Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: golden plumes

Saturday, 6 July 2019, 5:15 pm - here comes the rain and thunder. Our weather forecast for today, 6 July 2019, from the Weather Network: "A multi-day severe storm threat looms for the Prairies. This weekend is ripe with storm risk, with Saturday's thunderstorms set to fire for the afternoon and evening, along with some tornado chance on the table for southern Alberta -- something visitors to the Calgary Stampede should keep an eye on." This morning, 6 July 2019, I am posting 7 more photos taken three days ago, on a drive south to Frank Lake. Yet again, when I checked the weather forecast, it said continuing rain for day after day after day. However, the sun was shining when I decided to drive south. The clouds were sufficiently photogenic for me to change my plans and, instead of calling in at the Saskatoon Farm, I drove straight to the Lake. The previous time I was at Frank Lake, there was one Coot, two Canada Geese, and a Red-winged and a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Two days ago, it was so much better! The Barn Swallows were there, having built their nest a few feet away from their previous nest site. The Eared Grebes had their tiny, adorable babies, sometimes riding on their back, other times swimming separately. Same thing with the Coots - some had very young babies; others had somewhat older youngsters. One Coot adult and baby were walking in thick mud, searching for food. They both looked such a mess, as if they had rolled in the mud. A pair of Western Grebes could be seen far in the distance. "In the fall, almost the entire population of Eared Grebes flies to Mono Lake, California, or Great Salt Lake, Utah, to fatten up on brine shrimp and alkali flies before migrating farther south. Here they more than double their weight, and the sizes of their muscles and organs change. The pectoral (chest) muscles shrink to the point of flightlessness and the digestive organs grow significantly. Before departure for the wintering grounds, the process reverses; the digestive organs shrink back to about one-fourth their peak size, and the heart and pectoral muscles grow quickly to allow for flight." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eared_Grebe/overview The sky began to change - the white clouds were taken over by rather menacing black ones and it became windy and the rain started. I really didn't want to drive back home on the very busy highway in pouring rain, but after waiting and hoping for it to end, I eventually had no choice but to risk it. As it turned out, there was hardly any traffic going north. It has been raining on and off for something like three weeks now, and everyone is tired of the rain. The famous 9-day Calgary Stampede runs from 5-14 July this year and rain during Stampede makes things so unpleasant! Judging by my Stampede photos posted on Flickr, I haven't been since 2013, when I went with my daughter - surely it hasn't been that long? I know I haven't been the last few years, as it was feeling just too much to deal with. Happy to be away from the huge masses of people and the sickening smell of grease, ha, ha! Of course, not going means not getting any mini-donuts, too. Happy Stampeding, everyone! May the sun shine ....

Pam, don't miss the baby : ) Talk about cute. Thinking of you .... This morning, 5 July 2019, I am posting 6 photos taken two days ago, on a drive south to Frank Lake. Yet again, when I checked the weather forecast, it said continuing rain for day after day after day. However, the sun was shining when I decided to drive south. The clouds were sufficiently photogenic for me to change my plans and, instead of calling in at the Saskatoon Farm, I drove straight to the Lake. The last time I was at Frank Lake, there was one Coot, two Canada Geese, and a Red-winged and a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Two days ago, it was so much better! The Barn Swallows were there, having built their nest a few feet away from their previous nest site. The Eared Grebes had their tiny, adorable babies, sometimes riding on their back, other times swimming separately. Same thing with the Coots - some had very young babies; others had somewhat older youngsters. One Coot adult and baby were walking in thick mud, searching for food. They both looked such a mess, as if they had rolled in the mud. A pair of Western Grebes could be seen far in the distance. The sky began to change - the white clouds were taken over by rather menacing black ones and it became windy and the rain started. I really didn't want to drive back home on the very busy highway in pouring rain, but after waiting and hoping for it to end, I eventually had no choice but to risk it. As it turned out, there was hardly any traffic going north. It has been raining on and off ever since. The famous 9-day Calgary Stampede runs from 5-14 July this year and some events already started yesterday. This morning, Friday 5 July, it is the Stampede Parade downtown. Rain during Stampede makes things so unpleasant! Judging by my Stampede photos posted on Flickr, I haven't been since 2013, when I went with my daughter - surely it hasn't been that long? I know I haven't been the last few years, as it was feeling just too much to deal with. Happy to be away from the huge masses of people and the sickening smell of grease, ha, ha! Of course, not going means not getting any mini-donuts, too. Happy Stampeding, everyone! May the sun shine ....

