Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: medium-sized bird

I rarely see Western Meadowlarks, so I'm always happy when I do spot one. I hoped it might turn around to face me, but no, I was out of luck. Fortunately, it did turn its head so that at least a bit of bright yellow could be seen. On 28 July 2014, I drove along some of the dusty, gravel backroads SE of the city. It was another really hot day, so I just had to get out of the house and into the air-conditioning of my vehicle. Some of the fields were still pure gold, but others seemed to have already lost their colour. Birds seen that afternoon/evening included a Barn Swallow, a young Marsh Wren that was enjoying a dust bath, a single young Sora, several Coots including one young one, two or three different species of shore bird (will eventually post photos, but I may not have the IDs), American Avocets, a couple of Swainson's Hawks, a lone White-faced Ibis on one of the small sloughs in the area. and this Western Meadowlark. "The buoyant, flutelike melody of the Western Meadowlark ringing out across a field can brighten anyone’s day. Meadowlarks are often more easily heard than seen, unless you spot a male singing from a fence post. This colorful member of the blackbird family flashes a vibrant yellow breast crossed by a distinctive, black, V-shaped band. Look and listen for these stout ground feeders in grasslands, meadows, pastures, and along marsh edges throughout the West and Midwest, where flocks strut and feed on seeds and insects." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_meadowlark/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_meadowlark

This was a very lucky shot, taken rapidly through the car window, just in time before the bird flew. It had been a long time since I had seen a Western Meadowlark, so I was thrilled to bits when I spotted this one. It had been feeding in the dried grasses along the side of the gravel backroad and then flew to a fence post. The photo was taken on 14 April 2014, when I spent a wonderful, fun day with my youngest daughter, driving the backroads SE of Calgary. Some of the roads were familiar to me, but others were new territory, which gave us a chance to discover some different abandoned barns. We knew where our destination was going to be, more or less, though it was disappointing that the "heat wave" distortion was just too great to get distant, zoomed photos. Unfortunately, it was quite a hazy day, which really didn't help. Our drive was not to see one kind of thing only. Both of us love to photograph anything beautiful or interesting. Naturally, birds were on our wish list, too, and we were lucky to come across several different species, including this beautiful Western Meadowlark. The very first place I drove to, was to see a Great Horned Owl nest. Those who know me won't be at all surprised to hear that I couldn't find the nest that I had intended going to, lol! I was so confident driving to where I "knew" it would be, yet there was no sign of it. Next time I go back to that area, I will have to have a longer look. However, we were so happy to see the nest we did find. There were two very young ones in it, snuggled up to Mom. Other birds seen included a Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Shovelers, Pintail ducks, and lots of elegant Trumpeter Swans which looked so beautiful in the sunshine, with the distant Rocky Mountains in the background. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Meadowlark www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_meadowlark/id

Overnight, winter returned here and the steadily falling snow looks like it is here to stay. Two days ago, it was a glorious spring day, with temperatures up to 13C. This was a very lucky shot, taken rapidly through the car window, just in time before the bird disappeared out of sight behind the front of the car. It had been a long time since I had seen a Western Meadowlark, so I was thrilled to bits when I spotted this one, feeding in the dried grasses along the side of the gravel backroad. I had to crop the photo from the left, as the bird's bill was this close to the right hand edge of the shot. Almost missed it, ha. The photo was taken two days ago, on 14 April 2014, when I spent a wonderful, fun day with my youngest daughter, driving the backroads SE of Calgary. Some of the roads were familiar to me, but others were new territory, which gave us a chance to discover some different abandoned barns. We knew where our destination was going to be, more or less, though it was disappointing that the "heat wave" distortion was just too great to get distant, zoomed photos. Unfortunately, it was quite a hazy day, which really didn't help. Once we got quite close, the problem thankfully went away. Our drive was not to see one kind of thing only. Both of us love to photograph anything beautiful or interesting. Naturally, birds were on our wish list, too, and we were lucky to come across several different species, including this beautiful Western Meadowlark. The very first place I drove to, was to see a Great Horned Owl nest. Those who know me won't be at all surprised to hear that I couldn't find the nest that I had intended going to, lol! I was so confident driving to where I "knew" it would be, yet there was no sign of it. Next time I go back to that area, I will have to have a longer look. However, we were so happy to see the nest we did find. There were two very young ones in it, snuggled up to Mom (photo also posted today). Other birds seen included a Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Shovelers, Pintail ducks, and lots of elegant Swans which looked so beautiful in the sunshine with the distant Rocky Mountains in the background. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Meadowlark www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_meadowlark/id flic.kr/p/naUfAS