to see a different family of Great Horned Owls, presumably the same pair of adults that we had seen last year, nesting near the Bow Valley Ranch. Amazingly, this pair had four - yes, four! - owlets this time. Somewhat better views than of the first family, at least for the short time I was there. Not much in the way of wildflowers to photograph, though I did stop to take a quick shot of this Early Cinquefoil flower. Early Cinquefoil is one of the first wildflowers to grow here in the city each spring. It is a native plant that grows in dry, open areas (prairie). Some plants have pinnately compound leaves, while other Early Cinquefoil plants have palmately compound leaves. This plant is a member of the Rose family. Low-growing with very small, brightly yellow flowers. The following link is to a page about Early Cinquefoil on a website done by one of our two botany leaders - Karel Bergmann. Thanks, Karel for all the time and effort you put into your site and, of course, for leading some of our botany outings. botany.cz/en/potentilla-concinna/ I will add the bird list from our leader, Melanie S.: Fish Creek PP--Boat Launch, Calgary, Alberta, CA 14-May-2016 9:00 AM - 12:10 PM Protocol: Traveling 3.5 kilometer(s) Comments: 10 to 15 deg C. Sunny. Nature Calgary field trip, leader Melanie Seneviratne. 46 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose 24 Gadwall 8 American Wigeon 10 Mallard 22 Blue-winged Teal 4 Northern Shoveler 1 Canvasback 1 Redhead 7 Lesser Scaup 6 Common Goldeneye 2 Common Merganser 2 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 4 American White Pelican 5 Great Blue Heron 1 Osprey 4 Northern Goshawk 1 Flew over car park as we were leaving. Swainson's Hawk 4 American Coot 4 Spotted Sandpiper 4 Wilson's Snipe 1 Franklin's Gull 3 California Gull 1 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2 Great Horned Owl 4 2 adult 2 juveniles Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Black-billed Magpie 2 American Crow 2 Common Raven 5 Tree Swallow 250 Barn Swallow 1 Cliff Swallow 20 Black-capped Chickadee 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 American Robin 12 European Starling 10 Clay-colored Sparrow 2 White-crowned Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 1 Red-winged Blackbird 30 Yellow-headed Blackbird 6 Brewer's Blackbird 1 Brown-headed Cowbird 5

I rarely take photos of whole plants, prefering to focus on a macro image of a single flower. Here, though, is quite a pretty cluster of Early Cinquefoil, growing in the Lafarge area south of Highway 22X. If you are not familiar with this species, keep your eyes open for a splash of bright yellow when you are out on a walk. This native, spring wildflower is a member of the Rose family.

Early Cinquefoil is one of the first wildflowers to grow here in the city each spring. It is a native plant that grows in dry, open areas (prairie). Some plants have pinnately compound leaves, while other Early Cinquefoil plants have palmately compound leaves. This plant is a member of the Rose family. Low-growing with very small, brightly yellow flowers.