Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Canada Geese

A month ago, on 17 May 2015, I finally got out with my camera for a few hours. The previous few days had been dreary and overcast, with rain the last couple of the days. The sense of freedom felt so good, as I stopped in at a wetland in SW Calgary and then drove my usual loop along the backroads SW of the city. At this first pond, I saw the usual Mallards, Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Common Grackle, Red-headed Blackbirds, and a quick glimpse of a distant pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the sunshine. I had intended walking around to where I had seen the Canada Geese nest in other years, but before I did so, I suddenly noticed a distant pair of Geese swimming in my direction. I didn't really think much about it, but as they got closer, I realized that they were escorting 10 little goslings. They swam right up to where I was standing, as if to show off their new little family. And then they were gone, swimming off in the direction from where I had seen them come. After taking a few more photos of the nearby ducks, I carefully looked at each pair of Geese on the pond and none of them had any goslings swimming with them. Maybe they had returned them to the edge of the wetland and hidden them well. These were my very first goslings this spring, so I was happy as can be to see them. A week earlier, on 10 May, my daughter and I had great views of the pair of Red-necked Grebes, who seemed to be building a nest closer to shore than in previous years. It was disappointing to see that the tiny "island" that they seemed to have chosen was now very low in the water, after all the rain we had had. Hopefully, they won't move to a higher mound that is further away, but that is what I am expecting. (A more recent trip showed that they were now nesting further away.) Makes me thankful to have seen the pair earlier, fairly close. From this pond, I continued on my drive, greatly appreciating the sunshine and fairly empty roads, despite this being the Victoria long weekend here. The Brewer's Blackbirds were perched on fence posts, and I always love to see these birds with their white eyes. In one large pond, I watched two pairs of Blue-winged Teal, a Muskrat, a Pied-bill Grebe, and a pair of Red-necked Grebes. Most of these birds were very far away, but I just managed to get a few shots of the Teal. At the next slough that I stopped at, I saw one solitary Swan, too far away to tell if it was a Trumpeter or Tundra. I also spotted a funny little Pied-billed Grebe swimming fairly close to the road, but by the time I had driven a bit further in order to turn my car around, the Grebe was already closer to the far shore. Further on, I stopped to see a pair of Mountain Bluebirds that came to their nesting box just once while I was there. Tree Swallows made a quick appearance at the nest box that was nearby. Continuing my drive, I passed a pair of Wigeon preening themselves at a tiny slough, along with a Green-winged Teal. Further yet, I stopped to take a few photos of Red-winged Blackbirds and - to my great delight - a Wilson's Snipe, one of my favourite birds to photograph. Last year seemed to be such a great year for Snipe, so I was hoping this spring might be the same. When I drove this road in one direction, I was happy to spot a Snipe down in the grasses, but still wished that it had been standing on a fence post. After turning my car around, I slowly drove along the edge of the wetland again and, this time, there it was! Absolutely made my day - anyone would think it was my very first sighting ever of a Snipe! It didn't stay for long, but gave me time to get three or four shots. From here, it was time to return home along some of the backroads before eventually having to get back on to the highway. A dark phase Swainson's Hawk was where I had seen it (same one?) on a couple of other occasions. Took a photo or two through the windscreen, so not the best photos, but I thought it might fly if I got out of the car. It was so good to get out and, though I saw no new or rare birds, I was as always happy to see the more usual ones, especially when they are close enough to photograph.

Yesterday, 17 May 2015, I finally got out with my camera for a few hours. The previous few days had been dreary and overcast, with rain the last couple of days. The sense of freedom felt so good, as I stopped in at a wetland in SW Calgary and then drove my usual loop along the backroads SW of the city. At this first pond, I saw the usual Mallards, Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Common Grackle, Red-headed Blackbirds, and a quick glimpse of a distant pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the sunshine. I had intended walking around to where I had seen the Canada Geese nest in other years, but before I did so, I suddenly noticed a distant pair of Geese swimming in my direction. I didn't really think much about it, but as they got closer, I realized that they were escorting 10 little goslings. They swam right up to where I was standing, as if to show off their new little family. And then they were gone, swimming off in the direction from where I had seen them come. After taking a few more photos of the nearby ducks, I carefully looked at each pair of Geese on the pond and none of them had any goslings swimming with them. Maybe they had returned them to the edge of the wetland and hidden them well. These were my very first goslings this spring, so I was happy as can be to see them. A week earlier, on 10 May, my daughter and I had great views of the pair of Red-necked Grebes, who seemed to be building a nest closer to shore than previous years. It was disappointing to see that the tiny "island" that they seemed to have chosen was now very low in the water, after all the rain we had had. Hopefully, they won't move to a higher mound that is further away, but that is what I am expecting. Makes me thankful to have seen the pair fairly close a week ago From this pond, I continued on my drive, greatly appreciating the sunshine and fairly empty roads, despite this being the Victoria long weekend here. The Brewer's Blackbirds were perched on fence posts, and I always love to see these birds with their white eyes. In one large pond, I watched two pairs of Blue-winged Teal, a Muskrat, a Pied-bill Grebe, and a pair of Red-necked Grebes. Most of these birds were very far away, but I just managed to get a few shots of the Teal. At the next slough that I stopped at, I saw one solitary Swan, too far away to tell if it was a Trumpeter or Tundra. I also spotted a funny little Pied-billed Grebe swimming fairly close to the road, but by the time I had driven a bit further in order to turn my car around, the Grebe was already closer to the far shore. Further on, I stopped to see a pair of Mountain Bluebirds that came to their nesting box just once while I was there. Tree Swallows made a quick appearance at the nest box that was nearby. Continuing my drive, I passed a pair of Wigeon preening themselves at a tiny slough, along with a Green-winged Teal. Further yet, I stopped to take a few photos of Red-winged Blackbirds and - to my great delight - a Wilson's Snipe, one of my favourite birds to photograph. Last year seemed to be such a great year for Snipe, so I was hoping this spring might be the same. When I drove this road in one direction, I was happy to spot a Snipe down in the grasses, but still wished that it had been standing on a fence post. After turning my car around, I slowly drove along the edge of the wetland again and, this time, there it was! Absolutely made my day - anyone would think it was my very first sighting ever of a Snipe! It didn't stay for long, but gave me time to get three or four shots. From here, it was time to return home along some of the backroads before eventually having to get back on to the highway. A dark phase Swainson's Hawk was where I had seen it (same one?) on a couple of other occasions. Took a photo or two through the windscreen, so not the best photos, but I thought it might fly if I got out of the car. It was so good to get out and, though I saw no new or rare birds, I was as always happy to see the more usual ones, especially when they are close enough to photograph.

These two Canada Geese were standing high up on the railway bridge over the Bow River this morning. Perhaps not the wisest thing to do with so many Bald Eagles in the area. It almost felt like spring, apart from the icy paths in the park, LOL.

LOL, looking at this just now, it occurred to me that I could have taken eight shots of the same bird a couple of seconds apart and then cut and pasted (or whatever one does) to create one image. If I'd told you that's what I had done, you may have been more impressed : ) Not a very inspiring photo, but I love hearing and watching Canada Geese fly overhead. Their calls and the sound of their powerful wings beating always give me a good feeling. Only rarely do I try and take flight shots with my little point-and-shoot, for obvious reasons : )

Near the end of October, I drove out to Elbow Falls Trail, Kananaskis, and turned off Highway 22X at 69th St. SW. I had noticed small groups of Canada Geese flying across this rough, gravel road in the distance. Got a couple of rather disappointing shots of them, though I loved the colour of the field against the blue of the distant mountain peaks. It just feels so wonderfully "open" here. A few minutes after taking this shot, I came across a beautiful Rough-legged Hawk and an Eastern Red-tailed Hawk, which made me very happy that I had taken this side road. Sure beats driving on one of the busy road within city traffic, LOL!

A very typical photo of a family of Canada Geese, swimming on one of the lagoons at Carburn Park.

I rarely try in-flight photos but set my "new" little camera to the Sports setting and tried. I was surprised that this photo came out reasonably sharp, so will have to keep trying and improving. Next time, I will try not to cut off heads and wings, LOL! Actually, after taking this shot, I had no further luck. I realized that it's much harder than you think : ). Always so neat to see them flying overhead in a "V" formation. My Birds of Alberta book says that "Canada Geese are common from March to October, and a few overwinter." Well, there were approximately 5,000 Canada Geese along the Bow River just in the Beaverdam Flats area, so there is definitely no shortage of these birds! "The loyalty between pairs of Canada Geese is legendary, but they will often find a new mate once their chosen partner has passed away."

I was not allowed to approach these youngsters too closely. Don't know if it was the father or a second female who noisily kept me at a reasonable distance.

Who can resist fluffy, yellow Canada Goose goslings? These happened to be at the Calgary Zoo, May 2005. The nearby father (?) was extremely protective of them.