Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: back side view

The angle at which I caught this handsome male Purple Martin makes the bird look shorter than it actually is. The orange gourd on which it is standing is a nest box. Just over a year ago, on 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. Then, on 7 July 2018, I got the chance to visit this unique place again, thanks to Jackie and Brenda, who organized a trip for a group of about 15 (?) friends/birders/photographers. The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm took us about two hours. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People send them from all over the province, even from overseas. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world - 300+! Myrna Pearman, who has been "at the helm of Ellis Bird Farm for the past 30 years", knew we were coming and we were treated to a very special viewing of Purple Martins at various stages, from eggs to adult, To do this, she lowered some of the Purple Martin condominiums and let us peer inside. After a short talk about the Farm, we explored every corner, taking a break for lunch, sitting outside, at the Cafe. A few of us had reserved a table, which is a good idea, as the Farm can get very busy with visitors. The main attraction at the Farm is the beautiful Purple Martins, uncommon in Alberta, though there are so many other things to see, as well. Purple Martins are very social birds, who apparently like people too, and nest in condominium-style nest boxes. They spend "most of the year in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and come up to Alberta just long enough to raise a family." "​Ellis Bird Farm made science history on Tuesday May 31 2016 (?) when University of Manitoba Grad Student, Alisha Ritchie, and her EBF team (Cheyenne Knight, Claudia Lipski and Myrna Pearman) retrapped a very special yearling Purple Martin. This bird had been retrofitted with a light level geolocator last season, as a nestling, and is the first songbird EVER(!) to be tracked on its first migration. The bird had evaded several attempts to trap it, so it has been named Houdini." Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program: www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html ""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife. The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters. After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/ Many thanks to Shirley, for driving the four of us to and from the Farm. Thank you for picking me up, Pam, to get me over to the meeting place. Beautiful weather and great company made for a super day. Have to say, too, that it was great to get away from the city, where the Calgary Stampede is in full swing.

Not the best photo, as it was taken on a very overcast day, and I couldn't get any colour from those gorgeous eyes. It also looks like the owl may have been down on some muddy ground, plus the insulator looks rusty. However, I don't get many Snowy Owl photos taken in the wild, so wanted to keep track of this one. Taken on January 29th 2012, east of Calgary. I'm adding a link to a beautiful video on the Snowy Owl from YouTube. Thanks, Darlisa, for adding it with your comment! Uploaded by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. youtu.be/Ufkcx-UqljM

On January 28th, I watched two male Downy Woodpeckers chasing each other and putting on quite a display. I thought they must be wrongly thinking that spring is here (with all our mild weather), and then I realized that they were both males. Not the greatest photo, but I liked the way the tail feathers were slightly fanned, revealing the black spots. Photographed at Carburn Park.

Definitely nowhere near as sharp as I would have liked, but you don't get to see these guys every day, lol! This handsome male caught me a little off-guard as it suddenly came a little lower down the tree and appeared round the side where I was standing. A little too close. Seen at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, on March 12th.

The small group of four of us, who drove around all day in the south west quadrant of Nanton and the surrounding areas for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, were very lucky to see a total of 70 of these fascinating Sharp-tailed Grouse (split up in several different locations). Their numbers seem to vary greatly from year to year. We pulled over to take a good look at this one high up in a tree, and my friends were very patient, giving me the chance to photograph it. This angle is a little "different", but at least there are no small twigs across its face and body, LOL, unlike the other shots I got : ) Aren't they just beautiful birds? Love those gorgeous feather patterns. And yes, you do have to smile at those wonderful, feathery legs. A very heavily cropped photo, by the way, but even so, this was the closest and best view I'd ever had of one before. The helpful lady from the Coroner's Office in England called a short while ago and left a message with the results of my brother's autopsy - natural causes, Ischaemic Heart Disease. I was up to about 5:00 a.m. this morning, I think, trying to find a few songs/music that felt right for John's funeral. I went to YouTube to listen to various ideas, but I'm still not sure how I can get some of these choices from "here" to "there" (Birmingham) : ) I wasn't thinking very clearly and just saved the songs from YouTube - which I read later doesn't work (for obvious copyright reasons, I guess). I think my friend in England said that the funeral place has a list of music to choose from, but of course there are so many versions of, say, Amazing Grace, that I'm not sure how I know what version would be played. Any help/suggestions from anyone who has had to do this, would be much appreciated. Now that the autopsy results are known, I know that time for getting things done is running out rapidly. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my good friend, George (George Dixon) today!

Ha, can you believe it - it's a bird? Not a mushroom or a wildflower! A crummy, distant, cropped image, but this is the first shot I've ever taken of a Warbling Vireo, so really wanted to include it in my Birds of Alberta 5 Set. This small drab songbird, with its grey crown and white eyebrow, was down in Hull's Wood in a bush alongside the Bow River on 7th September.