Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Priddis area

After at least a week of disrupted TV channels and function, Internet service was lost for a few hours this afternoon/evening, just as I was about to upload my first photo for today. Finally, service has returned, and I have now posted the remaining photos taken during the annual May Species Count on 26 May 2019. I couldn't decide which Tree Swallow photo I liked best, so I posted all four of them. Such a gorgeous bird. I only have a handful of photos left to post tomorrow, taken on a couple of very recent birding walks in the city. Not sure if i will be able to get back to sorting and editing photos from Day 8 of our trip to South Texas in March. From 31 May 2019: Oh, my goodness, the smoke from the wildfires in northern Alberta reached us yesterday evening. I was out at a meeting and all was as usual on my drive there. When I came out later, the air reeked of smoke and visibility was poor. The Weather Network had warned that this summer would be a smoky one - again. Last summer was dreadful and not good health-wise to go out in, so I stayed home on so many days. When I woke up the next morning, my whole house smelled strongly of smoke. It always makes me think of the poor people close to any forest fire - how on earth do they breath?! "The Air Quality Health Index in Calgary has reached 10+, or high risk, with most of the province under a special air quality alert due to smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Alberta. Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, a Calgary physician, says the particulate in the air on Friday has the same health effects as smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day." From CBC News. Flickr staff seem to have solved several issues, especially in connection with views statistics. The number of views has never been accurate, we all know that, but very recently, the number of views has been out of control. Now things seem to be back to a more realistic number, thank goodness, I haven't yet tested out the issue of comments and faves, to see if all comments and all faves are acknowledged, but it looks OK so far. That would be great to know that when someone comments on an image, their comment/fave can be seen, especially after going to the trouble of writing a comment. Posting a few more photos today taken during our May Species Count on 26 May 2019. Many of the photos posted this afternoon were taken at our first stop on the Count, which was at the Castell Ranch, SW of Calgary. This is such a rewarding and enjoyable place to be, with so many species flocking to the feeders, grounds and pond. Unfortunately, most of my shots were taken through a glass window that had netting on the outside, to prevent birds from flying into the window. We had to look from this room, in order for the birds to come down - standing outside tends to keep the birds away. On the Count last year, the same thing happened and almost all my photos were blurry. This year, I think I can manage to rescue a few of the less blurry images, sharpening them as much as I dare. After this early morning treat, we drove a few of the back roads in the area, calling in at several acreages. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was also one of our stops - has an outhouse (yay!) and a picnic table where we sat for our lunch. The park is not part of our Count area, but each year, we stop there for the outhouse and table and also to take a short walk into the forest to check and see if there are any Calypso Orchids in bloom. We managed to find one tiny flower in full bloom, so we were content. Afterwards, we made one last drive to see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. One or two people have been seeing them already this spring. A couple of cyclists came by and one of them asked if we were looking for a Bobolink - he told us he had seen one just a few hours earlier in a particular place. Sure enough, with a bit of patience, we suddenly realized that there was one behind us on the far side of the road. Will post a dreadful photo of it, just for the record.

