Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: ventral view

Yesterday afternoon, 12 September 2017, I just needed a short break from watching TV footage of all the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in south-east U.S.. Decided to dash down to a wetland in SW Calgary, hoping to see a few birds. Half a dozen Coots and a Mallard were all I saw, but I was happy to catch this Cabbage White butterfly perched on (invasive) Creeping Thistle. "Habitat: One of the most common butterflies, the Cabbage White was accidentally introduced in Quebec back in 1860 and has since spread across the entire country since. It is found throughout the entirety of Alberta. Description: A very plain looking butterfly, it is mostly white with a few dark patches on its upper wing. Size: 40-50 mm Diet: It is a huge pest to farmers, snacking on mustard family plants like broccoli, kale, cauliflower and of course, cabbage. Fun Fact: The caterpillars can survive in soggy, oxygen-low environments and have been known to survive in the human digestive tract when accidently swallowed. Talk about butterflies in your stomach!" Source: Acorn, John. Butterflies of Alberta. Edmonton: Lone Pine Publishing, 1993. Print.

Yesterday, 27 June 2017, the sun was shining and, for the first time in quite a while, it wasn't windy, just a very slight breeze. I used to love going to this garden, usually after I had been volunteering in the same part of the city. Since I stopped volunteering (after a volunteer 'career' of 37 years at several places!), I haven't been going. Yesterday, I decided I had better go, or the plants would be in seed before too long. I discovered that the usual gravel road that I take, leading down to the bottom of the Garden, was closed yesterday afternoon - maybe road repairs? Or maybe it was connected to the fact that the nearby Stampede Grounds must be getting ready for the start of Stampede Week here in the city. I was too late for the beautiful Showy Lady's-slippers, and the area where the Snake's Head Fritillary / Fritillaria meleagris used to grow had been dug over, for some improvement reason. However, there were plenty of other species to enjoy and photograph, including this White Admiral butterfly that landed on a Cow Parsnip flower. "The White Admiral is a widespread common to abundant species found across Canada. It is found as far north as the tree line. There are two generations each year, one on the wing from June to August and a later one in September. They are typically encountered sunning themselves on roads and clearings in wooded areas. (Layberry et al, 1998)." From insectsofalberta.com. www.insectsofalberta.com/whiteadmiral_4.htm

This beautiful Swainson's Hawk shrieked and shrieked, both when it was perched on a fence post and when it was circling rather low overhead, which it did for quite a while. I was in a vast area of bare hills without a tree to be seen anywhere, so it's not as if I was near a nest without knowing it. My first reaction was that maybe it was a juvenile letting its parents know that it was hungry, but I don't know enough about hawks to know how to tell if this is a juvenile or adult. I so rarely take and post any in-flight shots, but I thought this one was fit enough to be posted. Wednesday, 20 July 2016, was a day of adventure for me. I drove further than I have ever driven before (way, way SE of the city) - must remember to check my mileage when I next go out in my car, but it must have been somewhere between 400 and 500 km total at least. No big deal for many of you, but for me (and as someone with a driving phobia), it WAS a big deal : ) I was totally exhausted and my poor shoulder rotator cuffs were complaining like crazy. BUT, I had a great time - just a couple of moments of 'panic', when I thought I was lost, and when I noticed that I was seeing different wildflowers and definitely a different landscape. I eventually left home at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw. From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses. This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house on the edge of Vulcan, before continuing on my way. From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers that lined the edge of one of the roads. I was barely able to get a photograph of these bright beauties, as it was so windy. I was in tall wind turbine country - which told me how far south I had come. The colours of some of the fields were unusual, too. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what turned out to be a juvenile Horned Lark. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks this day. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time. After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself heading towards Frank Lake. It was along this road that I spotted some kind of shorebird perched on a fence post. Too late to stop, so I turned around and then slowly drove back to the bird - a Marbled Godwit, giving me a nice, sideways pose. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate at Frank Lake. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending. Total distance, round trip, was something like 480 km. (298.3 miles).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to everyone who celebrates this occasion! Keep a careful eye open for the Trick-or-Treaters who may be out on the streets this evening. Excited kids can easily forget to check for traffic before crossing the street. This was just a plain brown butterfly (on the underside, anyway), but it was perched on one of the large Chinese lanterns that was part of the amazing Illuminasia exhibit throughout the Calgary Zoo. Taken inside the ENMAX Conservatory on 29 September 2015. That day, my alarm clock was set for 6:30 am so that I could go on a birding walk with friends. Unfortunately, I didn't read the e-mail carefully enough, so hadn't seen that the meeting place was not where I thought. Of course, no one else showed up where I was, so I took myself off to the Calgary Zoo instead. I had planned on going there after the walk, anyway. The butterfly exhibit only goes from April to September/October each year. The tropical butterflies and plants are beautiful during these months, thanks to all the hard work of staff and volunteers. I think this has to be my favourite part of the Zoo.

