Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Sandpiper

26 July 2016: BEAR WARNING issued for all of Kananaskis Country, Alberta, for heightened bear activity. calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/bear-warning-issued-for... youtu.be/rdTDwRnvTd4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On 18 July 2016, I had a wonderful day out NE of the city with my daughter. The last time I actually drove eastwards was about six months ago, when I was shooting Short-eared Owls near the end of January. The last time (also the first time) I had ever driven out as far as Drumheller was on 29 September 2014. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my daughter and I had a great time exploring some of the roads between Calgary and Drumheller. There were a handful of things or places we wanted to check out, but many things were total surprises. We knew we wanted to see fields, yellow fields full of canola as far as the eye could see. No disappointment there as we took in the gorgeous colour and the perhaps not so pleasant smell of this crop. When we were driving through regular, green landscapes, it all seemed so 'ordinary' after being treated to vibrant gold. As well as canola fields, we also knew of a particular grain elevator and nearby old barn that we were keen to see. There was also an old, two-storey house in a hilly setting that we knew would have to be photographed from a great distance, but we were curious about it. There was also a small wetland that I wanted to drive by, just in case there was something to see. How glad we were that we went, as a magnificent Black-crowned Night-heron was posing nicely on a post, out in the open. This was the first time I had ever seen one close, so it made my day. At least, an adult - in October 2015, I had seen a gorgeous juvenile in Fish Creek Park. Continuing on our way, we stopped to take a couple of quick shots of an Eastern Kingbird and then my daughter spotted a dark patch just above ground level, hidden in the bushes. It turned out to be an Eastern Kingbird's nest, with what looked like three large babies in it. No idea how she caught sight of this, but it was a treat to see. Soon after this, we stopped to photograph two beautiful red barns and then stopped again to photograph a Western Kingbird. This is not a bird I normally see, so i was very happy to catch sight of this one. A short drive further, we spotted a distant shorebird standing on a fence post - and then a second one a few posts away. At first, we thought maybe they were Wilson's Snipe, but then realized that they were something different - two beautiful Upland Sandpipers! I had seen one a number of years ago, but it was too far away for a photo. These are uncommon in Alberta. So, another very lucky find. "An adult is roughly 30 cm (12 in) long with a 66 cm (26 in) wingspan. The average weight is 170 g (6 oz). This odd bird has a small dove-like head on a long neck. It is heavily marbled black and brown on the back and wings. The neck is streaked with dark brown which continues down to the breast and on to the flanks. The belly and undertail coverts are white. The tail is quite long for a sandpiper. The upland also sports a white eye-ring and long yellow legs..... Upland sandpipers forage in fields, picking up food by sight. They are frequently sighted on fence posts and even telephone poles. When an "uppy" alights, it holds its wings up for a few seconds. They are constantly scanning the horizon for intruders. The upland sandpiper's diet includes grasshoppers, crickets, weevils, beetles, moths, ants, flies, bugs, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, snails and earthworms. It also eats some grains and seeds." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upland_sandpiper www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Upland_Sandpiper/id It was a pretty good day for hawks, too - so much so, that I got a gentle reminder form my daughter that I didn't need to photograph EVERY hawk we saw, lol. We had other places and other things that we wanted to get to. As well as birds and beautiful scenery, we saw several old barns, including a special small shed/granary. Each year, the farmer allows the graduating class from the local high school to decorate this old building in any way they wish. A fun idea and it certainly adds a splash of colour. I was absolutely fascinated to read a little bit of history from someone who was a contact of mine on Flickr two or three years ago. Her Grandmother was apparently born in this house/shed. It was later converted to a granary and now, of course, has become the canvas for local students. One of our main goals was to visit the old grain elevator at Sharples. I had wanted to visit there for quite a while and finally, we made it. Unfortunately, the elevator and nearby barn were in shadow, but it was great to see both old structures. We also passed another old elevator when we were driving along the road north of the river, on the way to Drumheller. This, needless to say, meant another stop for photos. A great day of fun, seeing and photographing such a variety of things. Beautiful weather and, best of all, a day spent with my daughter. Thanks so much, Rachel - glad you felt up to a day out, but sorry you got so many mosquito bites! Total driving distance, round-trip: approximately 397 km, 247 miles.