Happy 4th July to all Americans! About an hour after writing those words, I turned on the TV and saw the news about the strong 6.4 earthquake that has just hit southern California. Dozens of after-shocks being felt, too. Most unfortunate news. This morning, 4 July 2019, I am posting five photos taken yesterday, on a drive south to Frank Lake. Yet again, when I checked the weather forecast, it said continuing rain for day after day. However, the sun was shining when I decided to drive south. The clouds were sufficiently photogenic for me to change my plans and, instead of calling in at the Saskatoon Farm, I drove straight to the Lake. The last time I was at Frank Lake, there was one Coot, two Canada Geese, and a Red-winged and a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Yesterday was so much better! The Barn Swallows were there, having built their nest a few feet away from their previous nest site. The Eared Grebes had their tiny, adorable babies, sometimes riding on their back, other times swimming separately. Same thing with the Coots - some had very young babies; others had somewhat older youngsters. One Coot adult and baby were walking in thick mud, searching for food. They both looked such a mess, as if they had rolled in the mud. A pair of Western Grebes could be seen far in the distance. The sky began to change - the white clouds were taken over by rather menacing black ones and it became windy and the rain started. I really didn't want to drive back home on the very busy highway in pouring rain, but after waiting and hoping for it to end, I eventually had no choice but to risk it. As it turned out, there was hardly any traffic going north. Last night, it rained here and has been raining all morning. The famous 9-day Calgary Stampede runs from 5-14 July this year, with some events already starting today. Rain during Stampede makes things so unpleasant! Judging by my Stampede photos posted on Flickr, I haven't been since 2013, when I went with my daughter - surely it hasn't been that long? I know I haven't been the last few years, as it was feeling just too much to deal with. Happy to be away from the huge masses of people and the sickening smell of grease, ha, ha! Of course, not going means not getting any mini-donuts, too. Happy Stampeding, everyone! May the sun shine ....

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.

Most unusual for me, I was so desperately tired two evenings ago, that I couldn't even stay awake to find and edit three photos to post to Flickr yesterday morning! It was a long day of birding on 28 May 2017, for the May Species Count, and it completely knocked me out for the following day. Tiredness seems to be my constant companion, but not so tired that I can't fight it. So, no photos from me yesterday! Yesterday, 30 May 2017, I was out for the day south of the city with my Daughter (a belated day out for my birthday and Mother's Day), to Nanton and a few roads nearby, then making our way north to Frank Lake and finally ending up at the Saskatoon Farm, where we were just in time to have a meal. It takes about 45 minutes to drive south to the town of Nanton. Though I had been quite a few times over the years when carpooling with various friends, I had never driven quite that far south and through the town. My daughter wanted to walk round two or three of the antique shops there and we both wanted to take a few photos of the grain elevators. Once that was all done, we drove westwards from the town. Though the scenery is beautiful, we did not enjoy being on a main road with no shoulder to pull over to. We did stop once in a small pull-off, to get a few scenic shots. This was where we saw the metal cut-out of a cowboy riding his horse, with a bird perched on top of his hat (third photo I posted today). I can't decide if the distant bird is a Common Grackle or a Brewer's Blackbird, or something else? We decided to turn around and cross over to the other side of the main highway (#2) and drive north to Frank Lake, hoping to find a few things to photograph along the backroads. A handful of barns and a very few distant birds were enough to make the drive worthwhile. Frank Lake was deserted when we arrived there, though a couple of other people turned up shortly. Not many bird species, either. The water was quite choppy thanks to the wind, and there was just one Coot, a pair of Ruddy Ducks, a Barn Swallow and one Eared Grebe. I managed to get just this one shot of the latter. Saw two American Avocets, a Killdeer and a pair of Phalaropes. Franklin's Gulls were their usual noisy selves. Not a single White-faced Ibis to be seen, and only one or two Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. When we had been on the road south of the lake, we had seen a Black-crowned Night-Heron perched on a distant fence, being harassed by several smaller birds - Brown-headed Cowbirds? I was so happy to see the Heron, as I so rarely see them. We had also seen a shorebird in a field of stubble and I need to check if this was a Long-billed Curlew. On our way home, we called in at the Saskatoon Farm and were just in time to order a meal before they closed. A quick wander round gave me the chance to grab a shot or two of a very loud Rooster and the male Wild Turkey. My favourite kind of day, so thank you, Rachel, as always!!