A very sad day today, as I learned that local photographer, Brad Russell, passed away a few days ago. He had a close group of great friends (including John Andersen and Brett Abernethy) and they used to go out together with their cameras, day or night. Stunning photography by all. I only met Brad on one occasion, on a photo shoot with my daughter and her group at Heritage Park. Brad left a lasting impression on me - something great about his personality. My condolences to his family and to each of his friends. This photo was taken at the Calgary Zoo on 21 September 2015. I always have a problem with my lens fogging up in this hot, humid room. The ENMAX Conservatory butterfly house display is coming to an end. The beautiful tropical plants are beginning to fade and the number of butterfly species seems to be down. I noticed this beautiful Owl butterfly resting on a tree trunk. "Butterflies in the genus Caligo are commonly called owl butterflies, after their huge eyespots, which resemble owls' eyes. Owl butterflies are found in the rainforests and secondary forests of Mexico, Central, and South America. Owl butterflies are very large, 65–200 mm (2.6–7.9 in), and fly only a few metres at a time, so avian predators have little difficulty in following them to their settling place. However, the butterflies preferentially fly in dusk, when few avian predators are around. The Latin name may possibly refer to their active periods. Caligo means darkness." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_butterfly The staff and volunteers do such a superb job of putting on a great display of tropical plants and butterflies for us over the summer. I know that I, for one, appreciate this so much - a wonderful chance to see and photograph things I would otherwise never see. Unfortunately, I missed the whole spring and summer, but luckily was able to get over to the Zoo two or three times very recently.

Update on my daughter: I went to the hospital to visit her for a few hours yesterday (22 August) and was just so thankful to find her sitting up in bed, fully alert and looking well! The IV antibiotics seem to be working, as her pain is subsiding. Hopefully, the rest of her recovery will go smoothly. As you can imagine, I had a few flashbacks to January of this year, when our older daughter was taken off life-support in the same hospital. I am just so very thankful that this very scary situation looks like it will have a happy ending. Thank you to everyone for your very thoughtful well-wishes! One month ago, five of us spent the day botanizing the land belonging to Darryl Teskey, SW of Calgary and W of Millarville (maybe a 40-minute drive from Calgary). This was the first time I had been there and I'm so glad I was invited to go - I would have missed all sorts of things, including a family of Ruffed Grouse and several fungi. These Grouse were the rare rufous-morph, and we startled them when we were walking through the forest in their direction. Usually, you don't see Grouse because they are so well-hidden. When you get fairly close (sometimes very close) to them, they suddenly "explode" from the tangle of shrubs and plants of the forest floor, making ones heart beat fast! We were taken by surprise when we came across a nearby statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. A nice idea, I thought. Our walk took us over grassland and through forest, many places treacherous with so many fallen logs which were often barely visible. I have never, ever seen so many tiny Skipper butterflies - there must have been hundreds or even thousands of these bright orange beauties that were flying or perched on flowers of every colour. Seeing the Wood Nymph butterfly in this photo made a change from all the Skippers. Fortunately, the rain stayed away until we started driving back to Calgary. Quite a lot of black clouds, reminding me of the tornado that passed through Calgary just the day before (22 July 2015). Our purpose, as always, was to find and list everything that we saw - wildflowers, trees, grasses, birds, insects, fungi, etc.. Our leader then compiles an extensive list of our finds and this is later sent to the landowner, along with any photos that we might take. Always a win/win situation, as the landowner then has a much better idea of just what is on his property, and we have a most enjoyable day. This summer, with quite a few botanizing outings like this, plus two 3-day trips to Waterton Lakes National Park, I am so far behind with the photos that I need to edit and e-mail! Most of my Waterton photos are still not posted.