After at least a week of disrupted TV channels and function, Internet service was lost for a few hours this afternoon/evening, just as I was about to upload my first photo for today. Finally, service has returned, and I have now posted the remaining photos taken during the annual May Species Count on 26 May 2019. I couldn't decide which Tree Swallow photo I liked best, so I posted all four of them. Such a gorgeous bird. I only have a handful of photos left to post tomorrow, taken on a couple of very recent birding walks in the city. Not sure if i will be able to get back to sorting and editing photos from Day 8 of our trip to South Texas in March. From 31 May 2019: Oh, my goodness, the smoke from the wildfires in northern Alberta reached us yesterday evening. I was out at a meeting and all was as usual on my drive there. When I came out later, the air reeked of smoke and visibility was poor. The Weather Network had warned that this summer would be a smoky one - again. Last summer was dreadful and not good health-wise to go out in, so I stayed home on so many days. When I woke up the next morning, my whole house smelled strongly of smoke. It always makes me think of the poor people close to any forest fire - how on earth do they breath?! "The Air Quality Health Index in Calgary has reached 10+, or high risk, with most of the province under a special air quality alert due to smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Alberta. Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, a Calgary physician, says the particulate in the air on Friday has the same health effects as smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day." From CBC News. Flickr staff seem to have solved several issues, especially in connection with views statistics. The number of views has never been accurate, we all know that, but very recently, the number of views has been out of control. Now things seem to be back to a more realistic number, thank goodness, I haven't yet tested out the issue of comments and faves, to see if all comments and all faves are acknowledged, but it looks OK so far. That would be great to know that when someone comments on an image, their comment/fave can be seen, especially after going to the trouble of writing a comment. Posting a few more photos today taken during our May Species Count on 26 May 2019. Many of the photos posted this afternoon were taken at our first stop on the Count, which was at the Castell Ranch, SW of Calgary. This is such a rewarding and enjoyable place to be, with so many species flocking to the feeders, grounds and pond. Unfortunately, most of my shots were taken through a glass window that had netting on the outside, to prevent birds from flying into the window. We had to look from this room, in order for the birds to come down - standing outside tends to keep the birds away. On the Count last year, the same thing happened and almost all my photos were blurry. This year, I think I can manage to rescue a few of the less blurry images, sharpening them as much as I dare. After this early morning treat, we drove a few of the back roads in the area, calling in at several acreages. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was also one of our stops - has an outhouse (yay!) and a picnic table where we sat for our lunch. The park is not part of our Count area, but each year, we stop there for the outhouse and table and also to take a short walk into the forest to check and see if there are any Calypso Orchids in bloom. We managed to find one tiny flower in full bloom, so we were content. Afterwards, we made one last drive to see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. One or two people have been seeing them already this spring. A couple of cyclists came by and one of them asked if we were looking for a Bobolink - he told us he had seen one just a few hours earlier in a particular place. Sure enough, with a bit of patience, we suddenly realized that there was one behind us on the far side of the road. Will post a dreadful photo of it, just for the record.

After at least a week of disrupted TV channels and function, Internet service was lost for a few hours this afternoon/evening, just as I was about to upload my first photo for today. Finally, service has returned, and I have now posted the remaining photos taken during the annual May Species Count on 26 May 2019. I couldn't decide which Tree Swallow photo I liked best, so I posted all four of them. Such a gorgeous bird. I only have a handful of photos left to post tomorrow, taken on a couple of very recent birding walks in the city. Not sure if i will be able to get back to sorting and editing photos from Day 8 of our trip to South Texas in March. From 31 May 2019: Oh, my goodness, the smoke from the wildfires in northern Alberta reached us yesterday evening. I was out at a meeting and all was as usual on my drive there. When I came out later, the air reeked of smoke and visibility was poor. The Weather Network had warned that this summer would be a smoky one - again. Last summer was dreadful and not good health-wise to go out in, so I stayed home on so many days. When I woke up the next morning, my whole house smelled strongly of smoke. It always makes me think of the poor people close to any forest fire - how on earth do they breath?! "The Air Quality Health Index in Calgary has reached 10+, or high risk, with most of the province under a special air quality alert due to smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Alberta. Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, a Calgary physician, says the particulate in the air on Friday has the same health effects as smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day." From CBC News. Flickr staff seem to have solved several issues, especially in connection with views statistics. The number of views has never been accurate, we all know that, but very recently, the number of views has been out of control. Now things seem to be back to a more realistic number, thank goodness, I haven't yet tested out the issue of comments and faves, to see if all comments and all faves are acknowledged, but it looks OK so far. That would be great to know that when someone comments on an image, their comment/fave can be seen, especially after going to the trouble of writing a comment. Posting a few more photos today taken during our May Species Count on 26 May 2019. Many of the photos posted this afternoon were taken at our first stop on the Count, which was at the Castell Ranch, SW of Calgary. This is such a rewarding and enjoyable place to be, with so many species flocking to the feeders, grounds and pond. Unfortunately, most of my shots were taken through a glass window that had netting on the outside, to prevent birds from flying into the window. We had to look from this room, in order for the birds to come down - standing outside tends to keep the birds away. On the Count last year, the same thing happened and almost all my photos were blurry. This year, I think I can manage to rescue a few of the less blurry images, sharpening them as much as I dare. After this early morning treat, we drove a few of the back roads in the area, calling in at several acreages. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was also one of our stops - has an outhouse (yay!) and a picnic table where we sat for our lunch. The park is not part of our Count area, but each year, we stop there for the outhouse and table and also to take a short walk into the forest to check and see if there are any Calypso Orchids in bloom. We managed to find one tiny flower in full bloom, so we were content. Afterwards, we made one last drive to see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. One or two people have been seeing them already this spring. A couple of cyclists came by and one of them asked if we were looking for a Bobolink - he told us he had seen one just a few hours earlier in a particular place. Sure enough, with a bit of patience, we suddenly realized that there was one behind us on the far side of the road. Will post a dreadful photo of it, just for the record.

