Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Cedar Waxwing

Once again, I am up-to-date with my local photos, after going on a two-hour birding walk in Fish Creek Park yesterday evening, 18 June 2019. Maybe I can make a start on Day 9 of our South Texas birding trip back in March 2019. A total of 36 bird species were seen, though I missed many of these birds. The forecast was for rain, so I wasn't sure if we were going to get caught in a downpour. Instead, we enjoyed sunshine and a pleasant temperature. This morning, 19 June, it is only 10C (windchill 7C) and overcast, with an expected high of 12C. Wish we could send our rain further north, where there are various wildfires burning. As of right now, there are 6 fires out of control, 7 being held, and 9 under control.

Once again, I am up-to-date with my local photos, after going on a two-hour birding walk in Fish Creek Park yesterday evening, 18 June 2019. Maybe I can make a start on Day 9 of our South Texas birding trip back in March 2019. A total of 36 bird species were seen, though I missed many of these birds. The forecast was for rain, so I wasn't sure if we were going to get caught in a downpour. Instead, we enjoyed sunshine and a pleasant temperature. This morning, 19 June, it is only 10C (windchill 7C) and overcast, with an expected high of 12C. Wish we could send our rain further north, where there are various wildfires burning. As of right now, there are 6 fires out of control, 7 being held, and 9 under control.

Once again, I am up-to-date with my local photos, after going on a two-hour birding walk in Fish Creek Park yesterday evening, 18 June 2019. Maybe I can make a start on Day 9 of our South Texas birding trip back in March 2019. A total of 36 bird species were seen, though I missed many of these birds. The forecast was for rain, so I wasn't sure if we were going to get caught in a downpour. Instead, we enjoyed sunshine and a pleasant temperature. This morning, 19 June, it is only 10C (windchill 7C) and overcast, with an expected high of 12C. Wish we could send our rain further north, where there are various wildfires burning. As of right now, there are 6 fires out of control, 7 being held, and 9 under control.

Once again, I am up-to-date with my local photos, after going on a two-hour birding walk in Fish Creek Park yesterday evening, 18 June 2019. Maybe I can make a start on Day 9 of our South Texas birding trip back in March 2019. A total of 36 bird species were seen, though I missed many of these birds. The forecast was for rain, so I wasn't sure if we were going to get caught in a downpour. Instead, we enjoyed sunshine and a pleasant temperature. This morning, 19 June, it is only 10C (windchill 7C) and overcast, with an expected high of 12C. Wish we could send our rain further north, where there are various wildfires burning. As of right now, there are 6 fires out of control, 7 being held, and 9 under control.

Instead of starting on Day 9 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas, I thought I had better deal with a couple of walks I went on in the last few days. One was a birding walk and the other a botany outing. I usually miss most of these, but made an extra effort to get out with friends for a few hours. I will also have some photos from today, 13 June 2019, after being invited to spend some time at a friend's acreage this morning, followed by a short drive along a few of my usual roads. They should be somewhat 'better' images : ) The 9 photos added tonight were taken in Calgary on 9 June 2019, when I went with friends on a birding walk down in Weaselhead. It turned out to be a much longer walk than expected, around 5 km, but felt further than that. This walk always starts with a long hill to walk down and the same hill to face at the end of the walk. It was rather quiet bird-wise, but we were happy to see a Calliope Hummingbird. I have posted a couple of shots, just for my own record. I almost didn't go on this walk, as the weather forecast said there might be rain. Fortunately, we were lucky. Our weather has been its usual crazy self - snow was even mentioned in the forecast for this week, but it has changed to rain and maybe some thunderstorms. The ground is so dry, so we need all the moisture we can get. It rained when I was out this afternoon - for about five minutes.

Early this evening, I have just posted 10 more photos. Some are simply shots of a few things that I liked. If I don't add extra photos on some days, I will never catch up on the last few trips and, especially, I will never get back to posting photos from day two of my two-week trip to Pt Pelee, Ontario, and Tadoussac, Quebec. Thank you for bearing with me! Just over a year ago, on 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. Then, three days ago, on 7 July 2018, I got the chance to visit this unique place again, thanks to Jackie and Brenda, who organized a trip for a group of about 15 (?) friends/birders/photographers. The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm took us about two hours. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People send them from all over the province, even from overseas. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world - 300+! Myrna Pearman, who has been "at the helm of Ellis Bird Farm for the past 30 years", knew we were coming and we were treated to a very special viewing of Purple Martins at various stages, from eggs to adult, To do this, she lowered some of the Purple Martin condominiums and let us peer inside. After a short talk about the Farm, we explored every corner, taking a break for lunch, sitting outside, at the Cafe. A few of us had reserved a table, which is a good idea, as the Farm can get very busy with visitors. The main attraction at the Farm is the beautiful Purple Martins, uncommon in Alberta, though there are so many other things to see, as well. Purple Martins are very social birds, who apparently like people too, and nest in condominium-style nest boxes. They spend "most of the year in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and come up to Alberta just long enough to raise a family." "​Ellis Bird Farm made science history on Tuesday May 31 2016 (?) when University of Manitoba Grad Student, Alisha Ritchie, and her EBF team (Cheyenne Knight, Claudia Lipski and Myrna Pearman) retrapped a very special yearling Purple Martin. This bird had been retrofitted with a light level geolocator last season, as a nestling, and is the first songbird EVER(!) to be tracked on its first migration. The bird had evaded several attempts to trap it, so it has been named Houdini." Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program: www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html ""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife. The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters. After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/ Many thanks to Shirley, for driving the four of us to and from the Farm. Thank you for picking me up, Pam, to get me over to the meeting place. Beautiful weather and great company made for a super day. Have to say, too, that it was great to get away from the city, where the Calgary Stampede is in full swing.

