Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Bebo Grove to Shannon Terrace

On Sunday afternoon, 1 November 2015, it was mostly cloudy with a short windy and drizzly period. Though the temperature was 8°C, it felt cold and, once again, I wore two fleece jackets, a fleece vest and a light jacket! Bebo Grove is one of the coldest places in the city, so I made sure I was prepared. The morning had been nice and sunny, which is why I decided to meet a few friends for a birding walk. However, the rain started shortly before I was ready to leave home and I was very tempted to change my plans. Glad I didn't, as the rain stopped and I would have missed seeing a Great Horned Owl. Not sure if it's the same one I photographed recently in the same area - I think it could be. It would have been so easy to not see this owl, as it was sleeping on top of a low, broken tree surrounded by a tangle of branches. Two other friends had just returned to the parking lot after going for a walk and they offered to walk back to show us where they had just seen this owl, so that helped. The other thing I would have missed seeing was a handsome Mule Deer buck and two others, in a grassy area. They were busy feeding on the dead leaves and twigs and eventually decided to lie down and rest for a while. Our walk took us through the area at the bottom of the stairs, then eastwards to bridge 4 and then west from the picnic area. Bird numbers were certainly way down. Adding the list of bird species seen, compiled by our leader, Bernie. Thanks for a very enjoyable walk, Bernie! 1. Coopers' Hawk -1 2. Bald Eagle -2 3. Ring-billed Gull-8 4. Great Horned Owl-1 5. Hairy Woodpecker-3 6. Northern Flicker-1 7. Blue Jay-2 8. Black-billed Magpie-4 9. Common Raven-7 10. Black-capped Chickadee-30 11. Boreal Chickadee-1 12. Red-breasted Nuthatch-4 13. White-breasted Nuthatch-1 14. Bohemian Waxwing-27 15. Pine Grosbeak-8 16. Pine Siskin-12

Thank heavens for Chickadees!! They are there to greet us, no matter what! Such tough little guys, though they are always only 24 hours away from death if they can't get enough fat stored in their body to last overnight. In certain natural areas of the city, where they are very used to people, these little Black-capped Chickadees will happily fly down to a person's hand - in this case, a fellow birder's hand. The light and colour are rather strange and there is too much graininess thanks to the very poor light conditions, but there was still something I liked about this photo. Taken on 27 October 2015, when I went on a three-hour walk in Fish Creek Park, from Bebo Grove to Shannon Terrace and back, with birding friends. "The Black-capped Chickadee is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand)." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/id The following is the final list of species seen, compiled by the leaders of the groups: Canada Goose-40+ Swan sp., -14 Merlin-1 Downy Woodpecker-8 Hairy Woodpecker-4 AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER-3 Northern Flicker-1 Pileated Woodpecker-2+ Blue Jay-10 Black-billed Magpie-15 Common Raven-6+ Black-capped Chickadee-50+ BOREAL CHICKADEE-2 Red-breasted Nuthatch-15 White-breasted Nuthatch-3 Brown Creeper-3 Golden-crowned Kinglet-2 Townsend’s Solitaire-2 American Robin-8 Pine Grosbeak-5+ House Finch-6 Red Crossbill-8 White-winged Crossbill-30+ Common Redpoll-3 Pine Siskin-10+ Red Squirrel-18 White-tailed Deer-1 Mule Deer-4

Thank heavens for Chickadees!! They are there to greet us, no matter what! Such tough little guys, though they are always only 24 hours away from death if they can't get enough fat stored in their body to last overnight. This was a lucky shot, taken through the snow-laden trees somewhere between Bebo Grove and Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park, on 29 October 2013. "The Black-capped Chickadee is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand)." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/id After yesterday's snow (12 April 2014), it has pretty well all melted and the sun is shining this morning. The temperature is 0°C, expected to climb to 4°C this afternoon. Tomorrow is expected to get up to 12°C and be mainly sunny.

We are seeing so few birds and so few species at the moment, when we go on our birding walks. There are no cones on many of the coniferous trees, meaning that there will be no food for birds such as Crossbills this winter, and birds such as Redpolls will be either non-existant or very low in numbers. It's not expected to be a good winter for Snowy Owls, either. That's why I say "Thank heavens for Chickadees"!! They are there to greet us, no matter what! Such tough little guys, though they are always only 24 hours away from death if they can't get enough fat stored into their body to last overnight. This was a lucky shot, taken through the snow-laden trees somewhere between Bebo Grove and Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park, on 29 October 2013. It makes you wonder what kind of numbers will be recorded for each species during the upcoming Christmas Bird Counts, within the city, but especially in surrounding areas such as High River, Drumheller and Cochrane. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-Capped_Chickadee/id www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/10611446056

Not sure it's really worth posting, but these little "snowballs" always catch my eye when I'm out on a walk in the park. These two were maybe a couple of inches across. I wonder exactly how they form - the one on the right had obviously been rolling down the slight hill. Taken yesterday in Fish Creek Park, between Bebo Grove and Shannon Terrace.

Saw this little native Red Squirrel yesterday morning, when I was on a walk from Bebo Grove to Shannon Terrace (and back). Actually, there were a lot of these little guys, now that I really think about it. Always fun to watch. Ha, this was one of the few shots that didn't get deleted from yesterday - so many images were just a mass of tiny branches behind the main subject. We really began to wonder if we were going to see any birds, despite it being a beautiful, sunny day. Just 11 species, I think. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Red_Squirrel

Sure didn't compose this shot very well, but as I so rarely get photos of Boreal Chickadees, I'll still post it. Seen between Bebo Grove and Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Park on February 16th. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Boreal_Chickadee/id/ac

Found this little leaf edged with beautiful ice crystals just over a year ago (on 16th October 2010), somwhere between Bebo Grove and Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park.

When there is little or nothing else to photograph, the friendly Black-capped Chickadee always appears out of nowhere : ) Then, one by one, others come to join him. Taken on an overcast day in Fish Creek Park, Bebo Grove to Shannon Terrace, three days ago.