After at least a week of disrupted TV channels and function, Internet service was lost for a few hours this afternoon/evening, just as I was about to upload my first photo for today. Finally, service has returned, and I have now posted the remaining photos taken during the annual May Species Count on 26 May 2019. I couldn't decide which Tree Swallow photo I liked best, so I posted all four of them. Such a gorgeous bird. I only have a handful of photos left to post tomorrow, taken on a couple of very recent birding walks in the city. Not sure if i will be able to get back to sorting and editing photos from Day 8 of our trip to South Texas in March. From 31 May 2019: Oh, my goodness, the smoke from the wildfires in northern Alberta reached us yesterday evening. I was out at a meeting and all was as usual on my drive there. When I came out later, the air reeked of smoke and visibility was poor. The Weather Network had warned that this summer would be a smoky one - again. Last summer was dreadful and not good health-wise to go out in, so I stayed home on so many days. When I woke up the next morning, my whole house smelled strongly of smoke. It always makes me think of the poor people close to any forest fire - how on earth do they breath?! "The Air Quality Health Index in Calgary has reached 10+, or high risk, with most of the province under a special air quality alert due to smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Alberta. Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, a Calgary physician, says the particulate in the air on Friday has the same health effects as smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day." From CBC News. Flickr staff seem to have solved several issues, especially in connection with views statistics. The number of views has never been accurate, we all know that, but very recently, the number of views has been out of control. Now things seem to be back to a more realistic number, thank goodness, I haven't yet tested out the issue of comments and faves, to see if all comments and all faves are acknowledged, but it looks OK so far. That would be great to know that when someone comments on an image, their comment/fave can be seen, especially after going to the trouble of writing a comment. Posting a few more photos today taken during our May Species Count on 26 May 2019. Many of the photos posted this afternoon were taken at our first stop on the Count, which was at the Castell Ranch, SW of Calgary. This is such a rewarding and enjoyable place to be, with so many species flocking to the feeders, grounds and pond. Unfortunately, most of my shots were taken through a glass window that had netting on the outside, to prevent birds from flying into the window. We had to look from this room, in order for the birds to come down - standing outside tends to keep the birds away. On the Count last year, the same thing happened and almost all my photos were blurry. This year, I think I can manage to rescue a few of the less blurry images, sharpening them as much as I dare. After this early morning treat, we drove a few of the back roads in the area, calling in at several acreages. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was also one of our stops - has an outhouse (yay!) and a picnic table where we sat for our lunch. The park is not part of our Count area, but each year, we stop there for the outhouse and table and also to take a short walk into the forest to check and see if there are any Calypso Orchids in bloom. We managed to find one tiny flower in full bloom, so we were content. Afterwards, we made one last drive to see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. One or two people have been seeing them already this spring. A couple of cyclists came by and one of them asked if we were looking for a Bobolink - he told us he had seen one just a few hours earlier in a particular place. Sure enough, with a bit of patience, we suddenly realized that there was one behind us on the far side of the road. Will post a dreadful photo of it, just for the record.

From yesterday, 31 May 2019: Oh, my goodness, the smoke from the wildfire in northern Alberta reached us yesterday evening. I was out at a meeting and all was as usual on my drive there. When I came out later, the air reeked of smoke and visibility was poor. The Weather Network had warned that this summer would be a smoky one - again. Last summer was dreadful and not good health-wise to go out in, so I stayed home on so many days. When I woke up this morning, my whole house smelled strongly of smoke. It always makes me think of the poor people close to any forest fire - how on earth do they breath?! "The Air Quality Health Index in Calgary has reached 10+, or high risk, with most of the province under a special air quality alert due to smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Alberta. Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, a Calgary physician, says the particulate in the air on Friday has the same health effects as smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day." From CBC News. Flickr staff seem to have solved several issues, especially in connection with views statistics. The number of views has never been accurate, we all know that, but very recently, the number of views has been out of control. Now things seem to be back to a more realistic number, thank goodness, I haven't yet tested out the issue of comments and faves, to see if all comments and all faves are acknowledged, but it looks OK so far. That would be great to know that when someone comments on an image, their comment/fave can be seen, especially after going to the trouble of writing a comment. Posting a few more photos today taken during our May Species Count on 26 May 2019. All the photos posted this afternoon were taken at our first stop on the Count, which was at the Castell Ranch, SW of Calgary. This is such a rewarding and enjoyable place to be, with so many species flocking to the feeders, grounds and pond. Unfortunately, most of my shots were taken through a glass window that had netting on the outside, to prevent birds from flying into the window. We had to look from this room, in order for the birds to come down - standing outside tends to keep the birds away. On the Count last year, the same thing happened and almost all my photos were blurry. This year, I think I can manage to rescue a few of the less blurry images, sharpening them as much as I dare. After this early morning treat, we drove a few of the back roads in the area, calling in at several acreages. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was also one of our stops - has an outhouse (yay!) and a picnic table where we sat for our lunch. The park is not part of our Count area, but each year, we stop there for the outhouse and table and also to take a short walk into the forest to check and see if there are any Calypso Orchids in bloom. We managed to find one tiny flower in full bloom, so we were content. Afterwards, we made one last drive to see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. One or two people have been seeing them already this spring. A couple of cyclists came by and one of them asked if we were looking for a Bobolink - he told us he had seen one just a few hours earlier in a particular place. Sure enough, with a bit of patience, we suddenly realized that there was one behind us on the far side of the road. Will post a dreadful photo of it soon, just for the record.

