Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: injured

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the popular candy, Licorice Allsorts, take a look at these photos on Google, lol! The large, round, yellow ones with the black licorice centre are my favourites. They were first produced in Sheffield, England, by Geo. Bassett & Co Ltd. www.google.ca/search?q=licorice+allsorts&rlz=1C1CHMO_... Friend, Gayle, made an appointment to go to the Cochrane Ecological Institute Centre the day before yesterday, 9 December 2017, and invited me to go along, too. I had longed to visit and, a few years ago, two friends and I were all set to go, but a major storm prevented us from going. It made an interesting morning, going on a tour of the grounds with our guide, Lisa Dahlseide. I know Lisa in connection with the Weaselhead Natural Area in Calgary and it was so nice to see that she was going to be our leader for this walk. She has such a wealth of knowledge and her personality is very much a "people person", including doing a lot of work with young children and nature. As well as being a busy mother of three young children, she is part time Naturalist with Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society and the Education Director for the Cochrane Ecological Institute. This Great Horned Owl was sharing a huge "barn" with another owl of the same species. The injured owl in this photo is unable to be released and, apparently, does not have the right personality for being trained as a Wildlife Ambassador. The light was low and this photo is poor quality, but I wanted to add it to my album for this visit. Unfortunately, I was too busy being distracted by taking photos of things, that I missed a lot of the explanations for the animals/birds that we saw. I always think that I will be able to find information once I get home and get on the Internet, but that doesn't always happen. "Wildlife" that we saw including several (4?) Bison that had originally been brought up from Waterton years ago; deer; several Wild Turkeys; two Great Horned Owls; and a pair of birds that I have never seen before - White Pheasants. I missed the explanation for these Pheasants, unfortunately. After our visit to the Centre, we drove to Cochrane for an enjoyable lunch. Took a while to drive round looking for somewhere to eat - I had no idea that Cochrane had grown so much. Thanks so much, Gayle, for a different kind of day! Much enjoyed and appreciated. vimeo.com/225317099 "The CEI (Cochrane Ecological Institute) is a family founded, charitable organization devoted to breeding endangered species for reintroduction, wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release, educating the public, monitoring habitat and species, and developing non intrusive wildlife survey methods. The CEI was founded (1971) by Miles and Beryl Smeeton and is now run by their daughter, Clio Smeeton. Miles and Beryl Smeeton were internationally known sailors, mountaineers, and explorers. The Smeetons initiated the swift fox reintroduction program in Canada in 1972, six years before the species was declared extirpated in Canada. All animals held at the CEI are destined for reintroduction. They are not maintained for public exhibit, trade, or sale. Over the 26 years of its existence the CEI has also been an integral part of the Canadian Wildlife Service's Trumpeter swan (Cygnus bucinnator) and wood bison (B.b.athabascae) reintroduction programs, as well as playing a key role in the Canadian swift fox reintroduction program. The CEI is unique in that it holds the world's longest established (1972), largest (20 pairs), and only captive breeding colony of swift fox. These animals are bred solely for reintroduction as part of the CEI's ecosystem restoration program. Internationally, as species and habitat vanish, the concept of ecosystem restoration through the reintroduction of indigenous flora and fauna, is gaining greater and greater prominence. The preservation of habitat without those species, which made that habitat a viable whole, is a sterile exercise." From the CEI's website. www.ceinst.org/about-us.html "Cochrane Ecological Institute's Swift Fox Reintroduction programs began in 1972 under the direction of Beryl and Miles Smeeton. Since that time 0ver 800 Swift fox were reintroduced to the Canadian Prairie. This has resulted in the Species being downlisted by the Canadian Government from Extirpated to Endangered. In 1998 the CEI was invited by the Blackfeet Tribal Fish and Wildlife Department, Browning, Montana to join in a partnership to start the first swift fox re-introduction in the USA on the Blackfeet Tribal Lands. Defenders of Wildlife also became partners in this project and the first swift foxes were released on Blackfeet land in the fall of 1998.This program continued until 2003. The CEI was requested to design and implement a Swift Fox reintroduction program on Blood reserve lands in Alberta Canada in 2003. This resulted in only a 2 year program because of complications resulting from permitting problems and the new Species at Risk Act in Canada." From the CEI website.

