Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Buteo regalis

This photo was taken in the spring, and I have waited to post it until the youngsters had grown and disappeared, to avoid photographers invading their space and causing stress. Aren't those little ones cute? Zoomed in from car, stopped on the road. naturecanada.ca/what-we-do/naturevoice/endangered-species... naturecanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/FEHAANPBrochur... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is 10:30 am on 24 August 2018, and the sky is smoke filled and dark as can be. An Air Quality alert continues. Rain is expected to arrive shortly (and, yes, here comes the rain!), which will be most welcome. Our temperature is only 11C! I was shocked to see the following warning yesterday, knowing the absolute devastation that our beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park suffered in the summer of 2017. "PARKS CANADA HAS ISSUED AN EVACUATION ALERT FOR ALL AREAS IN WATERTON NATIONAL PARK DUE TO WILDFIRE: Thursday August 23, 2018 - 10:45pm Parks Canada has issued an Evacuation Alert for all areas in Waterton Lakes National Park. A wildfire that started south of Waterton in the Boundary Creek valley is currently burning out of control. Because of the potential danger to life and health, Parks Canada has issued an Evacuation Alert for all of Waterton Lakes National Park. An Evacuation Alert has been issued to prepare you to evacuate your premises or property should it be found necessary. Visitors and residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to evacuation; however you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions. The wildfire in Waterton Lakes National Park approximately 5 km south of the townsite. It is located in the Boundary Creek Valley and approaching Upper Waterton Lake. Parks Canada staff are monitoring the fire. People in Waterton Park should be prepared to evacuate on short notice." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can tell by the photos I posted this morning, I got out of the forest and into the dry prairies. Three days ago, on 21 August 2018, it turned out to be such a great day, with some much-appreciated sightings. I must have spent about 8 or 9 hours driving and almost every inch of my body aches like crazy. Now, each summer, I try and do two or three longer (for me) drives, making sure I don't lose confidence to get there. Weather-wise, it was around 24C, so not too hot. Yes, it was still smokey from the British Columbia wildfires, making distant hills barely visible and deleting mountains from view, but it didn't have too much effect on closer photography. It was a good day for Hawks, seeing three on the way south and a few on the way home. I almost missed two hawks, as the hay bale they were standing on was way out in a large field. At first, I thought there were three hawks together, but when I stopped to take a few photos, I realized that there were only two - one looked almost like two hawks close together, but then I saw that it had its wings mantled. I guess it wanted to make sure that the second hawk behind it couldn't steal any of the food from it. A Horned Lark, a Western Meadowlark juvenile, and a Vesper Sparrow gave me the chance for a photo or two, and a lone hawk I spotted way in the distance was a Ferruginous Hawk. A happy sighting, as these hawks are so few and far between.