This is not my main photo today - the Savannah Sparrow is. Three days ago, on 31 July 2015, I was out all day, having a great time with friend, Darlene, going west of the city. We first called in at someone's private property to see if there was any sign of the Red-bellied Woodpecker that had been reported. No luck, but we did see many beautiful Evening Grosbeaks and even more Pine Siskins, plus a Hairy Woodpecker and several other birds. Also, we saw a different Grosbeak, either a female or a juvenile Rose-breasted Grosbeak or Black-headed Grosbeak. After this visit, we drove to an area where I had been told that a Great Gray can be seen sometimes (no luck). A bit further along the gravel road, we stopped and walked a short way along one of the trails at West Bragg Creek. This is where we saw several brightly coloured butterflies - I think this one is a Fritillary sp., but I couldn't find anything like it when I did a Google search last night. Back at the car, we decided to drive along Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66) as far as Maclean Pond, just in time to see an Osprey flying overhead with a large fish in its talons. So few birds to be seen or heard - maybe it was just too hot for them, and by then it was the afternoon, which tends not to be the best time to see birds. We got separated for quite a long time, through miscommunication, probably because when I yelled through the forest "Are you still coming?", it had sounded to Darlene like "I'm coming"! So, she waited for me to reach her and I had assumed that she was following behind me, some distance back. Apparently, both of us called a number of times after that, but we were out of hearing distance. Not a good feeling, each of us concerned about the well-being of the other and each wondering if we were going to have to call in a search party. At 31C, it was feeling mighty hot the whole time, too! When we finally found each other, we knew what we needed after our "ordeal" - an ice-cream, back in Bragg Creek, lol! A great day, Darlene - thanks so much for driving and for all the fun : )

Thought I'd better quickly dig into my archives and find three things that are not winter scenes, owls or wildlife. Much as I love those three, I'm feeling the need for colour and something different. Recently, the main thing I have been seeing and photographing is the tiny, uncommon (in Alberta) Northern Pygmy-owl. I try to spread those photos out a little bit, but you are probably all getting weary of seeing this little guy/gal : ) Make the most of today, as I can't promise that I won't be back to the owl tomorrow or the next day, lol. I rarely get to see a White Admiral butterfly, so was happy to see this one during a late afternoon stroll at the Reader Rock Garden on 4 July 2012. "The White Admiral is a widespread common to abundant species found across Canada. It is found as far north as the tree line. There are two generations each year, one on the wing from June to August and a later one in September. They are typically encountered sunning themselves on roads and clearings in wooded areas. (Layberry et al, 1998)." From insectsofalberta.com. www.insectsofalberta.com/whiteadmiral_4.htm

Taken in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on 14 October 2014. I believe this is a Banded Orange (Dryadula phaetusa). If anyone can confirm or correct this, it would be greatly appreciated. Whenever one goes into the Butterfly room, it’s very warm and humid. This is bad enough in the summer, but now that we need sweaters, long-johns and jackets, it feels unbearably hot in there. When I was there briefly with my daughter the other day, it took 20-30 minutes for my camera lens to defog, and by then, it was just about time to leave, ha.

Taken in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on 25 September 2012. These butterflies are also known as Rice Paper, or Large Tree Nymph butterfly. Of Southeast Asian origin, it is especially known for its presence in butterfly greenhouses. I've found that this species is usually seen with its wings closed, like in my photo, showing the ventral view. I'll add a previously posted photo showing the wings spread, in a comment box below. Happy day! I've just found out that if you click on the row of three dots, then RIGHT click on Edit Date, you can open the photo in another tab or window and simply copy all the tags from there. When pasted in the tags of a new photo, they post perfectly. This was one of the things I really did not like about the new Flickr experience, until today, so that's one less thing to dislike. Maybe everyone already knows this, lol!

You'd never guess that this plain underside belongs to a colourful male butterfly. I've added a previously posted photo of the upperside of this male in a comment box below. Taken in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on 25 September 2012. I was surprised by the clarity of this image - wish all my photos came out like this, ha. "Grecian Shoemakers are a favorite in butterfly gardens around the country. They represent a stunning example of sexual dimorphism, as the males and females look completely different." The wingspan of these butterflies is 2". Their life span is 4 weeks. www.auduboninstitute.org/animals/butterflies-flight/greci... "Butterfly wings are usually very colorful with pretty patterns on the top side of their wings while the underside of their wings are usually darker, more drab colors. Butterflies usually rest with their wings closed and the dark colors help them blend in with their surroundings, making it harder for birds and other predators to see them. The colors on the surface of a butterfly's wings are made up of lots of little tiny scales. If you were to touch a butterfly's wings, you would notice some colored powder-like substance on your fingers. Those are the tiny scales!" www.hometrainingtools.com/a/learn-about-butterflies