Just posting one photo again today - I'm just not getting time to get out and take many new photos, and my motivation level keeps dropping! Thank goodness for archives! This morning, 19 January 2017, the temperature is +2C and it's supposed to reach +5C this afternoon. Totally overcast, though. No snow to clear off my car, which will feel great when I go to meet a friend for coffee this afternoon. I used to love photographing Eared Grebes, but the last couple of years have not been the best for them, in my own experience. Last summer, 2016, was so wet and I didn't get down to this area very much at all. On 18 May 2013, I had so much fun trying to photograph three or four of these gorgeous Eared Grebes at Frank Lake, SE of Calgary. They were moving fast, changing direction, and diving suddenly. Took me a while, but I got some photos that I was happy with - and a lot that I still need to delete, ha. They really are beautiful birds. I love the patch of golden head feathers, chestnut-brown flanks, and those wonderful red "button" eyes. Always good to see them when they fly north for the summer here. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eared_Grebe/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-necked_Grebe

I love these Eared Grebes, with their bright red eyes that look like red buttons. They are only small, 28–34 centimetres (11–13 in) long. I spent a while trying to photograph several of them at Frank Lake (SE of Calgary) two days ago, 12 July 2014. I say "trying", as they are fairly fast swimmers, who like to keep changing direction and who were almost constantly diving for food. They were also preening most of the time. There were a handful of young ones, too, looking cute in their light grey feathers. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eared_Grebe/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-necked_Grebe Two days ago, 12 July 2014, I spent a few hours in the late afternoon till mid-evening, driving just a few of the backroads SE of the city, in the Frank Lake area. I had been there the day before, too, and just couldn't resist a few more hours there. Some of the fields were aglow with vibrant yellow Canola crops, which I look forward to every year. The sun was shining, but it was such a hazy day, I believe from the large forest fires in the next province to our west (British Columbia). My first stop was at Frank Lake, where I saw a few more Eared Grebes with their quite large "babies". The light was really bad, so it was impossible to get photos that showed colour and details, unless the sun happened to catch the golden "ear" feathers. Saw Soras again - love these little guys, they are so cute. A few very distant White-faced Ibis were in the area, but I lucked out later, finding this lone Ibis at a slough. The Barn Swallows are vicious at the moment, dive-bombing anyone who approaches the blind! You not only hear them as they whoosh past your head, you also feel them! Hang on to your camera if you take photos from inside the blind, as they will continue to dive-bomb. It's too bad, as they really don't make it very pleasant for people. Also saw a couple of small birds that I'm not sure of the ID for, along the country backroads. Posted one of them yesterday and will upload a very poor photo of the other sometime soon. I see that, on Flickr, one can no longer click and open a link that's included in one's own description. Instead, it works if one right clicks on the link and then opens in a "new tab". Why on earth did they change from just one simple click?!

I haven't had a chance to drive SE of the city for quite a while, so have not been taking photos of these beautiful Eared Grebes. This photo is from just over a year ago, taken on 18 May 2013 at Frank Lake. I love the patch of golden feathers and those wonderful red "button" eyes..

These are one of my favourite birds to photograph, and I do have much better photos than this one. However, I'm posting this one quick shot, despite its poor quality, just in case it's the only time I get to see one this close this year. It was seen when I spent the day (24 May 2014) with my youngest daughter, driving SE of the city, checking a familiar spot or two in the morning, and we were lucky with certain birds, but not with others. A pair of Great Horned Owlets were where we had hoped they would still be, but I'm sure they will be fledging before long or maybe have already flown by now. I had hoped to find a White-faced Ibis to show my daughter – various friends had been seeing and photographing them from fairly close. We bumped into friend, Greg, at the birding blind, and I had just told him that I was hoping to find an Ibis. I had barely got the words out when Greg swung round and pointed way up, saying: “You mean, like that one?” I'm sure I would have missed it. So, at least my daughter saw one, even if just a distant bird. Thanks, Greg! After driving along a few of the backroads, we then went to the Saskatoon Farm for a delicious lunch and to wander round the greenhouses and gift shop. A weekend day is perhaps not the best time to go – or should I say that a weekday would probably be quieter. So many people out enjoying a warm, sunny day. Thanks so much, Rachel, for such a great day spent with you, and thanks for everything else, too.

I love these Eared Grebes, with their bright red eyes that look like red buttons. I spent a while trying to photograph several of them at Frank Lake (SE of Calgary) two days ago, 18 May 2013. I say "trying", as I found them to be fairly fast swimmers, who like to keep changing direction. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eared_Grebe/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-necked_Grebe

On 18 May 2013, I had so much fun trying to photograph three or four of these gorgeous Eared Grebes at Frank Lake, SE of Calgary. They were moving fast, changing direction, and diving suddenly. Took me a while, but I got some photos that I was happy with - and a lot that I still need to delete, ha. They really are beautiful birds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eared_Grebe/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-necked_Grebe ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------