Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: reservoir

Today would have been my older daughter's birthday. Hard to believe that on 3 January 2018, it will have been three years since she died. Thinking of you, Fiona, as always. This morning, 16 November 2017, it is snowing again. Our temperature is -10C (windchill -18C). I'm beginning to forget what sunshine is like! This photo was taken at Pine Coulee Reservoir four days ago, on 12 November 2017. A group of eight of us went S and SE of the city on a birding trip to one of my favourite areas. This included Pine Coulee Reservoir, Clear Lake and the Twin Valley Reservoir. I just love some of the landscape through which we drove - barren, rugged, middle-of-nowhere kind of scenery. It looks so different in each season - I think my favourite time of year is when there is a covering of snow on the empty hills, and ice on most of the water. I've still not had the courage to drive in this area myself, as I know that I might never find my way out of it. Several previous trips had covered part of this latest drive, but much of the return drive was in a huge area that I had never been to before. Later in the drive, we crossed the main highway #2 south and travelled the backroads way, way south of the Frank Lake area, and kept going north until we got back to the city. The Twin Valley Reservoir was one of the stops we made in this new-to-me area. Actually, I have just been reading my account of a trip made on 9 November 2013, and discovered that, in fact, I HAD been to this area before. Just shows that I often have no idea where we are at any given time. Since the trip in 2013, I do have a somewhat better understanding of the area S and SE of Calgary. The following is from Terry Korolyk's account of that day, four years ago: "The north end of Clear Lake was frozen, so, we headed north to the Twin Valleys Dam Reservoir, and, drove up the east side of it. This produced more Rough-legged Hawks,and, a Prairie Falcon. Some herds of Mule Deer and flocks of Gray Partridge were seen on the trip home via Highways 804, 799, 552, and Dunbow Road." As on almost all these day trips out of the city, almost every bird is far, far away, needing at least binoculars and best of all, a scope. Two Great Horned Owls and a couple of tiny Common Redpolls were the only closer photos I took. This was the first time that I had seen Redpolls this year, so it was a nice sighting. They were flying back and forth from the trees to perch on a rough, wooden fence. Also, as always happens, my camera lens turns to things other than birds. Scenic shots are always taken - after all, I feel that it is important to record the habitat of any birds seen. I have no excuse to give for photographing any old barn or homestead, other than that I LOVE to photograph them : ) Terry, you took us on such an amazing trip! So many new (or forgotten) places, to me at least. You even arranged with the weatherman for a beautiful, sunny day. It couldn't have been a better outing - so very enjoyable. Now all I need to do is look at a map and try and find roughly where we travelled! Really appreciate your carefully made lists of all species seen, and where.

This photo was taken at Pine Coulee Reservoir three days ago, on 12 November 2017. A group of eight of us went S and SE of the city on a birding trip to one of my favourite areas. This included Pine Couleee Reservoir, Clear Lake and the Twin Valley Reservoir. I just love some of the landscape through which we drove - barren, rugged, middle-of-nowhere kind of scenery. It looks so different in each season - I think my favourite time of year is when there is a covering of snow on the empty hills and ice on most of the water. I've still not had the courage to drive in this area myself, as I know that I might never find my way out of it. Several previous trips had covered part of this latest drive, but much of the return drive was in a huge area that I had never been to before. We crossed the main highway #2 south and travelled the backroads way, way south of the Frank Lake area, and kept going north until we got back to the city. The Twin Valley Reservoir was one of the stops we made in this new-to-me area. Actually, I have just been reading my account of a trip made on 9 November 2013, and discovered that in fact I HAD been to this area before. Just shows that I often have no idea where we are at any given time. Since the trip in 2013, I do have a somewhat better understanding of the area S and SE of Calgary. The following is from Terry Korolyk's account of that day, four years ago: "The north end of Clear Lake was frozen, so, we headed north to the Twin Valleys Dam Reservoir, and, drove up the east side of it. This produced more Rough-legged Hawks,and, a Prairie Falcon. Some herds of Mule Deer and flocks of Gray Partridge were seen on the trip home via Highways 804, 799, 552, and Dunbow Road." As on almost all these day trips out of the city, almost every bird is far, far away, needing at least binoculars and best of all, a scope. Two Great Horned Owls and a couple of tiny Common Redpolls were the only closer photos I took. This was the first time that I had seen Redpolls this year, so it was a nice sighting. They were flying back and forth from the trees to perch on a rough, wooden fence. Also, as always happens, my camera lens turns to things other than birds. Scenic shots are always taken - after all, I feel that it is important to record the habitat of any birds seen. I have no excuse to give for photographing any old barn or homestead, other than that I LOVE to photograph them : ) Terry, you took us on such an amazing trip! So many new (or forgotten) places, to me at least. You even arranged with the weatherman for a beautiful, sunny day. It couldn't have been a better outing - so very enjoyable. Now all I need to do is look at a map and try and find roughly where we travelled! Really appreciate your carefully made lists of all species seen, and where.

Just a rather poor quality photo posted as a record for an afternoon walk I went on yesterday, 22 October, with birding friends. A zoomed-in shot, showing part of downtown. I think we saw about 12 species of bird, that's all. Starting from the sailing club, we walked along the edge of the Glenmore Reservoir towards Weaselhead and then climbed up to the main path, which we took back to the parking lot. It was a very windy day, so maybe that was keeping the birds away. The water was very choppy and most of the birds on the water were Coots. They almost looked like they were having fun, riding the waves. After the two-and-a-half-hour walk, we went for coffee at the Good Earth cafe. Just as enjoyable as the walk itself.

"Widespread wind gusts in excess of 90 km/h, with some reaching as high as 130 km/h, blasted southern and central Alberta Tuesday afternoon and evening, fanning wildfires and leaving some 10,000 customers without power." To put things into perspective, sustained winds between 119-153 km/h are considered Category 1 hurricane-force by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A strong Pacific Jetstream caused dramatic weather on this day, along with rain and very strong winds that brought down trees, powerlines, falling glass from windows of office blocks in downtown, fanned wildfires, and so on. Friend Gayle had asked if I would like to go out for the day and we ended up driving through the Springbank area and then on to Canmore. I had checked the weather forecast and, I have to admit that if I was planning to go out of the city on my own, I would have changed my mind and stayed home instead. However, we decided to at least get out for a while and see how far we would go. As it turned out, we got to Canmore in the mountains, where we had lunch - Lasagne for me : ) Feeling re-energized, we decided to start driving up the mountainous road that leads from Canmore to the Spray Lakes area. Though I have been on this road at various times, I have never driven it myself. If I want to get to the Spray Lakes area, I go from the south and all the way along Highway 40. The rough, narrow road leading from Canmore is quite an adventure at any time. It gives a wonderful view looking down over the whole of Canmore and the river. It is also a popular road for Mountain Sheep, and we were lucky to see four of them in a little group, licking the salt from the bottom of the cliff rock face. It is incredible how these wild animals can climb the steep, rocky surface - done very cautiously. This is their road and if they want to stand in the middle of it, then cars wait. "One of the most important features of the bighorn sheep is the unique structure of its hooves. Rather than being hard like those of a horse or cow, the sheep have rubber-like hooves that allow excellent mobility on steep rock faces." www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/rocky_mountai... Part way up the mountain, we took the turn-off to Quarry Lake, a place I had heard of and seen photos of, but had never been there myself. We parked and decided to walk round the lake, which turned out to be very unpleasant, with strong winds picking up grit and leaves and whipping our faces. For the first time ever, I saw a tree come crashing down at the edge of the forest. Once safely back to the car, we thought we would drive a little further and see what conditions were like. Rain and very strong winds continued and once we reached the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir, we made the decision to turn around and head back down. The mountains were disappearing from sight, so there wasn't much point in continuing, anyway. Gayle had hoped to go on as far as Banff, but there was no sense in doing so in such dreadful weather. As often happens, the weather seemed to brighten somewhat once we were out of the mountains. It felt so good to actually see some blue sky. Getting closer to Calgary, the car radio was announcing which city roads were blocked by a fallen tree or downed powerlines. I was not far from home, shortly before sunset, when I noticed some impressive clouds and, on the spur of the moment, drove along one of the gravel back roads just within the edge of the city. It was worth it, though I was quite relieved when I finally reached home. Many thanks, Gayle, for a great day out, braving the weather! We had fun and it certainly was an interesting experience. I really appreciated the chance to use my camera once more, before the next snowfall arrives and stays on the ground for the next few months.

Two days ago, on 25 September 2017, I spent the day with a friend, travelling south of the city to the Pine Coulee Reservoir and area. I absolutely love the rolling hills scenery in this whole area. I have still never driven it myself, as I know I could very easily get myself totally lost in the middle of nowhere. Most of the birds we saw were far away, needing Tony's spotting scope or at least binoculars, except for a Eurasian Collared-Dove, a Belted Kingfisher and several small birds. Meanwhile, I was also enjoying the scenery and anything else that caught my eye. We called in at the Pine Coulee campground and the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground and did a walk at each. Both were deserted and so peaceful. At the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground, the silence was broken by the call of a Belted Kingfisher. There was a bright yellow sign warning that there was a bear in the area, but it was nowhere to be seen. The weather was perfect all day, starting off chilly, but getting up to about 20C in the afternoon, and a sky full of clouds. Thanks so much for the invite, Tony - much appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed! Pure luxury, too, not having to drive. "Located 119kms south of Calgary. 9kms west of Stavely on road #527. Willow Creek Basin Southern Alberta. The campground is situated on the south west shore of Pine Coulee Reservoir and contains 25 campsites for both RV's and tents. Most of the sites are surrounded by willow bushes creating a wind break and some privacy. A few choice sites are located near the lake. Amenities include, group camping, fire pits but no firewood available, dry toilets, water, garbage bins, power, boat launch, and picnic tables. Pine Coulee Reservoir is excellent for water skiing, wind surfing and fishing. Due to the lack of lakes located near Calgary you can expect to see hordes of boaters here during the summer. Boaters should use caution near the southeast end, there are a several large rocks submerged just under the surface that have destroyed many props and claimed a life. The reservoir was created for irrigation and is approximately 18kms long. It holds strong Walleye and Northern Pike populations and there is a public dock located next to campground where you can sit and fish. You'll need a fishing license to try your luck. The well maintained grassy area in the center of the campground is a good spot for astronomers and star gazers." From AlbertaWow. www.albertawow.com/campgrounds/Pine_Coulee/Pine_Coulee_Ca...

