Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: juvenile?

I am SO stressed out! Just spent the last three hours, while a technician went through my whole computer remotely, deleting every virus that has accumulated. I was told that I phoned them just in time, as I was not far away from losing everything on my computer. I always have Norton installed on my computer, but apparently the last three months I have not had Network Security working on my computer. Can you believe I had 5,614 viruses and if I had reached 6,000, everything would have been lost? Yikes! Funny, as the last few days, I have been backing up my photos to external hard drives and a flash drive. A costly morning, but now my computer is fine and I have a five-year Security. Just went to Google and discovered that all my endless bookmarks have disappeared ... sigh. Oh, well, I guess I start all over again. Before all this, I was on Facebook and had clicked on a video link from a friend's Facebook page. Suddenly, my whole screen was filled with the Virus alert. I don't know if that link was the actual cause of all this problem, or if it was 'the last straw'. Thankful for the clear help from the technician! Much appreciated. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On 6 September 2018, it turned out to be a much longer day than I had planned! In the very early hours of the morning, I happened to check the weather forecast just out of interest, and saw that rain is expected on about six of the coming days (if it actually happens). Decided then and there that I had better get out for a drive, just in case. My intention had been to just drive some of the roads east of the city, getting out there via 22X, which is definitely not a drive I like to do. On a previous trip, I had made two mistakes along this complcated highway, and ended up on Stoney Trail going north and, on the return trip, I was in the wrong lane and ended up heading far, far south of the city on the worst major highway. The latter happened again yesterday and, like on the previous drive, I ended up going to the Saskatoon Farm. Fortunately, I was in time to get an afternoon meal there and have a wander around the grounds taking photos. I love this place. There were certain things I wanted to go and see again, including a few old barns and sheds. I was also hoping that I might just come across a beautiful hawk or two within camera reach. I even finally got to take photos of a few shorebirds. Throw in a butterfly or two and the odd flower, and I was happy. On this trip, I really wanted to make myself use the Nikon P900 a lot. I always take a few of the same photos with my Panasonic and Canon point-and-shoots, too, as I am not yet used to the P900. One of my concerns about the latter is that it seems to blow out the white in an image, from what I have seen in quite a few other people's photos - didn''t seem too bad yesterday. My other - and main - concern is focus. I still have not been able to stand in front of a flower/something small at various distances, and zoom in. All I see in the viewfinder is a coloured blur. The other cameras don't do this, and I've been doing it easily for many years. Hope I can sort this out! I guess it's just a case of experimenting.

This youngster (?) had a quick leg and wing stretch before lying down and making itself comfortable. I was quite amused to see it bending its 'knees' (or is it "heels"?) in the process. Yesterday, 6 September 2018, turned out to be a much longer day than I had planned! In the very early hours of the morning, I happened to check the weather forecast just out of interest, and saw that rain is expected on about six of the coming days (if it actually happens). Decided then and there that I had better get out for a drive, just in case. My intention had been to just drive some of the roads east of the city, getting out there via 22X, which is definitely not a drive I like to do. On a previous trip, I had made two mistakes along this complcated highway, and ended up on Stoney Trail going north and, on the return trip, I was in the wrong lane and ended up heading far, far south of the city on the worst major highway. The latter happened again yesterday and, like on the previous drive, I ended up going to the Saskatoon Farm. Fortunately, I was in time to get an afternoon meal there and have a wander around the grounds taking photos. I love this place. There were certain things I wanted to go and see again, including a few old barns and sheds. I was also hoping that I might just come across a beautiful hawk or two within camera reach. I even finally got to take photos of a few shorebirds. Throw in a butterfly or two and the odd flower, and I was happy. On this trip, I really wanted to make myself use the Nikon P900 a lot. I always take a few of the same photos with my Panasonic and Canon point-and-shoots, too, as I am not yet used to the P900. One of my concerns about the latter is that it seems to blow out the white in an image, from what I have seen in quite a few other people's photos - didn''t seem too bad yesterday. My other - and main - concern is focus. I still have not been able to stand in front of a flower/something small at various distances, and zoom in. All I see in the viewfinder is a coloured blur. The other cameras don't do this, and I've been doing it easily for many years. Hope I can sort this out! I guess it's just a case of experimenting. So far, I think I am liking how the P900 takes photos.

