Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: spotted

Yesterday, 5 September 2016, was one of those days that I wasn't really feeling like bothering to get myself ready and go for a walk, but something kept 'telling' me to go. So, I drove over to Fish Creek Park, hoping that I would be able to find one of the Black-crowned Night-herons that people have been seeing recently. Last year, I was lucky enough to see a juvenile on a couple of occasions at this location. However, I was out of luck with the herons and everything else, till just before I got back to my car. I spotted a patch of tan colour way off in the distance, through the bushes. Stopping to take a better look, I saw that it was a beautiful doe and her twins. They walked up a slight hill and I was able to get a clear look at them. Yes, the photo is blurry, but I so rarely see White-tailed Deer fawns, so I wanted to post the image for the record. Love it when the young ones still have their white spots. Definitely worth getting lightly rained on : ) "White-tailed deer, the smallest members of the North American deer family, are found from southern Canada to South America. In the heat of summer they typically inhabit fields and meadows using clumps of broad-leaved and coniferous forests for shade. During the winter they generally keep to forests, preferring coniferous stands that provide shelter from the harsh elements. Female deer, called does, give birth to one to three young at a time, usually in May or June and after a gestation period of seven months. Young deer, called fawns, wear a reddish-brown coat with white spots that helps them blend in with the forest. White-tailed deer are herbivores, leisurely grazing on most available plant foods. Their stomachs allow them to digest a varied diet, including leaves, twigs, fruits and nuts, grass, corn, alfalfa, and even lichens and other fungi. Occasionally venturing out in the daylight hours, white-tailed deer are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular, browsing mainly at dawn and dusk. In the wild, white-tails, particularly the young, are preyed upon by bobcats, mountain lions, and coyotes. They use speed and agility to outrun predators, sprinting up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour and leaping as high as 10 feet (3 meters) and as far as 30 feet (9 meters) in a single bound." From National Geographic. animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/white-tail...

I finally got out with friends for an almost three-hour botany walk yesterday afternoon, 11 August 2015, at Griffith Woods. There were certain "target" plants on the list, including three species of wild Gentian (one of which is seen in this photo), and one species of Orchid (Rattlesnake Plantain). We had success with all four, which made for a successful outing. So many of the plants are finished already, after blooming two weeks early this year. Whenever I see Asters, I know that the end of our flowering season is coming to an end, which is always depressing. The growing season in Alberta is so very short. The colour of these flowers almost makes one gasp! They are beautiful and look rather like they should be growing in a garden, not in the wild. The petals seem to vary - some plants have plain blue petals, while others, as in this photo, are spotted. This particular plant was a beauty.

This photo was taken SW of Calgary, on a short drive along familiar backroads, on 1 July 2014. I had seen this or a different beautiful Spotted Sandpiper there on a previous occasion and was happy to see that it was still there. I rarely get to see this species, especially close enough to be photographed. "The dapper Spotted Sandpiper makes a great ambassador for the notoriously difficult-to-identify shorebirds. They occur all across North America, they are distinctive in both looks and actions, and they're handsome. They also have intriguing social lives in which females take the lead and males raise the young. With their richly spotted breeding plumage, teetering gait, stuttering wingbeats, and showy courtship dances, this bird is among the most notable and memorable shorebirds in North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/spotted_sandpiper/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_sandpiper

No very recent photos to post, other than owls, so I'm going back a few months for two of my images today. I had seen this beautiful Spotted Sandpiper on a previous occasion and was happy to see that it was still at the same location, SW of the city. I rarely get to see this species, especially close enough to be photographed. "The dapper Spotted Sandpiper makes a great ambassador for the notoriously difficult-to-identify shorebirds. They occur all across North America, they are distinctive in both looks and actions, and they're handsome. They also have intriguing social lives in which females take the lead and males raise the young. With their richly spotted breeding plumage, teetering gait, stuttering wingbeats, and showy courtship dances, this bird is among the most notable and memorable shorebirds in North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/spotted_sandpiper/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_sandpiper

Don't worry, it's not your eyes, just a rather blurry of a flower that I don't normally get the chance to see! I wanted to show why this beautiful, tiny wildflower got its name : ) This was seen on Plateau Mountain, way south of Calgary, on 31st July.

This is one of the species of Orchid that are growing from a tree in the main entrance hall at the Calgary Zoo's newly opened Conservatory. Rather spectacular, I thought. Wouldn't mind being in that warm, humid, tropical space today, instead of sitting at home, feeling the very cold air swirling around my ankles as I sit at my computer, LOL.