Yesterday, 25 September 2017, I spent the day with a friend, travelling south of the city to the Pine Coulee Reservoir and area. I absolutely love the rolling hills scenery in this whole area. I have still never driven it myself, as I know I could very easily get myself totally lost in the middle of nowhere. Most of the birds we saw were far away, needing Tony's spotting scope or at least binoculars, except for a Eurasian Collared-Dove, a Belted Kingfisher and several small birds. Meanwhile, I was enjoying the scenery and anything else that caught my eye. We called in at the Pine Coulee campground and the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground and did a walk at each. Both were deserted and so peaceful. At the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground, the silence was broken by the call of a Belted Kingfisher. There was a bright yellow sign warning that there was a bear in the area, but it was nowhere to be seen. The weather was perfect all day, starting off chilly, but getting up to about 20C in the afternoon, and a sky full of clouds. Thanks so much for the invite, Tony - much appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed! Pure luxury, too, not having to drive. "Located 119kms south of Calgary. 9kms west of Stavely on road #527. Willow Creek Basin Southern Alberta. The campground is situated on the south west shore of Pine Coulee Reservoir and contains 25 campsites for both RV's and tents. Most of the sites are surrounded by willow bushes creating a wind break and some privacy. A few choice sites are located near the lake. Amenities include, group camping, fire pits but no firewood available, dry toilets, water, garbage bins, power, boat launch, and picnic tables. Pine Coulee Reservoir is excellent for water skiing, wind surfing and fishing. Due to the lack of lakes located near Calgary you can expect to see hordes of boaters here during the summer. Boaters should use caution near the southeast end, there are a several large rocks submerged just under the surface that have destroyed many props and claimed a life. The reservoir was created for irrigation and is approximately 18kms long. It holds strong Walleye and Northern Pike populations and there is a public dock located next to campground where you can sit and fish. You'll need a fishing license to try your luck. The well maintained grassy area in the center of the campground is a good spot for astronomers and star gazers." From AlbertaWow. www.albertawow.com/campgrounds/Pine_Coulee/Pine_Coulee_Ca...

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA!! GOOD LUCK, WORLD!! Today is THE day - voting for the next U.S. President. May the BEST person win. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We had all hoped to have a much closer view of a pair of rare Long-tailed Ducks yesterday, 7 November 2016, but this was the 'best' I could do : ) Better than nothing, though. At least you can see its long tail. They were out in the middle of the Glenmore Reservoir, if not closer to the far side, and I could only see them through someone's scope. I believe I had only ever seen a Long-tailed Duck on three occasions before. I have photos from each occasion posted on Flickr. 1. 20 October 2009 on the Glenmore Reservoir 2. 12 January 2010, on the Bow River, south of H'way 22X 3. 5 November 2012, saw about 6 of them on Glenmore Reservoir I have added our leaders' list of species seen yesterday, in a comment box below. "The Long-tailed Duck, formerly known as the Oldsquaw, breeds across the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic, and spends the winter on the Pacific Ocean. Consequently, it is only a rare transient through Alberta. A very few Long-tailed Ducks appear in Alberta in late October and early November. Very occasionally, one will overwinter on an open river or lake in the province. They are even scarcer on spring migration from March to May." Written by Andrew Slater for talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/index.php?s=47 . "The Long-tailed Duck or Oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis) is a medium-sized sea duck. It is the only living member of its genus, Clangula .... Adults have white underparts, though the rest of the plumage goes through a complex moulting process. The male has a long pointed tail (10 to 15 cm) and a dark grey bill crossed by a pink band. In winter, the male has a dark cheek patch on a mainly white head and neck, a dark breast and mostly white body. In summer, the male is dark on the head, neck and back with a white cheek patch. The female has a brown back and a relatively short pointed tail. In winter, the female's head and neck are white with a dark crown. In summer, the head is dark. Juveniles resemble adult females in autumn plumage, though with a lighter, less distinct cheek patch." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_Duck

A rather hazy photo taken two days ago, on 13 October 2016, when I joined a group of friends for a birding walk in South Glenmore Park. When I walk in this area, it's usually for the fresh air and exercise. As far as the birds are concerned, everything tends to be over on the far side of the Glenmore Reservoir. It's no fun at all trying to photograph birds that are barely visible with the naked eye! On this day, some of those very distant specks turned out to be Surf Scoters and Western Grebes. The first part of our walk was going westwards along the rough trail near the edge of the water, and on our return walk, we used the main, paved path. It was during the latter half of the walk that we spotted something moving in the tall grasses. Really, all you could see at first was a pair of ears. It could easily have been someone's dog, but when a little more of it showed through the grass, we could see it was a beautiful Coyote. Lovely colouring and looking very healthy. I will add our leader's list of species seen: S. Glenmore Reservoir, SW Calgary, 0915-1200, Thu13Oct2016. Completely overcast, calm -1 to 1°C 1. American Wigeon-1+ 2. Mallard-25 3. Ring-necked Duck-6+ 4. Scaup sp.-10+ 5. Surf Scoter-9+ 6. Bufflehead-20 7. Common Goldeneye-15 8. Common Merganser-3 9. Horned Grebe-50+ 10. Red-necked Grebe-1 11. Eared Grebe-2 12. Western Grebe-15 13. Sharp-shinned Hawk-1 14. American Coot-50+ 15. Bonaparte’s Gull-7 16. Herring Gull?-3 17. Downy Woodpecker-21 18. Northern Flicker-2 19. Blue Jay-2 20. Black-billed Magpie-10 21. American Crow-4 22. Common Raven-3 23. Black-capped Chickadee-30 24. Red-breasted Nuthatch-3 25. Brown Creeper-2 26. Hermit Thrush?-2 Red Squirrel 4 Coyote 1 After the walk, friend Sandy invited a couple of us back to her place for lunch. Very enjoyable and much-appreciated - thanks, Sandy! This was the view taken from this area, looking west towards the Rocky Mountains. The snow we had over the Thanksgiving weekend in Calgary had all melted.

This photo was taken in the evening of 10 September 2015 in South Glenmore Park, down by the Glenmore Reservoir. A feeing of peace and freedom - which I, for one, am so grateful for, each and every day. Normally, I tend not to go out in the evenings, especially as I now find night driving too difficult. However, I did go on that evening, as I wasn't sure if this was going to be our last botany walk for this year. Also, someone who went on a different day that week said he had seen a mushroom growing on a log down at the edge of the water and I was hoping to find it. Well into our walk, there it was, lol! Not the most beautiful fungus in the world, but I was still happy to find it. The city had released more water into the Reservoir and the narrow "shore" was now under water, unfortunately.

I would imagine (and hope) that many, many people will be stopping today to remember the horrific events of 11th September 2001. So many mental images that will never, ever leave our minds and hearts. People from so many different countries, not just the US. So many stories of loss and heartbreak - and so many stories of bravery and heroic actions. Remembering .... all those who lost their lives on that fateful day: all those who lost loved ones and close friends or fellow workers; all those who rushed in to "do their job" or "to help others" in any way they could. Remembering .... all those who were severely injured on that fateful day and who have bravely suffered every day since then; all those Firemen, Emergency Medical people, Police - men and women, who have suffered and continue to suffer emotionally and physically, including illnesses caused by being exposed to harmful chemicals. The list goes on and on. Remembering ... and praying that we never see another day like September 11th, 2001. This photo, taken yesterday evening in South Glenmore Park, down by the Glenmore Reservoir, is an extreme to that day of horror. A feeing of peace and freedom - which I, for one, am so grateful for, each and every day. Normally, I tend not to go out in the evenings, especially as I now find night driving difficult. However, I did go yesterday, as I wasn't sure if this was going to be our last botany walk for this year. Also, someone who went on a different day this week said he had seen a mushroom growing on a log down at the edge of the water and I was hoping to find it. Well into our walk, there it was, lol! Hence my rather strange and uninspiring next photo. I did take a close photo, too, but posted this one first. Not the most beautiful fungus in the world, but I was still happy to find it. The city has released more water into the Reservoir and the narrow "shore" is now under water, unfortunately.

I would imagine (and hope) that many, many people will be stopping today to remember the horrific events of 11th September 2001. So many mental images that will never, ever leave our minds and hearts. People from so many different countries, not just the US. So many stories of loss and heartbreak - and so many stories of bravery and heroic actions. Remembering .... all those who lost their lives on that fateful day: all those who lost loved ones and close friends or fellow workers; all those who rushed in to "do their job" or "to help others" in any way they could. Remembering .... all those who were severely injured on that fateful day and who have bravely suffered every day since then; all those Firemen, Emergency Medical people, Police - men and women, who have suffered and continue to suffer emotionally and physically, including illnesses caused by being exposed to harmful chemicals. The list goes on and on. Remembering ... and praying that we never see another day like September 11th, 2001. This photo was taken yesterday evening in South Glenmore Park, down by the Glenmore Reservoir. I went with three friends for our last but one botany walk of the year. Normally, I tend not to go out in the evenings, especially as I now find night driving difficult. However, I did go yesterday, as I wasn't sure if this was going to be our last botany walk for this year. Also, someone who went on a different day this week said he had seen a mushroom growing on a log down at the edge of the water and I was hoping to find it. Well into our walk, there it was, lol! Hence this rather strange and uninspiring photo. I did take a close photo, too, but posted this one first. Not the most beautiful fungus in the world, but I was still happy to find it. The city has released more water into the Reservoir and the narrow "shore" is now under water, unfortunately.

Had a great day of birding on 9 November 2013, SW of Calgary, in an area that I don't think I'd ever been to before. (Some of us recently went on another of Terry's trips to this area, on 19 April 2015.) The scene in this image is at Pine Coulee Reservoir. There are several campgrounds along the Reservoir, one of which is Pine Coulee Campground. To give an idea of how far away from Calgary this reservoir is, the Pine Coulee Campground is located 119km southwest of Calgary and 9km west of the town of Stavely. There was a lot of ice on the Reservoir, but there was also plenty of open water, being enjoyed by a lot of water birds, including Canada Geese, Swans and a good variety of ducks, etc.. After stopping at several places along the Reservoir, we continued to Clear Lake, where there were a lot of Snow Geese - this was the first time I'd seen them in great numbers. We also saw two Long-tailed Ducks, and something like 17 or 18 Rough-legged Hawks, plus Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harriers, Prairie Falcon, etc.. The following report was written by Terry Korolyk, who was our trip leader. Hope he won't mind my using this, as it is so well documented - and accurate : ) Terry has done, and continues to do, phenomenal recording of bird sightings for many years, which has been extremely valuable to endless birders. Thanks so much, Terry, for such a great day! "Fifteen birders and the Trip Leader thoroughly enjoyed a day of birding today (9 November 2013) visiting Pine Coulee Reservoir and Clear Lake in the Stavely area. Highlight was 2 Winter-plumaged female LONG-TAILED DUCKS at Pine Coulee, one off the Dam there; the other seen from the road on the east side of the Reservoir approximately a kilometre south of Township Road 150. Mind-boggling numbers of waterfowl, particularly Mallards, were at the Reservoir, but, also in large numbers were Canada Geese and Hutchinson's subspecies Cackling Geese. Small numbers of Swans, both Trumpeter and Tundra, were in the north end of the Reservoir. Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye were also in good numbers with species there in smaller numbers in the north end being Lesser Scaup, Northern Pintail, and others. A juvenile Greater Scaup or Greater Scaup-Lesser Scaup hybrid was on the north side of the bridge which is part of the highway from Stavely that runs across the Reservoir at roughly its halfway point. North of the Bridge to the Dam was concentrated mainly with dabblers such as American Coot, American Wigeon, and Gadwall. Others here included approximately 40 Eared Grebes. One Killdeer was at the north end; another just north of the Bridge. Raptors were in good numbers and variety at the Reservoir including 2 Golden Eagles; 2 juvenile Bald Eagles; 4 Northern Harriers; a Merlin, and many Rough-legged Hawks. The drive to Clear Lake on Township Road 140 produced another juvenile Bald Eagle; 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and, more Rough-legged Hawks. There was still much open water off the Campground at Clear Lake with Canada Geese, Cackling Geese, and, Mallard there in large numbers, and, a generous sprinkling of all the other Duck species. On the ice edge north of the Campground, probably 2,000+ SNOW and ROSS'S GEESE rested. One blue SNOW GEESE was there and, there was a very generous assortment of ROSS'S GEESE in these birds; probably 200+ at least. The north end of Clear Lake was frozen, so, we headed north to the Twin Valleys Dam Reservoir, and, drove up the east side of it. This produced more Rough-legged Hawks,and, a Prairie Falcon. Some herds of Mule Deer and flocks of Gray Partridge were seen on the trip home via Highways 804, 799, 552, and, Dunbow Road. Total Rough-legged Hawk numbers for the Trip was 17 with one of the parties seeing one while they were travelling to the starting point."