From yesterday, 31 May 2019: Oh, my goodness, the smoke from the wildfire in northern Alberta reached us yesterday evening. I was out at a meeting and all was as usual on my drive there. When I came out later, the air reeked of smoke and visibility was poor. The Weather Network had warned that this summer would be a smoky one - again. Last summer was dreadful and not good health-wise to go out in, so I stayed home on so many days. When I woke up this morning, my whole house smelled strongly of smoke. It always makes me think of the poor people close to any forest fire - how on earth do they breath?! "The Air Quality Health Index in Calgary has reached 10+, or high risk, with most of the province under a special air quality alert due to smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Alberta. Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, a Calgary physician, says the particulate in the air on Friday has the same health effects as smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day." From CBC News. Flickr staff seem to have solved several issues, especially in connection with views statistics. The number of views has never been accurate, we all know that, but very recently, the number of views has been out of control. Now things seem to be back to a more realistic number, thank goodness, I haven't yet tested out the issue of comments and faves, to see if all comments and all faves are acknowledged, but it looks OK so far. That would be great to know that when someone comments on an image, their comment/fave can be seen, especially after going to the trouble of writing a comment. Posting a few more photos today taken during our May Species Count on 26 May 2019. All the photos posted this afternoon were taken at our first stop on the Count, which was at the Castell Ranch, SW of Calgary. This is such a rewarding and enjoyable place to be, with so many species flocking to the feeders, grounds and pond. Unfortunately, most of my shots were taken through a glass window that had netting on the outside, to prevent birds from flying into the window. We had to look from this room, in order for the birds to come down - standing outside tends to keep the birds away. On the Count last year, the same thing happened and almost all my photos were blurry. This year, I think I can manage to rescue a few of the less blurry images, sharpening them as much as I dare. After this early morning treat, we drove a few of the back roads in the area, calling in at several acreages. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was also one of our stops - has an outhouse (yay!) and a picnic table where we sat for our lunch. The park is not part of our Count area, but each year, we stop there for the outhouse and table and also to take a short walk into the forest to check and see if there are any Calypso Orchids in bloom. We managed to find one tiny flower in full bloom, so we were content. Afterwards, we made one last drive to see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. One or two people have been seeing them already this spring. A couple of cyclists came by and one of them asked if we were looking for a Bobolink - he told us he had seen one just a few hours earlier in a particular place. Sure enough, with a bit of patience, we suddenly realized that there was one behind us on the far side of the road. Will post a dreadful photo of it soon, just for the record.

