Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: bird blind

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 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 ....

Yet another day of Flickr not working properly. Will be so glad when they fix the map issue, for a start! Uploading this morning was fast. As you can tell, I have finally managed to get back to sorting and editing a few more (15 + 11) photos taken on our 13-day birding trip to South Texas, 19-31 March 2019. Apart from yesterday, the last photos from this holiday were posted om 20 May, three weeks ago. These photos look so drab in comparison to the colourful local birds I have been posting recently. Actually, I think Day 8 and Day 9 are going to be similar, but then Day 10 will have more colourful Texas birds. Despite the lack of close, colourful birds, Day 8 was an interesting day, spent at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in South Texas. The forest was so different from anything I had ever seen, with Spanish Moss hanging from all the branches. It was quite a strange feeling to walk the trails, "Established in 1943 for the protection of migratory birds, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge happens to be positioned along an east-west and north-south juncture of two major migratory routes for many species of birds. It is also at the northern-most point for many species whose range extends south into Central and South America. The refuge is right in the middle of all this biological diversity, which is what makes this 2,088 acre parcel the ‘jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge System.’ Though small in size, Santa Ana offers visitors an opportunity to see birds, butterflies and many other species not found anywhere else in the United States beyond deep South Texas." From link below. www.fws.gov/refuge/Santa_Ana/map.html

Last night, I added five extra photos, trying to catch up a little, otherwise I will never get back to the last two days of my Trinidad images. I am posting three more photos this morning. This photo of the bird blind at Frank Lake was taken in the evening of 27 May 2017, when a group of us (13?) got together at Frank Lake for a celebration of spring. The water level was quite high. Great company and great picnic food. Even a few birds to photograph : ) Sunshine, too, until it was time to go home, when the heavens opened and down came the rain, accompanied by streaks of lightning. Thanks, Brenda, for organizing this event that went so smoothly and was most enjoyable! "Frank Lake, found 50 km southeast of Calgary near High River, Alberta, is a productive wetland important to hundreds of bird species. Once completely dry, this wetland has been saved from drainage and drought through a progressive partnership between industry, government and Ducks Unlimited. It is now listed as one of 597 Important Bird Areas in Canada." www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake