Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: wing

This youngster (?) had a quick leg and wing stretch before lying down and making itself comfortable. I was quite amused to see it bending its 'knees' (or is it "heels"?) in the process. Yesterday, 6 September 2018, turned out to be a much longer day than I had planned! In the very early hours of the morning, I happened to check the weather forecast just out of interest, and saw that rain is expected on about six of the coming days (if it actually happens). Decided then and there that I had better get out for a drive, just in case. My intention had been to just drive some of the roads east of the city, getting out there via 22X, which is definitely not a drive I like to do. On a previous trip, I had made two mistakes along this complcated highway, and ended up on Stoney Trail going north and, on the return trip, I was in the wrong lane and ended up heading far, far south of the city on the worst major highway. The latter happened again yesterday and, like on the previous drive, I ended up going to the Saskatoon Farm. Fortunately, I was in time to get an afternoon meal there and have a wander around the grounds taking photos. I love this place. There were certain things I wanted to go and see again, including a few old barns and sheds. I was also hoping that I might just come across a beautiful hawk or two within camera reach. I even finally got to take photos of a few shorebirds. Throw in a butterfly or two and the odd flower, and I was happy. On this trip, I really wanted to make myself use the Nikon P900 a lot. I always take a few of the same photos with my Panasonic and Canon point-and-shoots, too, as I am not yet used to the P900. One of my concerns about the latter is that it seems to blow out the white in an image, from what I have seen in quite a few other people's photos - didn''t seem too bad yesterday. My other - and main - concern is focus. I still have not been able to stand in front of a flower/something small at various distances, and zoom in. All I see in the viewfinder is a coloured blur. The other cameras don't do this, and I've been doing it easily for many years. Hope I can sort this out! I guess it's just a case of experimenting. So far, I think I am liking how the P900 takes photos.

Hello, winter - again! Our forecast is "Temperature deep dive, snow on the horizon for Alberta." This morning, it is -1C (windchill -4C) and it has just started snowing at 10:00 am. Looks like we should have this kind of temperature for the next two weeks. I'm so glad I went on a birding walk yesterday and did some grocery shopping. On 26 September 2016, I had planned to join a group of friends for a birding walk at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park. By the time I had had breakfast, I was feeling somewhat queasy and thought I had better not go on the walk after all. Felt a bit better later in the morning and decided to go to the Park after all, getting there about noon. Met a young man standing on the bridge over the creek, pointing out to me a perched bird of prey. My first thought was Merlin, but it seemed to be too big to be a Merlin. It took a while to decide just what it was - helped by birder, Nimali, who happened to come along the path. We decided it was a Cooper's Hawk ('C' for curved edge of tail tip and 'C' for Cooper's). Looking at my photos later that evening, I was still not sure that we had made the right decision. Lol, even the best of birders (which definitely does not include me!) sometimes make mistakes : ) This bird stayed around for ages and gave some nice opportunities for photos, including of it 'mantling' (spreading out its wings to form a cloak) when it captured a large dragonfly and returned to the same branch. When two of us were first standing on the bridge, this bird flew down right over our heads two or three times - maybe because we were attracting insects around us? We noticed a second similar bird, too, and we wondered if they were maybe juveniles, especially as the main one was very comfortable with us standing nearby. Made my day : ) Later: really appreciate everyone's help with identifying this bird as a Merlin! "Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. Merlin populations have largely recovered from twentieth-century declines, thanks to a ban on the pesticide DDT and their ability to adapt to life around towns and cities." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Merlin/id I even spotted several mushrooms earlier in my walk, which was a surprise. Can't believe I was out in the park for about five hours! A very enjoyable walk - glad to have your company, Nimali, and that of the very knowledgeable young man we had just met.

The sun is shining this morning, 11 October 2016, after three grey, gloomy days of snow and a bit of fog. Unfortunately, this was the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, too. Feels so good to see some blue sky today. The temperature is -1C (windchill -6C). On 26 September 2016, I had planned to join a group of friends for a birding walk at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park. By the time I had had breakfast, I was feeling somewhat queasy and thought I had better not go on the walk after all. Felt a bit better later in the morning and decided to go to the Park after all, getting there about noon. Met a delightful young man standing on the bridge over the creek, pointing out to me a perched bird of prey. My first thought was Merlin, but it seemed to be too big to be a Merlin. It took a while to decide just what it was - helped by excellent birder, Nimali, who happened to come along the path. We decided it was a Cooper's Hawk ('C' for curved edge of tail tip and 'C' for Cooper's). Looking at my photos later that evening, I was still not sure that we had made the right decision. Lol, even the best of birders (which definitely does not include me!) sometimes make mistakes : ) This bird stayed around for ages and gave some nice opportunities for photos, including of it 'mantling' (spreading out its wings to form a cloak) when it captured a large dragonfly and returned to the same branch. When two of us were first standing on the bridge, this bird flew down right over our heads two or three times - maybe because we were attracting insects around us? We noticed a second similar bird, too, and we wondered if they were maybe juveniles, especially as the main one was very comfortable with us standing nearby. Made my day : ) Later: really appreciate everyone's help with identifying this bird as a Merlin! "Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. Merlin populations have largely recovered from twentieth-century declines, thanks to a ban on the pesticide DDT and their ability to adapt to life around towns and cities." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Merlin/id I even spotted several mushrooms earlier in my walk, which was a surprise. Can't believe I was out in the park for about five hours! A very enjoyable walk - glad to have your company, Nimali, and that of the very knowledgeable young man we had just met.

Imagine my shock and horror on a walk yesterday when we came across a small pair of wings with a teeny carcass in between. The bird's wingspan was about 12". This photo shows a fair bit of one wing - it's not just the tip. It couldn't possibly be one of the rare to uncommon Northern Pygmy-owls that everyone is enjoying at the moment, could it? The last ID conclusion is that this wing belongs to a Gray Partridge - yet these have never been seen in this park before. Something tells me that it's not a Gray Partridge, though. If anyone can solve this mystery for us, it would be so much appreciated, even if you have to gently break sad news to me : (. I know it's all part of Nature, but ..... Note later: it is a Ruffed Grouse wing!

A closer view of the majestic wing of one of the huge Andean Condors at the Calgary Zoo.

Went to see my usual Great Horned Owl today. It was a little more active than usual, flying to a different branch and having a good stretch. The sun was barely out, so the lighting in the grove of trees was not good.

A pretty typical photo taken at the Calgary Zoo Butterfly House. It seems that this is a common find in butterfly houses. I'm not sure where it originates. I love the name of this butterfly.

A closer look at the outstretched wing of a female Mallard.