From yesterday, 31 May 2019: Oh, my goodness, the smoke from the wildfire in northern Alberta reached us yesterday evening. I was out at a meeting and all was as usual on my drive there. When I came out later, the air reeked of smoke and visibility was poor. The Weather Network had warned that this summer would be a smoky one - again. Last summer was dreadful and not good health-wise to go out in, so I stayed home on so many days. When I woke up this morning, my whole house smelled strongly of smoke. It always makes me think of the poor people close to any forest fire - how on earth do they breath?! "The Air Quality Health Index in Calgary has reached 10+, or high risk, with most of the province under a special air quality alert due to smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Alberta. Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, a Calgary physician, says the particulate in the air on Friday has the same health effects as smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day." From CBC News. Flickr staff seem to have solved several issues, especially in connection with views statistics. The number of views has never been accurate, we all know that, but very recently, the number of views has been out of control. Now things seem to be back to a more realistic number, thank goodness, I haven't yet tested out the issue of comments and faves, to see if all comments and all faves are acknowledged, but it looks OK so far. That would be great to know that when someone comments on an image, their comment/fave can be seen, especially after going to the trouble of writing a comment. Posting a few more photos today taken during our May Species Count on 26 May 2019. All the photos posted this afternoon were taken at our first stop on the Count, which was at the Castell Ranch, SW of Calgary. This is such a rewarding and enjoyable place to be, with so many species flocking to the feeders, grounds and pond. Unfortunately, most of my shots were taken through a glass window that had netting on the outside, to prevent birds from flying into the window. We had to look from this room, in order for the birds to come down - standing outside tends to keep the birds away. On the Count last year, the same thing happened and almost all my photos were blurry. This year, I think I can manage to rescue a few of the less blurry images, sharpening them as much as I dare. After this early morning treat, we drove a few of the back roads in the area, calling in at several acreages. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was also one of our stops - has an outhouse (yay!) and a picnic table where we sat for our lunch. The park is not part of our Count area, but each year, we stop there for the outhouse and table and also to take a short walk into the forest to check and see if there are any Calypso Orchids in bloom. We managed to find one tiny flower in full bloom, so we were content. Afterwards, we made one last drive to see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. One or two people have been seeing them already this spring. A couple of cyclists came by and one of them asked if we were looking for a Bobolink - he told us he had seen one just a few hours earlier in a particular place. Sure enough, with a bit of patience, we suddenly realized that there was one behind us on the far side of the road. Will post a dreadful photo of it soon, just for the record.

What a sweet little bird this was! I know some people refuse to post or even take feeder photos, but I am just happy to get any photo I can. Oh, my goodness, the smoke from the wildfire in northern Alberta reached us yesterday evening. I was out at a meeting and all was as usual on my drive there. When I came out later, the air reeked of smoke and visibility was poor. The Weather Network had warned that this summer would be a smoky one - again. Last summer was dreadful and not good health-wise to go out in, so I stayed home on so many days. When I woke up this morning, my whole house smelled strongly of smoke. It always makes me think of the poor people close to any forest fire - how on earth do they breath?! "The Air Quality Health Index in Calgary has reached 10+, or high risk, with most of the province under a special air quality alert due to smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Alberta. Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, a Calgary physician, says the particulate in the air on Friday has the same health effects as smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day." From CBC News. What a performance to get images posted just now! The main problem was that Shaw Internet was not available. There have been problems with certain TV channels for the last week, too. Flickr staff seem to have solved several issues, especially in connection with views statistics. The number of views has never been accurate, we all know that, but very recently, the number of views has been out of control. Now things seem to be back to a more realistic number, thank goodness, I haven't yet tested out the issue of comments and faves, to see if all comments and all faves are acknowledged. That would be great to know that when someone comments on an image, their comment/fave can be seen, especially after going to the trouble of writing a comment. Finally managed to start posting a few photos today taken during our May Species Count on 26 May 2019. All the photos posted this afternoon were taken at our first stop on the Count, which was at the Castell Ranch, SW of Calgary. This is such a rewarding and enjoyable place to be, with so many species flocking to the feeders, grounds and pond. Unfortunately, most of my shots were taken through a glass window that had netting on the outside, to prevent birds from flying into the window. We had to look from this room, in order for the birds to come down - standing outside tends to keep the birds away. On the Count last year, the same thing happened and almost all my photos were blurry. This year, I think I can manage to rescue a few of the less blurry images, sharpening them as much as I dare. After this early morning treat, we drove a few of the back roads in the area, calling in at several acreages. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was also one of our stops - has an outhouse (yay!) and a picnic table where we sat for our lunch. The park is not part of our Count area, but each year, we stop there for the outhouse and table and also to take a short walk into the forest to check and see if there are any Calypso Orchids in bloom. We managed to find one tiny flower in full bloom, so we were content. Afterwards, we made one last drive to see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. One or two people have been seeing them already this spring. A couple of cyclists came by and one of them asked if we were looking for a Bobolink - he told us he had seen one just a few hours earlier in a particular place. Sure enough, with a bit of patience, we suddenly realized that there was one behind us on the far side of the road. Will post a dreadful photo of it soon, just for the record.