This particular bird 'resides' at the Alberta Bird of Prey Centre in Coaldale, southern Alberta, a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures, and Golden Eagles. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, educating the public. This particular bird may have been brought to the Centre after being found injured. A sign by the display case says: "Why don't rescue centres keep Osprey in Captivity? Osprey are fish hunters! And unlike other birds of prey such as Bald Eagles and Vultures, Osprey do not eat carrion(or dead food). They must hunt for live fish. Because of their need to hunt in large bodies of deep water, Osprey are notoriously difficult to keep alive in captivity. Sadly, many of them will starve themselves to death, refusing to eat dead fish and refusing to hunt from small pools. Simply put, life is not suitable for Osprey in captivity." It had been a few years since my last visit to the Alberta Bird of Prey Centre - I've only been maybe three or four times - and I had been longing to go back. Much too far and all new driving territory for me to even think about driving there myself. However, a month ago, on 9 September 2016, that is exactly what I did. A friend had said she would come along, too, but she emailed me at 1:00 am that morning to say that she assumed our trip had been cancelled, as she hadn't heard back about the time to meet. In fact, I had sent two emails giving the time, so I don't know what happened there. Very unfortunate, as it would have been great to have had company on such a long drive, and I know she would have had great fun with her camera. I knew it would be a long day and further than I would normally drive - and in a brand new car that I have yet to learn to drive! It doesn't look or feel quite as new now, after travelling 481 km, plus a long trip the next day! Only got lost twice, one minor and the other major. Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere way down south and I ended up in the city of Lethbridge, that I had very carefully planned to avoid. After driving for three and three-quarter hours, I finally arrived, to my huge relief. Despite getting there later than I had hoped, I still had more than enough time to wander round the grounds and photograph the various raptors. Some were tethered out in two grassy areas and others were in outdoor cages. Wonderful to get such a close look at the various majestic birds. I took a slightly different way home via #845 (?), making absolutely sure that I didn't accidentally find myself in Lethbridge again and it wasn't too long before I found myself in the area that I had driven a few weeks before, when I went SW of Vulcan to look for Common Nighthawks (without any luck). Just so happy that I finally made myself do this drive. When I Googled the Centre's website, I had discovered that they were closing two days later for the winter. So, it was either a case of going the next day or not at all till next May onwards. The day after this adventure, 10 September 2016, I took my daughter on a long drive in Kananaskis. This was yet another place that I had longed to be able to drive for many years - and finally I did it! I had been lots of times with various friends, but this was the very first time I had ever driven myself. We had planned to do this a few weeks earlier, but then my car had major repairs that needed to be done. Instead, I knew I just couldn't put any more money into my 17-year-old car, and I ended up replacing it. So glad we went to the mountains on this particular day, as it snowed the following day.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! From 6:00 am till 5:00 pm on 23 December 2014, I was taking part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Horseshoe Canyon/Drumheller area. The group of friends I was with, travelling in three cars, covered the NE quadrant of the Count circle plus an extra bit of land S of Highway 9. There were 10 of us in total, including 3 people from Drumheller. Part of our area included a walk along the edge of the Red Deer River. I'd forgotten that we would be doing this walk - too far for me, so I had to turn back just before the far end. I had time to walk back slowly and take a few photos. At lunch time, we were all treated to home made hot beef and barley soup and tea/coffee at the home of Jim McCabe, who lives in Drumheller and joined us for the Count, along with the two others. Jim works at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and is the senior preparation technician and lab supervisor there. "The Royal Tyrrell Museum is a Canadian tourist attraction and a centre of palaeontological research noted for its collection of more than 130,000 fossils." (Wikipedia), Located in the Badlands of Alberta, it is known for it's amazing dinosaur finds. I will add the final report of our group's leader (Gus Yaki) below. As far as Snowy Owls are concerned, the driver of the vehicle in which I spent the whole day (another Anne!) and I saw a total of 8 Snowy Owls, including owls seen on the drive to and from the Count area. That makes 18-20 Snowy Owls that I had been lucky enough to see within 4 days (10-12 of them seen when my daughter and I searched E and NE of Calgary on 20 December)! The owl in this photo (not sure if it's a female or a juvenile, with such dark markings, but I think a juvenile) had a second wire going right across its body, so I did remove it. (Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm). Thanks so much for picking me up and driving the whole day, Anne! I appreciated it so much! "HORSESHOE Canyon/Drumheller CBC, N side of Red Deer River, 0830-1315; 23Dec2014. Sunny, becoming overcast, calm, -8 to -3 to -10°C. Ring-necked Pheasant-1 m. (at Murrays). Eurasian Collared Dove-2+ Snowy Owl-1 juv. Downy Woodpecker-5 Hairy Woodpecker-2 Northern Flicker-1+ Blue Jay-4 Black-billed Magpie-9 Common Raven-4 Black-capped Chickadee-20 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 White-breasted Nuthatch-2 House Sparrow-75. Mammals: Coyote-2, Eastern Gray Squirrel-black morph-2 Meadow Vole-1 Snowshoe Hare-1 Mule Deer-1. Feeder Birds at Jim McCabe’s Place, Nacmine, not on our territory. 1315-1400, 23Dec2014. Eurasian Collared-Dove-1 Downy Woodpecker-2 Black-billed Magpie-1 Black-capped Chickadee-5 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 Also noted 9 Mule Deer on the Nacmine slope from our territory on the N. side of the Red Deer River. Birds on East Side of Count Circle, Terr #4. 1400-1530, 23Dec2014. Snowy Owl-1 ad m just N of #9, on RR 20.4, just after Jim McC. left us. May have seen it in the morning as well. Black-billed Magpie-12 Common Raven-8 Unidentified small passerine, possible Horned Lark-1, seen flying away. Mammals: Coyote-4 Two people reported Gray Jay-1. Because this is unlikely in the prairie, they have filed a Rare Bird Documentation Form. Gus Yaki" WHY THE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT MATTERS news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141227-christmas...

Happy Birthday to my youngest daughter today! 12-12-12 is the last major numerical date using the Gregorian or Christian calendar for a long, long time. The next time three numbers will align as they did on 9-9-09, 10-10-10 and 11-11-11 will be on Jan. 1, 3001, or 1-1-1. This Snowy Owl was the fourth and last Snowy that friends and I saw on 7 December 2012, when we went for a drive east of the city, hoping to find even just one of these amazing owls. This one looked and acted like a juvenile, being quite curious about us in a rather cute way. Maybe a young male? Yes, blue sky would have been nice, but I'll take a white sky any day if it has a beautiful Snowy Owl in front of it : ) We have a white sky again today and it's snowing, again. Have to get over to my volunteer shift, so I'm really hoping that the roads won't be too bad. It's -10C, windchill -15C. So far, the forecast looks reasonable for the weekend, when I will have two full days of the annual Christmas Bird Counts, one in the city and the other in the mountains. What has Flickr done to the options at the top of the page - the word "Home" has been removed, and also the Search for a person. What on earth was wrong with how it was before??? These little changes are just so annoying - not to mention unnecessary!