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 18 July 2016, on a wonderful day out NE of the city with my daughter. The last time I actually drove eastwards was about six months ago, when I was shooting Short-eared Owls near the end of January. The last time (also the first time) I had ever driven out as far as Drumheller was on 29 September 2014. A few times, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my daughter and I had a great time exploring the roads between Calgary and Drumheller. There were a handful of things or places we wanted to check out, but many things were total surprises. We knew we wanted to see fields, yellow fields full of canola as far as the eye could see. No disappointment there as we took in the gorgeous colour and the perhaps not so pleasant smell of this crop. When we were driving through regular, green landscapes, it all seemed so 'ordinary' after being treated to vibrant gold. As well as canola fields, we also knew of a particular grain elevator and nearby old barn that we were keen to see. There was also an old, two-storey house in a hilly setting that we knew would have to be photographed from a great distance, but we were curious about it. There was also a small wetland that I wanted to drive by, just in case there was something to see. How glad we were that we went, as the Black-crowned Night-heron in my third photo this morning was posing nicely on a post out in the open. This was the first time I had ever seen one close, so it made my day. The bird in in the above photo was with another similar bird perched just a few fence posts away from it. Both had their backs to us (of course!) but I did get a better view of the other bird, which I will post in the next few days. The first bird was standing with its neck stretched upwards - a long, narrow neck. I think they were both Upland Sandpipers, uncommon in Alberta, and a bird that I had only ever seen once, way out east of the city years ago and too far away for photos. Maybe someone is able to tell from this photo if I am correct or not - thanks! As well as birds and beautiful scenery, we saw several old barns, including the old house/barn in my main photo posted today. Each year, the farmer allows the graduating class from the local high school to decorate this old building in any way they wish. A fun idea and it certainly adds a splash of colour. I was absolutely fascinated to read a little bit of history from someone who was a contact of mine on Flickr two or three years ago. Her Grandmother was apparently born in this house/barn. It was later converted to a granary and now, of course, has become the canvas for local students. One of our main goals was to visit the old grain elevator at Sharples. I had wanted to visit there for quite a while and finally, we made it. Unfortunately, the elevator and nearby barn were in shadow, but it was great to see both old structures. We also passed another old elevator when we were driving along the road north of the river, on the way to Drumheller. This, needless to say, meant another stop for photos. A great day of fun, seeing and photographing such a variety of things. Beautiful weather and, best of all, a day spent with my daughter. Thanks so much, Rachel - glad you felt up to a day out, but sorry you got so many mosquito bites!

This photo was taken yesterday, 28 June 2016, when I went with friends, Dorothy and Stephen, to Bow Valley Provincial Park They are leading a day trip out there in the near future and wanted to do a dry run and very kindly invited me to go with them. These mountains are the first ones you come to, when you drive westwards on Highway 1A from Calgary. Mt. Yamnuska is a spectacular sight, and very popular with rock-climbers and hikers. I've never hiked up there - and am never likely to : ) The flat area at the foot of these mountains is Bow Valley Provincial Park, very popular with botanists and birders. It is less than an hour's drive west from Calgary. Our main walk was following the Many Springs Trail, which is perhaps the most rewarding in the park. We saw a reasonably good variety of wildflowers, including Western Wood Lilies, Yellow Lady's-slippers, Sticky False Asphodel, and lots of Gaillardia. Though the end of June is usually the best time to go for the wildflowers, you still never know what you will find. We barely had a spring this year, it was so hot and so dry, more like summer. Birds were much harder to find, even though we heard them. There were quite a few small birds flitting about, but our best sightings were of a brightly coloured male Yellow Warbler and some kind of flycatcher (Least Flycatcher?) near the boardwalk at Many Springs. Both were on the move constantly, though I did manage to get a few less-than-good photos. One of my Warbler shots made me smile when I saw it on my computer. The bird was perched, with a beak full of insects, right next to a large spider's web. Kind of robbing ones neighbour. I took three or four rapid shots of this Spotted Sandpiper and then we left the area, as she was making it clear that she had a nest or young ones somewhere. The weather forecast for yesterday mentioned the risk of thunderstorms, but we were so lucky. The sun shone all day and the sky was full of puffy clouds. Once our visit was over and we were ready to drive back to Calgary, a bit of rain did arrive. Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for such an enjoyable day! It was a real treat to go to the mountains, as I so rarely go. www.albertaparks.ca/bow-valley-pp/ The link below is a map showing the turn off to the park and the layout of the lake areas. The roads at the junction with highway 1A are quite confusing! x-powered.com/camping/maps/BowValleyPP_Map.gif