What a sweet little bird this was! I know some people refuse to post or even take feeder photos, but I am just happy to get any photo I can. Oh, my goodness, the smoke from the wildfire in northern Alberta reached us yesterday evening. I was out at a meeting and all was as usual on my drive there. When I came out later, the air reeked of smoke and visibility was poor. The Weather Network had warned that this summer would be a smoky one - again. Last summer was dreadful and not good health-wise to go out in, so I stayed home on so many days. When I woke up this morning, my whole house smelled strongly of smoke. It always makes me think of the poor people close to any forest fire - how on earth do they breath?! "The Air Quality Health Index in Calgary has reached 10+, or high risk, with most of the province under a special air quality alert due to smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Alberta. Dr. Raj Bhardwaj, a Calgary physician, says the particulate in the air on Friday has the same health effects as smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day." From CBC News. What a performance to get images posted just now! The main problem was that Shaw Internet was not available. There have been problems with certain TV channels for the last week, too. Flickr staff seem to have solved several issues, especially in connection with views statistics. The number of views has never been accurate, we all know that, but very recently, the number of views has been out of control. Now things seem to be back to a more realistic number, thank goodness, I haven't yet tested out the issue of comments and faves, to see if all comments and all faves are acknowledged. That would be great to know that when someone comments on an image, their comment/fave can be seen, especially after going to the trouble of writing a comment. Finally managed to start posting a few photos today taken during our May Species Count on 26 May 2019. All the photos posted this afternoon were taken at our first stop on the Count, which was at the Castell Ranch, SW of Calgary. This is such a rewarding and enjoyable place to be, with so many species flocking to the feeders, grounds and pond. Unfortunately, most of my shots were taken through a glass window that had netting on the outside, to prevent birds from flying into the window. We had to look from this room, in order for the birds to come down - standing outside tends to keep the birds away. On the Count last year, the same thing happened and almost all my photos were blurry. This year, I think I can manage to rescue a few of the less blurry images, sharpening them as much as I dare. After this early morning treat, we drove a few of the back roads in the area, calling in at several acreages. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was also one of our stops - has an outhouse (yay!) and a picnic table where we sat for our lunch. The park is not part of our Count area, but each year, we stop there for the outhouse and table and also to take a short walk into the forest to check and see if there are any Calypso Orchids in bloom. We managed to find one tiny flower in full bloom, so we were content. Afterwards, we made one last drive to see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. One or two people have been seeing them already this spring. A couple of cyclists came by and one of them asked if we were looking for a Bobolink - he told us he had seen one just a few hours earlier in a particular place. Sure enough, with a bit of patience, we suddenly realized that there was one behind us on the far side of the road. Will post a dreadful photo of it soon, just for the record.

Yesterday, 22 December 2018, was the very first Priddis Christmas Bird Count. We unofficially tallied 28 different species, 520 individuals. Twenty participants turned out for this Count, which was great. The most impressive part, though, was that a 15-year-old (in Grade 9) decided to organize a Count for this area. Great initiative - well done, Gavin! You certainly have a huge knowledge about birds. We split up into various groups and basically drove wherever we chose within the boundaries of the Count circle. The start time was 8:30 am and we ended roughly around 4:00 pm. This whole area is the area I usually drive to when I need to get out for just a few hours - which doesn't happen very often these days, unfortunately. That really needs to change next year, if possible. One of our stopping places was at Barb Castell's. She has a great collection of bird feeders in the garden on her acreage and has a good variety of birds coming to feed each day. Seeing Evening Grosbeaks was a real treat. Thanks so much, as always, Barb, for letting us invade your property : ) Always much appreciated. Ha, I discovered that taking photos through a window that has a fine netting over it, did not work, at least not with my camera. Just about managed to rescue a handful of the shots. When we all had to come inside to shoot, it did allow all the birds to fly down and feed, though. What a glorious, colourful sight. Evening Grosbeaks always make me smile, because the males, especially, tend to tilt their head and have such an angry look on their face. Sadly, their Status is Vulnerable. "The scientific name, Hesperiphona vespertinus, means “sound of the evening,” although the idea that they are mainly crepuscular is mistaken. They were apparently first named by French explorers who probably first observed them in the twilight hours. They should actually be called the Morning Grosbeak." The alternative scientific name is Coccothraustes vespertinaus. ornithology.com/the-evening-grosbeak/ With so many birders getting on in age, it is always a delight to see any young person who is passionate about our feathered friends. Hopefully, Gavin's success will encourage other youngsters to get involved.