This photo was taken on 9 November 2013, and shows a tiny part of the Pine Coulee Reservoir, Alberta. Yesterday, 19 April 2015, I went with a group of friends on a birding trip to the same area. I didn't get yesterday's photos downloaded to my computer till late in the evening and felt too tired to go though them to find a scenic shot to post today. There was no snow on the ground yesterday and the colours were very different. After a lovely late start, at 9:30 am - wish all our outings started so late! - we very slowly travelled many backroads south of Calgary, eventually arriving at the Pine Coulee Reservoir. I love the whole area down south with its rolling hills. The weather was beautiful, plenty of bird species were seen (though many not seen myself), and the company was great. As always, I did not see many of the birds, as they were far too far away and I don't have binoculars. Walkie Talkies would be so good to have on any trip where there is more than one car : ) I will add the report compiled by leader, Terry Korolyk. The style in which it is written (i.e. not just a straight species list) may not mean much to most people, but I'm adding it for my own record. Many thanks for another great trip, Terry! "Eleven participants showed up for today's Field Trip to Pine Coulee Reservoir. We got off to a good start when a COOPER'S HAWK flew over us at the Glennfield Parking Lot in Fish Creek Provincial Park. From there, we headed for Sheriff King slough in the southwest corner of Highways 2A and 22X. One of the resident Ospreys was at the nest platform and an Eared Grebe was a waterfowl highlight here. We then made our way through the hills southward turning westward on Highway 549 then driving to Highway 22 where we travelled southward to Chain Lakes Provincial Park. We then drove eastward on the highway to Nanton, but, turned off in a few kilometres on the Flying E Ranch Road and drove to Pine Coulee. We birded Pine Coulee, then drove Range Road 283 to Nanton, then back to Calgary on Highway 2. Due to a good numbers of birds on the route, we were unable to bird Clear Lake as time didn't permit. The weather was lovely and the large Raptors were loving riding the warm thermals. We counted a total of 30 Rough-legged Hawks for the day with a highlight being just south of Black Diamond when kettles of 5 or so Hawks at once were seen on 3 different occasions. Adult light-phase Red-tails were also there in large numbers, and many of them were on nests. Unusual Buteos seen included an adult light-phase Red-tail with a throat heavily streaked like the belly, and Harlanishlike dark morph with the upper part of the head frosty white. Six American Kestrels were seen and also, a small hawk that may have been a Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen. Highlight of the Trip was a 1st. year BEWICK'S SWAN with 4 adult Tundra Swans resting at a small slough on Twp. Rd. 150 just east of the north end of the Reservoir. Unfortunately, the light was so glary when we there, I had to look at photographs when I got home to be able to see the bird well enough. Other Swans seen were 9 Trumpeters at Pine Coulee and 21 Swans(sp) at Silver Lake north Nanton. GREATER SCAUP can still be seen in this area at this time of year, as today there were 220-230 of them, mainly north of the Bridge west of Stavely and at the north end of the Reservoir. Eleven Horned Grebes were off the Dam at the Reservoir as was a Common Loon. One Red-necked Grebe was at the Chain Lakes Dam. Eight Barrow's Goldeneye were seen and 6 Hooded Mergansers for the day. Tree Swallows totalled 20-25 for the day, and Red-winged Blackbirds were fairly widespread in low numbers except for a flock of 20 birds resting in a roadside willow tree. Three Great Blue Herons were found. Excellent numbers of all the basic waterfowl species were seen, and, also seen were a male Cinnamon Teal and a few Blue-winged Teal. Terry Korolyk"