Just over a month ago, on 19 August 2014, I was lucky enough to go with friends, Cathy and Terry, for a great day out in the mountains. Our trip was part way along Highway 40 and then along the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail. The weather forecast was not good for this day, but we were so lucky that, apart from a few raindrops, the rain stayed away. The sun actually came out at two locations we stopped at for a short while, including at this one (Mt. Shark), where I photographed this little masked bandit, Cedar Waxwing. The background blur is a distant mountainside.

This was one quick shot taken yesterday afternoon (5 July 2014), on my way home from a long day of driving. Photographed at a pond, SW of the city. In the summer months, we have these Cedar Waxwings; in the winter, we get the Bohemian Waxwings. Thanks, Donna (Ducks & Daisies), for adding this website, which I had never seen before, to your comment! 10000birds.com/cedar-waxwing-vs-bohemian-waxwing.htm At the last minute, I decided I would have to get out of the house yesterday. I just couldn't take being in an "oven" any more. Not complaining about the hot, sunny weather we are having at the moment, but my house turns into an oven and then tends to stay that way for many days or weeks afterwards. I had planned on leaving the house earlier than I did (10;00 a.m.) and drove NW of the city and NW of Cochrane. Hadn't been that way for a long time and wanted to see if I could find an owl of some sort, especially a Great Gray Owl. No luck, and in fact it seemed like all wildlife was in hiding, except for four Deer. My morning's finds included a patch of beautiful Indian Paintbrush flowers (deep pink, yellow, green and peach colours) Also a noisy little Wren that I saw when I pulled over to take a look down a hillside to see if I could see the Red Fox that had just run across the road ahead of me - no luck. The next sightings were a lone Deer - forgot to check its tail, but judging by the enormous size of its ears, it had to have been a Mule Deer - and a Tree Swallow that was perched on its bright orange nesting "box". I wonder who chose the colour of the box this year; he or his mate, lol. Nearby, there were several Swallowtail butterflies down in the mud along the edge of the road. Before I could get there, a car came along in the opposite direction and of flew every single one. By the time I had photographed a few wildflowers, one butterfly did return, so I was able to get a few shots. Deciding to return to Highway 1a the same way as I came, I passed a couple of horses that always seem to be in the same place. I'm never sure about the health of these two, and they never seem "happy" animals, though maybe they are just getting very old. When I reached the road I wanted to check out (including for a possible owl), I found that it had just been oiled ready for a new surface to be laid, so that plan went out the window. Wanting to stay away from my unpleasantly hot house for as long as possible, I came home via Bragg Creek and some of the backroads that I love, SW of the city. Brown-Lowery Provincial Park was my first stop - and it has the wonderful, added benefit of washrooms in the parking lot - the first ones I'd seen all day! I checked out the area near the parking lot and then went maybe a hundred feet into the forest. After checking for any fungi (none), I heard a very loud cracking of branches and eventually spotted a huge, very dark shape through the trees. From that angle, it looked horribly like a Bear, but when it lifted its head from feeding, I was so relieved to see that it was "only" a Moose! A young couple were coming along the trail towards me and I said they must have seen it even closer. My voice was heard by the animal and unfortunately it moved quickly away. I like to think that a Bear or Cougar would react in the same way, lol! From Brown-Lowery, I passed my favourite little wetland and found the Snipe standing, as usual, on a fence post. Sorry, everyone, you might just get fed up of Snipe photos - if you aren't already! Got home around 6;00 p.m., feeling content that, even though the morning had been pretty disappointing, the day was a a good one. Would love to get in my car and go out again today, but I have things to get done and I don't want to overdo the driving, in case I make my shoulders any worse.

Photographed in Bridlewood, SW Calgary, on June 15th. "When the end of a twig holds a supply of berries that only one bird at a time can reach, members of a flock may line up along the twig and pass berries beak to beak down the line so that each bird gets a chance to eat." Wikipedia. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/cedar_waxwing/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Waxwing

Here's your photo, George - not the greatest, but as you know, the tree was pretty far away - and as for the moon, LOL ..... Yes, these are Cedar Waxwings, Rebecca. Taken at the Erlton/Roxborough Natural Area (not all that far from downtown) this morning.

I always smile when I look at this photo because when the Cedar Waxwing is usually seen, it is a very sleek bird, unlike the view in this image.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA