Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Great Blue Heron

DAY 3 is DONE - yay! Haven't decided yet, but I might just post a few local photos that I have taken recently, mainly so that I don't forget to post them, rather than start on Day 4. HAPPY EASTER, everyone! It seems an appropriate time to think of all those (around the world) who have been affected by the enormous damage that Notre Dame, Paris, has recently gone through. I can't remember if I have seen this stunning Cathedral twice or three times, many, many years ago. I was reading on the Weather Network this evening that three beehives had been installed in Notre Dame during 2013 as part of a city-wide initiative to boost dwindling bee numbers in the city. Nearly 200,000 bees have been found alive below Notre Dame's main roofing. Having flooded my photostream with Whooping Cranes the last few days, and then with Cormorants, this morning, I posted a few odds and ends of plants and birds taken at a beach. Tonight I added th elast 15 images from Day 3, mainly taken at the unexpected rookery in Rockport. After leaving the beach, someone happened to notice either herons or cranes on the top of a beautiful stand of trees. We decided to check it out and as we rounded a corner of the road, we couldn't believe our eyes! We had come across another rookery, this one in Rockport. There were quite a few Great Blue Herons, Egrets, and at least one Black-crowned Night Heron. I posted a dreadful photo of the latter, just for the record. The only reason I spotted it was because of the bright red eye. People are not allowed to approach the rookery, of course. I was reading that, after Hurricane Harvey in 2017, people did an amazing job of clearing out all the debris of broken branches under and around the trees at the rookery - and then realized that they had removed all the branches that the birds would be needing to rebuild their nests. Needless to say, that was put right by adding piles of broken branches nearby.

This photo was taken on 19 March 2017, our last but one day on the island of Trinidad. On that day, we hiked to see the unusual Oilbirds in the morning and then we went to the Caroni Swamp in the afternoon and evening. We were lucky enough to see a Masked Cardinal near the Caroni Swamp, before going on a boat to see the Scarlet Ibis arriving. The Scarlet Ibis is one of the two national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. At the Swamp, my six friends and I were privileged to be able to watch the arrival of huge flocks of amazing Scarlet Ibis flying in to roost for the night. Will add this YouTube link (not my video) to give an idea of what our boat ride was like - including the large snake curled up in a tree over our heads! All the other boats we saw were packed full of people, but we were given a boat to ourselves, which was great. Boats have to stay the far side of the huge body of water, in order to not put stress on the birds, so my photos are very distant, fully zoomed, but at least they give an idea of the breathtaking colour of the Ibis. It was sunset when we returned through the mangrove swamp to our vehicle. We didn't even miss the daily Rum Punch that is always served at the Asa Wright Nature Centre - our guide came fully prepared! At this lake, as well as the Scarlet Ibis, we also saw one American Flamingo, a Yellow-crowned Night-heron, a Great Blue Heron, a Little Blue Heron, and several Egrets. youtu.be/vV9XvW2JSVE This outing really was the highlight of our holiday, kept to the last but one day on Trinidad. There was just one more outing the following morning, and then we spent that afternoon hanging out at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, photographing some of the birds and packing our bags ready for leaving in the middle of the night to catch our flight home. This adventure was only the second holiday of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week trip with my dear friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going. Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together (from 12-21 March 2017), spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could choose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself! We were so lucky with our flights, as we were just in time to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off! What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with some of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. Just gorgeous. The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on Trinidad, is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up the mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a minibus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was enough room for two vehicles to pass each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road, from the coast to Asa Wright, took just over an hour each way. I still miss the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and even the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served buffet-style, with a great variety of dishes from which to choose. To me, pure luxury. So very, very grateful to have been invited to be part of this amazing adventure. This is a video that I came across on YouTube, taken by Rigdon Currie and Trish Johnson, at many of the same places we visited on Trinidad and Tobago. Not my video, but it made me feel like I was right there still. Posting the link here again, so that I won't lose it. youtu.be/BBifhf99f_M I also came across the following 27-minute YouTube video of the flora and fauna of Trinidad, filmed by John Patrick Smith in February 2015. youtu.be/6HHBm9MIxnk

On 10 October 2017, I decided to join friends for a three-hour walk - that included a fair bit of standing - at the east end of Fish Creek Provincial Park. I was hoping that there might still be some fall colour to be seen. Strong winds and snow had removed a lot of the leaves from the trees, but there were still enough to give a golden glow to photos. We had a few good sightings, including a Great Blue Heron that seemed to have a problem with swallowing a very tiny fish it had caught. It would catch the fish, and then drop it back in the water, and repeated this several times. I don't think it ever did catch and actually eat it. Another fun thing to see was a male Downy Woodpecker that suddenly flew down to someone's hand. Chickadees and Nuthatches were also very aware that we were standing there. They are so busy searching for and collecting food to store away for the long, harsh winter months. Great Horned Owls nest each year at the east end of the park and have done so for years. I don't know how on earth someone spotted the one we saw on this walk. It was perched far away in a wooded area and was almost impossible to see. If I moved two or three inches to the left or right, the owl was hidden from view. Even though I have seen endless owls over the years, it is always a good feeling to see one again. I guess I missed the owls in this area back in March or April of this year - too busy with preparations for my trip to Trinidad & Tobago, but also, last winter was so brutal.