Early yesterday morning, 18 October 2014, I joined a group of friends for a few hours of birding. We started off at Frank Lake but didn't go to the blind/hide area at all, for safety reasons. We just drove along the short road that goes from half way down the east side of the lake to near the edge of the lake. The last half of this backroad is so very deeply rutted that it's impossible to drive, so we had to walk the last part. It's hunting season and we could hear the shots being fired. We were totally disgusted by the hundreds of empty shells that littered the ground!!! Too bad the hunters don't have such a huge sense of guilt at killing these beautiful birds, that they end up picking up their empty shells out of a sense of guilt and shame - yeah, right! This is my/our opinion only, of course! From Frank Lake, we drove (carpooled) north to Carseland and stopped at the Reservoir, where we saw this beautiful Double-crested Cormorant with wings spread out to dry. Their wings are not waterproof, so they have to spend time drying them after being in the water. Also spotted a Loon way out in the water and several Grey Partridges on a distant slope. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-crested_cormorant The rest of the day was spent driving the backroads east of the city. We called in at Eagle Lake and another lake - I never drive to this whole area, so I'm not sure exactly where we went. Andrew's detailed list will provide me with answers and I will add it here when it is posted. He always does a superb job of his reports, as well as taking us all out on a very enjoyable day. Weather-wise, it couldn't have been more perfect. Thanks so much, Andrew! Link to Andrew's very detailed account and list: groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Albertabird/conversations/mes... Actual account of the day: "Fifteen participants set off on this trip. The weather was beautiful. The temperature rose from about 10 deg C to 20 deg C by the middle of the afternoon. Sunny all day. Generally light breezes but extremely windy at Chestermere Lake. The original plan was to spend most of the day in the Frank Lake area. But I had not accounted for the impact of the hunting season. Under the auspices of the Alberta Conservation Association 17,000 pheasants are released at approximately 60 sites in Alberta during October. One of those sites (and the only one in its immediate area) is, of course, Frank Lake. The advertized release dates for Frank Lake are October 15 to November 12. So the scene at the parking area near the blind today featured far more vehicles than usual and many hunters with dogs, all wearing red fluorescent safety gear, and systematically moving to flush pheasants, and whistling as they went. So a couple of problems if you are birdwatching. First you sure need to have your own highly visible safety clothing, second the large number of hunters, dogs, and gunshots tends to scare off the birds. Just, to be clear, I recognize that the hunting community probably contributes much more to the upkeep of areas like Frank Lake then the birding community does. On my scouting trip yesterday I spent some time in fascinating and educational discussions with some of the hunters. But there are just some days when the two do not mix. So we headed off down to the SE corner of Basin 2. No hunters in immediate evidence, but dozens of spent shotgun cartridges on the ground. We did see some duck hunters, who do not wear fluorescent safety gear, and heard several shotgun blasts. The hunters employed several decoys (both audible and visible), but they had little impact on the majority of birds on the lake. The highlight here was three late Marsh Wrens found and photographed by Jan Roeseneder. Next we headed to Carseland, spotting two Rough Legged Hawks en route. At Carseland we parked above the weir. The campsite is still closed but we could see several boats across at the boat launch area. From there we went to the SW corner of Eagle Lake and had lunch. Looking further east we saw several hundred (at least) Greater White-fronted and Snow Geese, which appeared to have been flushed by some wind surfers. So we headed one RR east and went down to the lakeshore there. There were about four wind surfers having a great time, no geese in sight. The windsurfers only occupied a very small area of the lake. Ken Burton spotted a female White-winged Scoter flying across the lake. Our next stop was Alkali Lake where we were hoping to see the large flock of Snow Geese reported yesterday by Bill Walker. We stopped at another slough about half a km short and saw a huge cloud of Snow Geese rising from Alkali Lake and flying away. As far as we could tell there were no blue geese and no Ross's Geese in the flock. They did not come back! We went on to the lake anyway and saw the reason why. There were at least two hunters in and around the lake, who had presumably fired at the geese. Our final stops were along the east side of Chestermere Lake. We were unsuccessful in locating the Red Throated Loon. We were the "other group of birders" that Mark Conboy mentioned the Little Gull sighting to. After meeting Mark we looked carefully at the the gulls, but could only identify Ring Billed, Franklin's and Bonaparte's. The wind at Chestermere was really strong making solid ids challenging on many of the far off water birds. Apart from the Great Horned Owls, Harriers and the Rough Legged Hawk, we did not see any raptors. And we did not see any of the 17,000 pheasants that are being released! This did spare us the ethical challenge of deciding whether or not they were countable. The closest we came was some Gray Partridges at Carseland. However, a very enjoyable day. The complete checklists, which likely underestimate most of the waterfowl numbers, are summarized below. Number of Checklists: 6 Number of Species: 49 Checklists included in this summary: (1): Frank Lake--Basin 2 (Southeast Corner) Date: Oct 18, 2014, 9:15 AM (2): Carseland Weir Date: Oct 18, 2014, 11:15 AM (3): Blackie Date: Oct 18, 2014, 10:45 AM (4): Eagle Lake SW corner RR 250 Date: Oct 18, 2014, 12:20 PM (5): Alkali Lake Date: Oct 18, 2014, 2:20 PM (6): Chestermere Lake Date: Oct 18, 2014, 3:25 PM 750 Greater White-fronted Goose -- (4) 2750 Snow Goose -- (4),(5) 21 Canada Goose -- (1),(6) 4 Trumpeter Swan -- (1) 40 Tundra Swan -- (1),(4) 10 Trumpeter/Tundra Swan -- (5) 43 Gadwall -- (1),(2),(4),(5) 150 American Wigeon -- (1),(4),(5) 129 Mallard -- (1),(2),(4) 1 Blue-winged Teal -- (1) 11 Northern Shoveler -- (1),(4) 28 Northern Pintail -- (1),(4) 6 Green-winged Teal -- (5) 302 Canvasback -- (1),(4) 100 Redhead -- (1) 2 Ring-necked Duck -- (1) 32 Lesser Scaup -- (4),(5) 1 White-winged Scoter -- (4) 50 Bufflehead -- (4),(6) 55 Common Goldeneye -- (2),(4),(6) 1 Hooded Merganser -- (2) 82 Common Merganser -- (2),(6) 180 Ruddy Duck -- (1),(4) 15 Gray Partridge -- (2) 5 Common Loon -- (1),(2),(6) 4 Horned Grebe -- (1),(4) 6 Eared Grebe -- (1),(4) 9 Western Grebe -- (1),(6) 1 Double-crested Cormorant -- (2) 6 Great Blue Heron -- (2),(4) 3 Northern Harrier -- (1),(4) 1 Rough-legged Hawk -- (3) 350 American Coot -- (1),(4) 13 Killdeer -- (1) 1 Greater Yellowlegs -- (2) 3 Wilson's Snipe -- (1) 106 Bonaparte's Gull -- (1),(4),(6) 1 Franklin's Gull -- (6) 1333 Ring-billed Gull -- (2),(5),(6) 23 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) -- (1),(2) 2 Great Horned Owl -- (1) 13 Black-billed Magpie -- (1),(2),(5) 1 Common Raven -- (1) 3 Marsh Wren -- (1) 12 European Starling -- (1) 20 American Pipit -- (1) 13 Lapland Longspur -- (1),(5) 12 American Tree Sparrow -- (1) 10 House Sparrow -- (1)" Andrew Hart, Calgary --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not sure what I did in the last two or three days, but the very painful inflammation of the rotator cuffs in my shoulders is back in full force. I can barely lift my right arm even an inch, which makes it impossible to do most things, once again. All I can think of is that I went food shopping and finally bought a pack of bottled water (12 small bottles?), I had avoided doing this for months, because of the weight. I always like to have one pack in the house in case of "emergency". Hard to believe that just this one heavier thing would be enough to end me right back at the beginning with many months of healing ahead, though, but I can't think of anything else that might be the cause. Once the snow arrives, I'm not going to be able to clear the snow off my vehicle, which is one of my biggest concerns. Last winter, I had to stay home and miss so many things for the same reason. Argh!!!