These will be the last photos I post for maybe a couple of weeks, as I am taking a much-needed break! These large hawks are rare to uncommon in Alberta from April to September. I have seen several of them in the wild over the years, which is pretty special, but only from a very long distance and much too far for photos. I have seen a captive one at the Zoo and down at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, but not recently. We were both delighted to see this female lying on her nest. Three days ago, I was so torn as to whether or not to accept an invite from my friend, Pam, to take a drive SE of the city. I really, really wanted to go, even more so as I have barely been out for ages. However, I am running out of time to get certain things done, and also I was concerned that if I slightly moved in a 'wrong' way, my knees would give way or my rotator cuffs and lower back would become even more painful. Not what I need, especially right now. In the end, I decided that, yes, I would go after all, and I am so glad that I made that decision. We started off at Frank Lake, a place that is very familiar to both of us. We knew that Western Grebes and Eared Grebes were being seen and we both hoped they would be there that morning. A pair of Eared Grebes gave a little performance of part of their mating dance. Taken with the Nikon B700 - in fact, I gave up using the FZ200 for pretty well all my photos at Frank Lake and just kept my fingers crossed that the new B700 would give me at least a few photos that were good enough to keep. I am still having the problem of image shift on some of the shots - photo jumps upward, downward or to one side, cutting off parts of birds and resulting in ridiculous compositions. At Frank Lake, I could rest both elbows on a very sturdy window ledge, making it impossible for normal, self-created camera shake to happen. Though I have quite a few photos of Eared Grebes on my Flickr photostream, I think I only have one previous photo of a Western Grebe. I don't see them very often and when I do, they are so far away. They were far away when we were there, but we were able to watch as they did a bit of their mating dance, including when each bird gathered a beak full of wet, rotting plant material and they went face to face in an amorous gesture. These birds also swam off separately, giving us a few chances for further shots. Still at the blind, we were so lucky when a pair of Eared Grebes came close enough to capture a shot or two of part of their mating dance. By the way, the blind is surrounded by lake and flood water! Parts of the boardwalk were under 5" or 6" of water, through which we had to wade. If you do go, make sure you concentrate, or you might find yourself swimming in the lake! Elsewhere in the whole SE area, there was a lot of water in some of the fields, creating what I suspect will turn out to be only temporary sloughs. A few of the other birds we saw two days ago at various places included a few dozen Tundra Swans; plenty of Northern Shovelers; several Western Meadowlarks; a Great Horned Owl and her little white, fuzzy owlet, sitting on a distant nest; and a Ferruginous Hawk female lying down in her nest. Of course, the usual suspects included Canada Geese, Mallards, and so on. When it came time to leave Frank Lake, I had assumed we would then start on the drive back to the city. Instead, Pam surprised me by saying that we would go further south - and further south we definitely went! Made such a great day. Thanks so much, Pam, for this treat - greatly appreciated.

First of all, has anyone heard anything from, or about, our amazing Flickr friend, Snowinglightly? Today is the 15th day since she suddenly stopped commenting here on Flickr. For years, she has been such a loyal friend, leaving such long, thoughtful and very creative comments on people's photos every single day. To suddenly stop like this, is making me very concerned. The only time I remember her not commenting, for about four days in a row, was when she had ended up in hospital. Fifteen days would be more than enough time to sort out any computer problems or to have to replace a computer, so I don't think that would be a reason. I have left messages in various places, but so far, still don't know any answer. There is still one more thing I can try, to hopefully find out if all is OK and I will post here if I manage to get any information. Meanwhile, if you happen to know, could you PLEASE let me know? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I photographed this spectacular Ferruginous Hawk at the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge in southern Alberta, on 3 September 2016. These large hawks are rare to uncommon in Alberta from April to September. I have seen several of them in the wild, which is pretty special, but only from a very long distance and much too far for photos. This Centre is a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures, and Golden Eagles. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, educating the public. It had been a few years since my last visit there - I had been maybe three or four times - and I had been longing to go back. Much too far and all new driving territory for me to even think about driving there myself. However, on 9 September 2016, that is exactly what I did. A friend had said she would come along, too, but she emailed me at 1:00 am to say that she assumed the trip had been cancelled, as she hadn't heard back about the time to meet. In fact, I had sent two emails giving the time, so I don't know what happened there. Very unfortunate, as it would have been great to have had company on such a long drive and I know she would have had lots of fun with her camera. I knew it would be a long day and further than I would normally drive - and in a brand new car that I have yet to fully learn to drive! It didn't look or feel quite as new after travelling 481 km! Only got lost twice, one minor and the other major. Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere down south and I ended up in the city of Lethbridge, that I had very carefully planned to avoid. After three and three-quarter hours, I finally arrived, to my huge relief. Despite getting there later than I had hoped, I still had more than enough time to wander round the grounds and photograph the various raptors. Some were tethered out in a couple of grassy areas and others, including this Ferruginous Hawk, were in outdoor cages. Wonderful to get such a close look at the various majestic birds. I took a slightly different way home via #845 (?) making absolutely sure that I didn't accidentally find myself in Lethbridge again and it wasn't too long before I found myself in the area that I had driven a few weeks before, when I went SW of Vulcan to look for Common NIghthawks (without any luck). Just so happy that I finally made myself do this drive. When I had Googled the Centre's website, I discovered that they were closing two days later for the winter. So, it was either a case of going the next day or not at all till next May onward. The very next day, 10 September 2016, I took my daughter on a long drive in Kananaskis. This was yet another place that I had longed to be able to drive for many years - and finally I did it! I had been lots of times with various friends, but this was the very first time I had ever done the drive myself.