On Sunday, 20 July 2014, I plucked up courage to do a drive that I’d never done before. I had been that particular route once before that I can think of, when I carpooled with others. A good part of the drive was in familiar territory, but I’d never driven the last part of the journey myself. I had met my daughter at 9:00 a.m. and we were both eager to see a display of birds of prey that had been brought up from the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre. This year, there were fewer birds, but it was great to see any at all. This year, there was a Burrowing Owl, a Barn Owl, the beautiful Great Horned Owl in the above photo, and a Golden Eagle. Another real treat that was an amusing one, was seeing a baby Barn Owl that was just 45 days old! This little ball of fluff was acting as a great ambassador, letting young kids get a close view and ask questions, and fall in love with it – and to hopefully, in the future, do everything they can as adults to protect our precious wildlife. The enjoyment of seeing these birds up close reminds one that the reason these birds are not free to live in the wild, is because of some kind of interaction with humans – such as permanent injuries from being hit by a vehicle, pesticide use, or even worse, being shot by a human! This is what happened to “Spirit”, the magnificent Golden Eagle, shot and blinded by someone. This exhibit was our first destination in the park, though on the drive from Calgary, we had stopped at the small McDougall Church at Morley. After seeing and photographing the birds of prey, we then drove to Middle Lake that’s in a different part of the park. We walked the very short distance to the edge of the lake, but didn’t walk around it. From there, we drove to Many Springs Trail and did a very slow walk around the lake, stopping to look at different flowers and photograph a few butterflies. Though slow, it was still further than I should have walked. Certain wildflowers were already finished, including various Orchid species, but there were still plenty of other species to see and enjoy. Even the weather cooperated, though the forecast had been for isolated showers. Not too hot, nice clouds in the sky and lovely to have my daughter’s company for the day. Thanks so much to the people down at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre (near Lethbridge, down towards the Canada/US border) for bringing your gorgeous birds of prey for us to see! I have been south to the Centre three times I think, and always long to go back again, but it's not somewhere I can drive to, so this was a much-appreciated treat yesterday!

Just not getting time to either get out and take new photos - or else the weather has been really bad. Will be so glad when I don't need to grab photos from my archives! Photographed on 16 May 2009 at the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge, Southern Alberta. "The Swainson's Hawk is a fairly common hawk of the prairies, and is identified by the dark breast and contrasting light throat and abdomen. The head, back, primaries and breast are all a dark brownish grey. The belly is cream to white in color. The tail is finely barred with a dark terminal band. A rare dark phase, where the entire body appears all black except for the face and banded tail, does exist. In flight, the wings are tilted slightly upwards, similar to the northern harrier. Most of western North America is included in the breeding range, but winters are spent as far south as Argentina. Open areas, as found in the grassland, foothill and parkland regions, fit the lifestyle of the Swainson's hawk. Nests are built in bushes or trees, and three to five eggs are laid. Swainson's hawks are late nesters and the young birds may not leave the nest until the end of July. The Swainson's hawk is classified as Sensitive in the General Status of Alberta Wild Species report. Population is dependent on healthy ground squirrel population." esrd.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/wild-species/birds/large-ha...

I saw this Harris's Hawk at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre, southern Alberta, on 16 May 2009. A few, rare sightings have been reported in Alberta. "The Harris's Hawk or Harris Hawk, formerly known as the Bay-winged Hawk, (Parabuteo unicinctus), is a medium-large bird of prey which breeds from the southwestern USA south to Chile and central Argentina. It is the only member of the genus Parabuteo, which literally means 'similar to Buteo'. Its habitat is sparse woodland and semi-desert, as well as marshes (with some trees) in some parts of its range, including mangrove swamps, as in parts of its South American range. It nests in a tree and lays 2–4 eggs, incubated for 28 days to hatching. It has blackish brown plumage with chestnut forewings (above and below) and thighs. The end of the tail and the rump are white. It has a length of 60 cm and a wingspan of 1.2 m; the average weight is about 900 g (2 pounds). Females are typically 10% bigger than males. Harris's Hawks' social behavior is unusual for raptors. Young may stay with their parents for up to three years, helping to raise later broods. They also hunt together, groups of two to six birds often cooperating to flush and then capture prey (group hunting). In contrast, the vast majority of raptors are solitary hunters, and not at all gregarious. This social behavior gives Harris's Hawks an easygoing nature that makes them desirable captive birds. Since about 1980, Harris's Hawks have been increasingly used in falconry and are now the most popular hawks in the West (outside of Asia) for that purpose, as they are the easiest to train and the most affectionate. Hunting with Harris's Hawks often works best with two or more birds. (In contrast most other raptors cannot be flown together, as they will attack each other.) When prey is flushed, the birds can work together to corner the animal – compensating for their relatively low acceleration and speed. Harris's Hawks will happily treat the falconer as a hunting partner, and will follow from tree to tree and perch until the falconer flushes a rabbit from the bushes. They can easily catch and kill a rabbit, a hare or even a pheasant, but its natural prey are small rodents and reptiles." From Wikipedia.