Had a great day of birding on 9 November 2013, S of Calgary, in an area that I don't think I've ever been to before. The scene in this image is at Pine Coulee Reservoir, taken from the west side looking towards the east. To me, it is such a desolate landscape, but I love it, especially when there is a sprinkling of snow! One of my favourite Christmas Bird Counts isn't all that far away from here. Was glad I spotted the splashes of bright red. There are several campgrounds along the Reservoir, one of which is Pine Coulee Campground. To give an idea of how far away from Calgary the reservoir is, the Pine Coulee Campground is located 119km southwest of Calgary, 9km west of the Town of Stavely, and situated on the south west shore of Pine Coulee Reservoir. There was a lot of ice on the Reservoir, but there was also plenty of open water, being enjoyed by a lot of water birds, including Canada Geese, Swans and a good variety of ducks, etc.. After stopping at several places along the Reservoir, we continued to Clear Lake, where there were a lot of Snow Geese - this was the first time I'd seen them in great numbers. We also saw two Long-tailed Ducks today, and something like 17 or 18 Rough-legged Hawks, plus Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harriers, Prairie Falcon, etc.. (Position on my map is very approximate, added just to mark where Pine Coulee Reservoir is located.) The following report was written by Terry Korolyk, who was our trip leader. Hope he won't mind my using this, as it is so well documented - and accurate : ) Terry has done, and continues to do, phenomenal recording of bird sightings for many years, which has been extremely valuable to endless birders. His photostream on Flickr is: www.flickr.com/photos/90177127@N07/ . Thanks so much, Terry, for such a great day! "Fifteen birders and the Trip Leader thoroughly enjoyed a day of birding today visiting Pine Coulee Reservoir and Clear Lake in the Stavely area. Highlight was 2 Winter-plumaged female LONG-TAILED DUCKS at Pine Coulee, one off the Dam there; the other seen from the road on the east side of the Reservoir approximately a kilometre south of Township Road 150. Mind-boggling numbers of waterfowl, particularly Mallards, were at the Reservoir, but, also in large numbers were Canada Geese and Hutchinson's subspecies Cackling Geese. Small numbers of Swans, both Trumpeter and Tundra, were in the north end of the Reservoir. Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye were also in good numbers with species there in smaller numbers in the north end being Lesser Scaup, Northern Pintail, and others. A juvenile Greater Scaup or Greater Scaup-Lesser Scaup hybrid was on the north side of the bridge which is part of the highway from Stavely that runs across the Reservoir at roughly its halfway point. North of the Bridge to the Dam was concentrated mainly with dabblers such as American Coot, American Wigeon, and Gadwall. Others here included approximately 40 Eared Grebes. One Killdeer was at the north end; another just north of the Bridge. Raptors were in good numbers and variety at the Reservoir including 2 Golden Eagles; 2 juvenile Bald Eagles; 4 Northern Harriers; a Merlin, and many Rough-legged Hawks. The drive to Clear Lake on Township Road 140 produced another juvenile Bald Eagle; 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and, more Rough-legged Hawks. There was still much open water off the Campground at Clear Lake with Canada Geese, Cackling Geese, and, Mallard there in large numbers, and, a generous sprinkling of all the other Duck species. On the ice edge north of the Campground, probably 2,000+ SNOW and ROSS'S GEESE rested. One blue SNOW GEESE was there and, there was a very generous assortment of ROSS'S GEESE in these birds; probably 200+ at least. The north end of Clear Lake was frozen, so, we headed north to the Twin Valleys Dam Reservoir, and, drove up the east side of it. This produced more Rough-legged Hawks,and, a Prairie Falcon. Some herds of Mule Deer and flocks of Gray Partridge were seen on the trip home via Highways 804, 799, 552, and, Dunbow Road. Total Rough-legged Hawk numbers for the Trip was 17 with one of the parties seeing one while they were travelling to the starting point."