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

I spent this morning with friends at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Always enjoyable seeing an Osprey, a Bald Eagle and a Red-tailed Hawk. Also a Double-crested Cormorant flying low over the Bow River, a Solitary Sandpiper at the edge of the lagoon (seen above), a Red-breasted Merganser, and a few Wood Ducks (plus the usual, such as Canada Geese, Gulls, Mallards, Common Mergansers, Goldeneye, etc.) It has been a beautiful spring day today - just gorgeous!

This Spotted Sandpiper was perched on a fence post right next to a small slough/pond, and I had to take my photos looking towards the sun. Seen SW of Calgary on 26 June 2013, when I went for a drive along some of the backroads. Other than a few patches of damaged gravel road, there was no sign of the "Flood of the Century" that has hit Calgary and many places in the province so hard. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9156995135/in/photostream

Sorry the background is rather hard on the eyes, lol, but it is so rare for me to see a Spotted Sandpiper and to get any kind of photo of one, that I did want to add this one to my Birds of Alberta set. Taken on 29 May 2011 during our out-of-town (SW of the city) May Species Count. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/spotted_sandpiper/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_Sandpiper

This was taken yesterday, in the rain and snow, when we were doing the annual May Species Count in Fish Creek Park. This Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius syn. Actitis macularia) looked less than impressed! We spent about six hours in temperatures of 0.8-2C! Out came the winter boots, the sweater, the fleece jacket, the thick winter jacket, toque, two pairs of gloves and long-johns - and it's June the day after tomorrow, lol. I was halfway to being soaked to the skin! An enjoyable walk, though, as usual. We saw a total of 47 bird species, compared to 58 species May 2009. I'd never taken a photo at ISO 400 before (can you believe it?), so hardly the best quality : )

I was very lucky to be given the chance to go east of the city on Monday afternoon, searching for birds. At Langdon Reservoir, there were many thousands of shorebirds in the water and on the mudflats. Most were Dowitchers, but we were lucky enough to see three Pectoral Sandpipers (a new bird for me!). I even managed to get several photos of both species. This photo shows two of the Pectoral Sandpipers. Very attractive birds. You can see the longish, yellow legs of the Sandpiper; brown breast streaks which contrast with the light underparts; black, slightly-downcurved bill. The Pectoral Sandpiper does not nest in Alberta.

A very distant shot, unfortunately! I'm out of practice when it comes to identifying birds, after months of photographing flowers : ). I THINK this is a Solitary Sandpiper, but please correct me if I'm wrong!

This Spotted Sandpiper was on a muddy bank down by the Elbow River in Weaselhead, vocalizing madly and doing the tail-bobbing.

This Spotted Sandpiper was down on the mudflats along the Elbow River in the Weaselhead natural area, vocalizing noisily and constantly.

I had never even heard of the Stilt Sandpiper before yesterday! These birds are uncommon in Alberta in May and from July to September. They do not nest in Alberta. Apparently, this bird is often overlooked by birdwatchers. During breeding season, they have a chestnut red ear patch. They have a similar silhouette to a Yellowlegs.

I had never seen a landscape like I found one day in my local natural area. A swampy area had dried out, partly because of beaver activity, and the slime had dried into peaks. Actually, it felt quite eerie - almost like being on another planet! There were several Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers feeding.