The "surprised" expression on a Long-eared Owl's face always makes me smile : ) It is rare to see one of these here in the wild - have only seen either two or three. The one in my photo lives at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge, southern Alberta, along with many other injured species. Taken through a chain link cage wall, hence the faded areas.

A photo taken indoors and through glass, of an injured Barred Owl at the Medicine River Wildlife Centre on July 24th. We were privileged to be be allowed to explore and botanize the land around the Centre - thanks so much, Carol and Judy! I love the eyes of the Barred owl - like huge, deep, dark pools. Forgot to add that I was posting my "daily three" very early this morning (around 6:15 a.m. I think), as I was going on a full day botanizing trip to Arethusa Cirque, Kananaskis, today. The little bit I had been able to find on this hike said that it was easy with not all that much elevation. Well, we were standing at 8,000' by the time we had scaled the very steep mountain side. Most of the climb was steeply upwards which meant that if I wanted to take flower photos, it was a case of trying to balance on a steep slope with an almighty drop below (so I took far fewer photos today than I normally would, ha). I am not good at heights, so did my best to avoid looking "down" during the whole climb up. Also not good at any trail that goes upwards instead of along the flat. Lol, I never thought I'd reach the top, but amazingly I did - and, oh, what magnificent views!!! This hike is just north of the Ptarmigan Cirque hike and parts of it were quite similar, except that Arethusa Cirque trail is up, up, up the whole way. Still, the views were simply breath-taking : ) Weather was perfect, no Grizzly Bears appeared, and the company was great. Only six of us went, so it was a nice, small group. Can't remember offhand, but I know we saw one new plant - a tiny blue Gentian with the most exquisite blue flower (but can't remember the name just now). What a way to spend the day! Thanks so much, David, for sharing this new place with us and thanks, too, for the welcome treat of coffee at Highwood House. Just what was needed : )

This beautiful Barred Owl is one of the many injured birds being cared for at the Medicine River Wildlife Centre, north west of Calgary and west of Innisfail. We were so lucky to be able to spend the day on 4th July botanizing the forest and meadows of the area. I still haven't seen this species of owl in the wild. Some of you may be having the same problems again with trying to type a description under your images. Every time a lowercase f is typed, you are sent straight to "on black" and you lose all your typing. Hope they fix this again soon! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barred_Owl ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are just three of the 15 Great Horned Owls that are being rehabilitated at the moment at the Mediicine River Wildlife Centre, north west of Calgary, and west of Innisfail. We spent the day there on 4th July, botanizing their forest and meadows, as well as seeing some of the wildlife that had been brought to the Centre because of injury or being orphaned. The 15 owls were in a huge, almost barn-like enclosure (but without solid walls at the sides) outdoors in the forest. Some were at each end of the enclosure while we were inside, and occasionally one would fly to the opposite end. I do hope that every single owl recovers well and will be able to be released. "All birds admitted to MRWC must prove that they are avid flyers before their release into the wild." Taken from the MRWC's calendar.

This is Otis the Great Horned Owl, a great wildlife ambassador, who lives at the Medicine River Wildlife Centre (north west of Calgary, and west of Innisfail). He is unable to be released because of injuries, so devotes his life to educating people. Taken indoors, which is never a strong point for me and my camera : )

Took this photo at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre down towards the US border, July 2007, so had to dig deep into my archives for this one. Now, if only I could get this close a shot of a Bald Eagle in the wild : )

Isn't this 7-year-old male Barred Owl amazing? Not seen in the wild and not even seen at the Zoo this time. Instead, I got the chance to see and photograph (and stroke, awww) him at a meeting I went to yesterday evening. I've never seen a Barred Owl in the wild, but I do enjoy seeing the two at the Calgary Zoo. My camera can't deal with indoor light and I can't use flash successfully. Managed to rescue a few of the images, though. This owl was injured (damaged eye that he can't see out of), so would not have been able to be released.

Not seen in the wild and not even seen at the Zoo this time. Instead, I got the chance to see and photograph (and stroke, awww) this 7-year-old male Barred Owl at a meeting I went to eight days ago. I've never seen a Barred Owl in the wild, but I do enjoy seeing the two at the Calgary Zoo. This owl was injured (damaged eye that he can't see out of), so was never able to be released. He makes a great Ambassador, though : )