I would imagine that a professional photographer would look at this image with disapproval. However, I happen to like sunstars, also called sunbursts, lol! Captured this one, overlooking Pine Coulee Reservoir, during a day of birding S of Calgary, on 9 November 2013. Such an enjoyable day - great company, great weather and great scenery. The following report was written by Terry Korolyk, who was our trip leader. Hope he won't mind my using this, as it is so well documented - and accurate : ) Terry has done, and continues to do, phenomenal recording of bird sightings for many years, which has been extremely valuable to endless birders. His photostream on Flickr is: www.flickr.com/photos/90177127@N07/ . Thanks so much, Terry, for such a great day! "Fifteen birders and the Trip Leader thoroughly enjoyed a day of birding today visiting Pine Coulee Reservoir and Clear Lake in the Stavely area. Highlight was 2 Winter-plumaged female LONG-TAILED DUCKS at Pine Coulee, one off the Dam there; the other seen from the road on the east side of the Reservoir approximately a kilometre south of Township Road 150. Mind-boggling numbers of waterfowl, particularly Mallards, were at the Reservoir, but, also in large numbers were Canada Geese and Hutchinson's subspecies Cackling Geese. Small numbers of Swans, both Trumpeter and Tundra, were in the north end of the Reservoir. Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye were also in good numbers with species there in smaller numbers in the north end being Lesser Scaup, Northern Pintail, and others. A juvenile Greater Scaup or Greater Scaup-Lesser Scaup hybrid was on the north side of the bridge which is part of the highway from Stavely that runs across the Reservoir at roughly its halfway point. North of the Bridge to the Dam was concentrated mainly with dabblers such as American Coot, American Wigeon, and Gadwall. Others here included approximately 40 Eared Grebes. One Killdeer was at the north end; another just north of the Bridge. Raptors were in good numbers and variety at the Reservoir including 2 Golden Eagles; 2 juvenile Bald Eagles; 4 Northern Harriers; a Merlin, and many Rough-legged Hawks. The drive to Clear Lake on Township Road 140 produced another juvenile Bald Eagle; 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and, more Rough-legged Hawks. There was still much open water off the Campground at Clear Lake with Canada Geese, Cackling Geese, and, Mallard there in large numbers, and, a generous sprinkling of all the other Duck species. On the ice edge north of the Campground, probably 2,000+ SNOW and ROSS'S GEESE rested. One blue SNOW GEESE was there and, there was a very generous assortment of ROSS'S GEESE in these birds; probably 200+ at least. The north end of Clear Lake was frozen, so, we headed north to the Twin Valleys Dam Reservoir, and, drove up the east side of it. This produced more Rough-legged Hawks,and, a Prairie Falcon. Some herds of Mule Deer and flocks of Gray Partridge were seen on the trip home via Highways 804, 799, 552, and, Dunbow Road. Total Rough-legged Hawk numbers for the Trip was 17 with one of the parties seeing one while they were travelling to the starting point."

Had a great day of birding today, S of Calgary, in an area that I don't think I've been to before. The scene in my image is at Pine Coulee Reservoir, and as you can see, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. There was a lot of ice on the Reservoir, but there was also plenty of open water, being enjoyed by a lot of water birds, including Canada Geese, Swans and a good variety of ducks, etc.. After stopping at several places along the Reservoir, we continued to Clear Lake, where there were a lot of Snow Geese - this was the first time I'd seen them in great numbers. We also saw two Long-tailed Ducks today, and something like 17 or 18 Rough-legged Hawks, plus Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harriers, Prairie Falcon, etc.. The following report was written by Terry Korolyk, who was our trip leader. Hope he won't mind my using this, as it is so well documented - and accurate : ) Terry has done, and continues to do, phenomenal recording of bird sightings for many years, which has been extremely valuable to endless birders. His photostream on Flickr is: www.flickr.com/photos/90177127@N07/ . Thanks so much, Terry, for such a great day! "Fifteen birders and the Trip Leader thoroughly enjoyed a day of birding today visiting Pine Coulee Reservoir and Clear Lake in the Stavely area. Highlight was 2 Winter-plumaged female LONG-TAILED DUCKS at Pine Coulee, one off the Dam there; the other seen from the road on the east side of the Reservoir approximately a kilometre south of Township Road 150. Mind-boggling numbers of waterfowl, particularly Mallards, were at the Reservoir, but, also in large numbers were Canada Geese and Hutchinson's subspecies Cackling Geese. Small numbers of Swans, both Trumpeter and Tundra, were in the north end of the Reservoir. Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye were also in good numbers with species there in smaller numbers in the north end being Lesser Scaup, Northern Pintail, and others. A juvenile Greater Scaup or Greater Scaup-Lesser Scaup hybrid was on the north side of the bridge which is part of the highway from Stavely that runs across the Reservoir at roughly its halfway point. North of the Bridge to the Dam was concentrated mainly with dabblers such as American Coot, American Wigeon, and Gadwall. Others here included approximately 40 Eared Grebes. One Killdeer was at the north end; another just north of the Bridge. Raptors were in good numbers and variety at the Reservoir including 2 Golden Eagles; 2 juvenile Bald Eagles; 4 Northern Harriers; a Merlin, and many Rough-legged Hawks. The drive to Clear Lake on Township Road 140 produced another juvenile Bald Eagle; 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and, more Rough-legged Hawks. There was still much open water off the Campground at Clear Lake with Canada Geese, Cackling Geese, and, Mallard there in large numbers, and, a generous sprinkling of all the other Duck species. On the ice edge north of the Campground, probably 2,000+ SNOW and ROSS'S GEESE rested. One blue SNOW GEESE was there and, there was a very generous assortment of ROSS'S GEESE in these birds; probably 200+ at least. The north end of Clear Lake was frozen, so, we headed north to the Twin Valleys Dam Reservoir, and, drove up the east side of it. This produced more Rough-legged Hawks,and, a Prairie Falcon. Some herds of Mule Deer and flocks of Gray Partridge were seen on the trip home via Highways 804, 799, 552, and, Dunbow Road. Total Rough-legged Hawk numbers for the Trip was 17 with one of the parties seeing one while they were travelling to the starting point."

This is where friends and I tend to walk when we bird the southern edge of the Glenmore Reservoir in Calgary. However, this morning, we ended up walking eastwards and when we stopped to look across the Reservoir, this is one of the views we had. I did zoom in - can't remember if it was fully, 48x - so the Rocky Mountains do look much closer than they really are. The fall colours in Calgary are mainly light to deep yellow with an occasional splash of orange. We don't have the beautiful red Maples that are seen in eastern Canada, though some gardens do have an Amur Maple or similar, to add a bit of red. It was a chilly start to the day, with a thin layer of ice needing to be scraped from my car windscreen. Two fleece jackets, my lightweight jacket, long-johns and gloves were the fashion of the day, lol. A lovely, sunny day, though. Not sure where all the birds were - the Reservoir had practically no birds on it - and any birds on the water, flying over it or in the bushes and trees along the edge of the water, were too far away to photograph and, for me with no binoculars, pretty much invisible. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenmore_Reservoir