ALBERTA EMERGENCY ALERT, 27 May 2018: calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/emergency-alert-issued-... "An emergency alert has been issued for the Municipal District of Foothills due to a large wildfire in Kananaskis Country. The alert issued by the district indicates the blaze is about 16 kilometres southwest of Bragg Creek “and is moving in a northeasterly direction toward the extreme northwest corner of the MD of Foothills.” Voluntary evacuation is in effect for areas west of Highway 762, between Highway 22 and 178th Avenue W. Alberta Wildfire information officer Matt Bell said the wildfire is listed at 100 hectares and is considered out of control." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yesterday, Sunday 27 May 2018, was the second day of the annual May Species Count. On the Saturday, I had taken part in the Count at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park. We took three cars yesterday, but one car had to leave early. The Count started at 8:00 am and, this year, we finished around 2:00 pm, which was earlier than usual. The number of species was quite a bit lower than the last two years. Usually, we see a great variety of birds at one of our stops (Barb Castell's), but things were very quiet yesterday. As Barb reminded us, there are more birds earlier in the day, and late afternoon to early evening. Thanks, as always, Barb, for letting us wander round your beautiful garden! When I spotted this gorgeous Petunia, it took my breath away. We were very lucky with the weather for our Count. I think the temperature got up to about 22C, cooler than the last few days - today is forecast to have a high of 28C. After driving various back roads, we ended up at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, where we stopped to eat our lunch. The parking lot was absolutely packed. A short walk within the forest produced two or three past-their-prime Calypso Orchids. Each year, we do this walk to look for these gorgeous flowers, though Brown-Lowery is actually covered by a different group of people for the Count. Not a single owl of any kind was seen by our group yesterday, unlike last year, when we had a beautiful Great Gray Owl.

ALBERTA EMERGENCY ALERT, 27 May 2018: calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/emergency-alert-issued-... "An emergency alert has been issued for the Municipal District of Foothills due to a large wildfire in Kananaskis Country. The alert issued by the district indicates the blaze is about 16 kilometres southwest of Bragg Creek “and is moving in a northeasterly direction toward the extreme northwest corner of the MD of Foothills.” Voluntary evacuation is in effect for areas west of Highway 762, between Highway 22 and 178th Avenue W. Alberta Wildfire information officer Matt Bell said the wildfire is listed at 100 hectares and is considered out of control." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yesterday, Sunday 27 May 2018, was the second day of the annual May Species Count. On the Saturday, I had taken part in the Count at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park. We took three cars yesterday, but one car had to leave early. The Count started at 8:00 am and, when we arrived at the starting point and briefly got out of our cars, someone spotted this Killdeer nest right by the cars - I stood in the road and zoomed in. The adults were very near by, but we did not see them do the broken-wing action. Instead, they just kept walking down the road, no doubt hoping that we would be distracted. Later in the day, we had a great view of a different Killdeer performing the fancy broken-wing activity. This year, we finished our Count around 2:00 pm, which was earlier than usual. The number of species was quite a bit lower than the last two years. Usually, we see a great variety of birds at one of our stops (Barb Castell's), but things were very quiet yesterday. As Barb reminded us, there are more birds earlier in the day, and late afternoon to early evening. Thanks, as always, Barb, for letting us wander round your beautiful garden! We were very lucky with the weather for our Count. I think the temperature got up to about 22C, cooler than the last few days - today is forecast to have a high of 28C. After driving various back roads, we ended up at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, where we stopped to eat our lunch. The parking lot was absolutely packed. A short walk within the forest produced two or three past-their-prime Calypso Orchids. Each year, we do this walk to look for these gorgeous flowers, though Brown-Lowery is actually covered by a different group of people for the Count. Not a single owl of any kind was seen by our group yesterday, unlike last year, when we had a beautiful Great Gray Owl.

Quite a few of the more recent photos that I've posted have come from my archives, including this one, showing a small clump of Early Blue Violets. These early spring flowers were growing at one of the private properties a small group of us visited during the May Species Count, on 25 May 2014. This spring (2015) appears to have been delayed. A few days ago, a group of us went on our first Botany walk of the season, at Bebo Grove in Fish Creek Park, but there was nothing in bloom and barely any sign of plants growing. It had snowed the previous two (?) days, but the snow had already melted. "These fragrant, bluish-purple flowers are up to 2 cm across. "Medicinally, early blue violet was used as a poultice for bruises, and a violet syrup was made to relieve epilepsy, inflamed eyes, insomnia, jaundice, and sore throats. In modern times, violets have been used to colour and flavour medicines." www.naturewatch.ca/english/plantwatch/species_details.htm...