Lol, that's exactly what I was thinking, Mike Borle! Thanks so much for giving the ID, way before I started on the description for the day. I was almost 100% sure this was a Ferruginous Hawk - couldn't think what else it could be, yet it seemed just too good to be true : ) According to the 'Birds of Alberta' book by Fisher and Acorn, the Ferruginous Hawk is rare to uncommon, from April to September in Alberta. This individual was standing on a mound high above the side of a main road and I stopped the car and rapidly took three or four shots, hoping that no vehicles would suddenly appear round the bend. About a minute's drive later, I spotted two very distant birds of prey, standing together on top of a huge pile of earth and again stopped long enough to take three or four rapid shots. They, too, looked very white, and I wondered if I had been fortunate enough to see Ferruginous Hawks! When I checked on Google Earth last night, I noticed that there was a very rough track that I could have driven along to get closer - but you just don't do that with Ferruginous Hawks!! Recently, I've been seeing photos from two or three people, showing very close shots of a nest and nestlings of this species - totally against birding ethics for these Hawks! No idea how they got such close captures. Anyway, I feel VERY privileged to have seen these special birds. This is the second day this week that I have been amazingly lucky with bird sightings, the first day being a day out NE of Calgary with my daughter on 18 July. "Found in prairies, deserts, and open range of the West, the regal Ferruginous Hawk hunts from a lone tree, rock outcrop, or from high in the sky. This largest of North American hawks really is regal—its species name is regalis—with a unique gray head, rich, rusty (ferruginous) shoulders and legs, and gleaming white underparts. A rarer dark-morph is reddish-chocolate in color. Ferruginous Hawks eat a diet of small mammals, sometimes standing above prairie dog or ground squirrel burrows to wait for prey to emerge." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ferruginous_Hawk/id Later: I eventually left home yesterday at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw. From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses. This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house, before continuing on my way. From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers. I was in tall wind turbine country - which told me how far south I had come. The colours of some of the fields were unusual, too. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what I think must have been a juvenile Horned Lark. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks yesterday. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time. After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself back at Frank Lake. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending.

Photographed this spectacular Ferruginous Hawk at the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge in southern Alberta, on 16 May 2009. These large hawks are rare to uncommon in Alberta from April to September. I have seen several of them in the wild, which is pretty special, but only from a very long distance and much too far for photos. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferruginous_Hawk

I'm always fascinated by Raptors' claws, often bright yellow. These ones belong to the injured Ferruginous Hawk at the Calgary Zoo. This large Hawk has such beautiful feathers.

This is the large, Feruginous Hawk in the aviary at the Calgary Zoo. Quite spectacular, but not seen often here in the wild. I have seen a handful of these birds in the wild, but we always have to keep right away from them, so as not to stress them.

This is a Ferruginous Hawk at the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre in southern Alberta. These birds are rare to uncommon in Alberta from April to September. I have seen several of them in the wild, which is pretty special.

This is a Feruginous Hawk in the aviary at the Calgary Zoo. A magnificent bird and one that is rarely seen here in the wild, though I have seen a nesting pair south of the city. Very distant, so I like to see all the details on this captive bird. Last week, a pair of Andean Condors arrived at the Calgary Zoo, as the Zoo has an emphasis on preservation and breeding. Can't wait to go over and see them and hopefully get a few photos.

Caught this huge Ferruginous Hawk about to have a snack. It still amazes me that a Ferruginous Hawk, Redtail Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk and a Swainson's Hawk can all live together in harmony in one enclosure. To be able to walk through this enclosure with the hawks just a few feet away from you is incredible.

I have seen maybe three of these birds in the wild but always from a great distance. They are rare to uncommon from April to September in Alberta, living in open grasslands, badlands and croplands. This one was seen in the aviary at the Calgary Zoo.