This beautiful Great Blue Heron was further away than it looks from my photo, but usually I see them flying way overhead or the distant side of a large pond. So, it was great to see one a little bit closer. This bird was seen yesterday, 19 June 2016, at a local pond during an afternoon birding walk - in fact, the very last birding walk of the season until around the end of August. We started our walk at Bankside and ended up at Mallard point four hours later, following the path along the Bow River. Driving the park road to Bankside, we stopped to check out the Burnsmead Ponds, where this beautiful Heron was standing. Another photographer was already there - nice to meet you, Susan, and I enjoyed our little chat. The Sunday afternoon walks are more laid back and tend to be at a more leisurely pace, which suits me much better, so I go when I can. Hard to believe that we ended up seeing 50 bird species! The absolute highlight was when Jeff H. heard, then spotted, a Grasshopper Sparrow. A very clever sighting! I have never seen one and, until recently, had never even heard of such a Sparrow. It couldn't have been much more difficult to see, as it only popped up from the grass and bushes two or three times for a split second, before disappearing again. Eventually, it flew to the plant seen in my next photo, and I was finally able to see it. I think this might just have been the fastest reaction with my camera that has ever happened and somehow the lens luckily focused on the bird rather than just on the leaves in front. Just enough detail to confirm the ID. Thanks so much, Jeff, for finding this great bird for us! Yesterday evening, I got an e-mail from Terry Korolyk, who has spent so many years finding, recording and reporting not only all his own sightings, but those of so many other people. So much work and such valuable data. He wrote the following to me: "You guys got a good one. Haven't seen a Grasshopper Sparrow report around Calgary for quite some time now. We used to occasionally get one reported east of the City. Some places in the south part of the Province used to be good for them with probably the nearest site being north of Taber. Not many reports from down there in recent years, but, I don't think anybody's gone down there looking for them." I did a quick check on ebird last night and found the following most recent sightings from Calgary and surroundings. Of course, there could have been a few unreported sightings in addition to these: 1987 - 1 reported by Nature Calgary at the Irricana Sloughs 1988 - 1 reported by Nature Calgary in Weaselhead 1988 - 6 reported by Nature Calgary at the Irricana Sloughs 1994 - 1 reported by Nature Calgary at Frank Lake FFCPPSoc. Birding Burnsmead Ponds, Bankside to Mallard Point, FCPP, Calgary. 1:15 - 5:15 PM. Sunday, June 19/16. Our Group of Seven enjoyed a sunny, warm (20 to 24C), afternoon with only light westerly winds. 1. Pied-billed Grebe - 1 2. Double-crested Cormorant - 4 3. Great Blue Heron - 2 4. Canada Goose 6 (2 adults,4 goslings) 5. Mallard - 28 6. Gadwall - 5 7. American Wigeon - 7 8. Northern Shoveler - 2 9. Blue-winged Teal - 6 10. Common Goldeneye - 3 11. Common Merganser - 6 12. Cooper's Hawk - 1 13. Red-tailed Hawk - 1 14. Swainson's Hawk - 1 15. Osprey - 1 16. Merlin - 1 17. Ring-necked Pheasant - 3 18. American Coot - 7 (2 adult, 5 young) 19. Spotted Sandpiper - 8 20. Franklin's Gull - 275 21. Ring-billed Gull - 2 22. California Gull - 1 23. Rock (Feral) Pigeon - 3 24. Northern Flicker - 5 25. Downy Woodpecker - 3 26. Western Wood Pewee - 1 heard 27. Least Flycatcher - 2 28. Eastern Kingbird - 2 29. Warbling Vireo - 1 heard 30. Black-billed Magpie - 3 31. American Crow - 4 32. Common Raven - 5 33. Tree Swallow - 30 34. Bank Swallow - 20 35. House Wren - 5 36. American Robin - 32 37. Cedar Waxwing - 6 38. European Starling - 3 39. Yellow Warbler - 6 40. Clay-coloured Sparrow - 5 41. Savannah Sparrow - 48 42. GRASSHOPPER SPARROW - 1 found by Jeff H. Photo'd by Anne E. 43. Song Sparrow - 3 44. Lincoln's Sparrow - 1 45. Baltimore Oriole - 1 46. Red-winged Blackbird - 53 47. Yellow-headed Blackbird - 5 48. Common Grackle - 5 49. Brown-headed Cowbird - 5 50. House Sparrow - 8 Muskrat - 1 White-tailed Deer - 1 Swallowtail Butterfly -1 Leaders: Bernie Diebolt, Janet Gill

When I pulled over at one of the sloughs SW of the city, on 19 July 2013, I noticed something that I'd never seen before at this particular wetland area - a Great Blue Heron. While I was watching, one of the local Red-winged Blackbirds started harassing the Heron, flying down close to its head, making the Heron duck over and over again. Many birders have experienced this themselves. If you accidentally get close to a Red-winged Blackbird's nest, the male doesn't hesitate to buzz you.

I was on a walk with a couple of friends in Fish Creek Park two days ago, 14 October 2012, when we watched this Great Blue Heron that was barely visible through the trees. Managed to find an opening to get this shot. We were surprised that the Heron stayed - normally, they spook very easily. Could this be a juvenile? Very poor light. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blue_Heron

A fully zoomed and heavily cropped capture of this beautiful Great Blue Heron, perched high in a tree at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, on 3 September 2012. A short while earlier, we had noticed a second Heron in flight over the Sanctuary. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blue_Heron

This beautiful Great Blue Heron was further away than it looks from my photo, but usually I see them flying way overhead or the distant side of a large pond. So, it was great to see one a lot closer, perched quite high up in a tree - at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, on September 20th. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blue_Heron

We saw this Great Blue Heron perched on top of a tall tree at Pearce Estate. IMG_2384

Not a very good photo of the Heron but I liked the reflections in the pond. Unfortunately, the light was fading quickly.