This pair of Lesser Scaup was seen when a few of us took part in the annual May Species Count on Sunday, 25 May 2014. There were seven people in my group and we travelled in two vehicles, covering a large area SW of Calgary and W of Priddis. The Count lasted from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the weather was mostly clear but clouded up by noon, with a short shower while we were having lunch at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. Heavy clouds for the rest of the day, calm, 9-18°C, with 88km travelled by car. 69 bird species were found, plus 15 White-tailed Deer and two Moose. Most species were seen from far away, but I did manage to get just a few photos of several of the species. A good day : ) Thanks for driving Rob and myself, Phil! Much appreciated! Each year on this Count, a highlight is calling in to see the much sought-after Evening Grosbeaks at Barb Castell's acreage. They didn't let us down, and even gave us some chances to get a few photos. Feeder photos are not my favourite, but we were also able to catch them in the trees, too. After the Count ended, it was pointed out that we could return to the city by one of two different routes. If we had chosen the other route, we would have missed the other highlight of the day - a Great Gray Owl! It didn't stay around for more than a few minutes, as it was busy hunting, but we did manage to get a handful of shots. We also saw a Ring-necked Pheasant in a field, just within camera range. I will add the list (compiled by the Count leader, Gus Yaki), of the 69 bird species seen, for my own memory. It probably won't be of much interest to most of you, and some of you will be sick and tired of seeing it on a number of my recent photos : ) I should add that I didn't see every single one of these species. Canada Goose-60 ad/30 juv. Gadwall-3 Mallard-19 Blue-winged Teal-16 Cinnamon Teal-2 Northern Shoveler-10 Green-winged Teal-6 Redhead-2 Ring-necked Duck-9 Lesser Scaup-19 Bufflehead-10 Barrow's Goldeneye-2 Ruddy Duck-10 Ring-necked Pheasant-1 heard. Common Loon-1 Pied-billed Grebe-1 Great Blue Heron-1 Swainson's Hawk-1 Red-tailed Hawk-7 Sora-5 American Coot-6 Killdeer-3 Spotted Sandpiper-3 Wilson's Snipe-10 Wilson's Phalarope-5 Black Tern-22 Mourning Dove-1 Great Gray Owl-2 Red-naped Sapsucker-1 Downy Woodpecker-1 Northern Flicker-1 Western Wood-Pewee-2 Least Flycatcher-7 Eastern Phoebe-1 Eastern Kingbird-4 Warbling Vireo-1 Blue Jay-7 Black-billed Magpie-8 American Crow-7 Common Raven-6 Tree Swallow-213 Barn Swallow-4 Black-capped Chickadee-12 Mountain Chickadee-5 Boreal Chickadee-2 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 House Wren-7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet-5 Mountain Bluebird-24 American Robin-12 Gray Catbird-2 European Starling-7 Tennessee Warbler-6 Yellow Warbler-3 Northern Waterthrush-1 Chipping Sparrow-9 Clay-colored Sparrow-26 Savannah Sparrow-3 Song Sparrow-2 Dark-eyed Junco-3 Red-winged Blackbird-164 Brewer's Blackbird-11 Common Grackle-8 Brown-headed Cowbird-9 Baltimore Oriole-1 Purple Finch-2 American Goldfinch-1 Evening Grosbeak-15 House Sparrow-4 Red Squirrel-4 Richardson's Ground Squirrel-1 Columbian Ground Squirrel-1 Meadow Vole-1 White-tailed Deer-15 Moose-2

Not a very good shot, but it's the only one I have of a female Evening Grosbeak. Didn't manage to get it in the tree, so here it is, on a ledge outside a window. Seen on the property of the Castell family, south west of Calgary.

We couldn't believe our eyes this afternoon when we came across this Great Gray Owl. Most annoyingly, I wasn't able to get a sharp shot of it for some reason, even though it was perched on a fence post. Also, nearly every time I clicked, the owl would turn its head, resulting in blur, LOL. However, this is still better than any previous distant shot that I've managed to get of a Great Gray Owl, so I shouldn't complain : ) We were out from about 7:30 a.m. till around 4:00 p.m. so I'm now struggling to keep awake!

This photo was taken on 7 June 2012, SW of Calgary, and it has been hanging around in my "Photos to maybe post to Flickr" folder since then. I have to smile each time I see it, even though it really is a rather unpleasant photo to look at, thanks to all the blur. Can't remember for sure now, but I think this was an accidental shot that I saw when I'd downloaded my photos from that day. I wonder if the Mountain Bluebird managed to catch a snack : )

A very heavily cropped photo of a tiny House Wren that we saw on the May Species Count on 27 May 2012. I find these little guys so hard to photograph, they are constantly on the move and very fast, so I was happy to get any photo at all. Hard to believe that the annual Christmas Bird Counts will be starting in just a few weeks' time!