Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: sparkling

This photo was taken on 29 November 2016, on the last of three recent trips to Kananaskis, to look for Whte-tailed Ptarmigan. I was so very fortunate to go out with different friends on two other days, on 22 and 23 November 2016, and lucky enough to see these birds all three times. I didn't have to trudge through snow on the first two trips, but was up to my knees in the white stuff for part of the third visit. The snow looked beautiful in the sunshine, so I took this quick shot of a fairly young little tree surrounded by sparkling snow. It was just so exciting to see the Ptarmigan - a bird that had been at the top or near the top of my mental Wish List for several years. As you can imagine, spotting a white bird against a snowy background from a great distance is pretty well impossible, especially if they are in the shade As photographers know, shooting white on white is never easy. These birds tend to walk around in just a small area for a while, feeding on the Willow buds, and then the group lies down, some of them burrowing till just the head and neck are visible, or some will burrow till they disappear completely under the snow. Every now and then, you can hear the little sounds they make. After resting, they repeat the feeding process and then rest again. As you can imagine, a turn of the head so that a bird is looking away from you, all that remains is something that looks like one of the many lumps of snow everywhere. "The smallest grouse in North America, the White-tailed Ptarmigan inhabits alpine regions from Alaska to New Mexico. It has numerous adaptations to its severe habitat, including feathered toes, highly cryptic plumage, and an energy-conserving daily regime." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Ptarmigan/id "The white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), also known as the snow quail, is the smallest bird in the grouse family. It is a permanent resident of high altitudes on or above the tree line and is native to Alaska and the mountainous parts of Canada and the western United States. It has also been introduced into the Sierra Nevada in California, the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon and the Uinta Mountains in Utah. Its plumage is cryptic and varies at different times of the year. In the summer it is speckled in gray, brown and white whereas in winter it is wholly white. At all times of year the wings, belly and tail are white. The white-tailed ptarmigan has a diet of buds, leaves, flowers and seeds. The nest is a simple depression in the ground in which up to eight eggs are laid. After hatching, the chicks soon leave the nest. At first they eat insects but later move on to an adult diet, their mother using vocalisations to help them find suitable plant food. The population seems to be stable and the IUCN lists this species as being of "Least Concern". From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_ptarmigan

Update on the massive wildfire in the Fort McMurray area: "On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Albertan history. As of May 17, it continues to spread across northern Alberta, consuming forested areas and impacting Athabasca oil sands operations. It may become the costliest disaster in Canadian history. .... While the fire had moved away from Fort McMurray, explosions and poor air quality continued to prevent residents and rebuilding crews from returning to the town. The wildfire is still burning and is expected to take months to contain and extinguish." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Fort_McMurray_wildfire www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/the-fort-mcmurray-di... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wasn't sure whether to post this photo, but decided that I would, as I like the sparkle. These were just two plain white feathers floating on the green water of Frank Lake, near the birding blind. On 15 May 2016, I spent the day with a group of friends on a trip SE of Calgary, to Frank Lake. This is one of my favourite areas and I always look forward to our day trips there. Will add the report and final list of 63 species, compiled by our leader, Howard Heffler. As usual, I didn't see some of the species, as I don't use binoculars and most birds were very, very distant. Thanks so much for a great day, Howard, and thanks so much for the ride, Andrew! Both much appreciated. "Fourteen participants showed up by 8:30 AM at Anderson LRT and we car pooled in four vehicles to Basin #1 at Frank Lake. From the entrance parking lot we had good views of two Short-eared Owls hunting over the marsh. They are such beautiful flyers. We drove to the outfall and walked to the blind and back. We then drove to Basin #2 where we lucked into a couple of distant White-winged Scoters. An Eastern Kingbird was a first-of-year for me. Next was Brant Lake where the highlight was Black-bellied Plovers. It was (relatively) warm and sunny all day with a bit of wind in the afternoon. Thanks to the regulars and to the newbies for coming out. And thanks to Andrew Hart for eBird listing. Snow Goose 1 Canada Goose 195 Trumpeter Swan 1 Tundra Swan 4 Gadwall 144 American Wigeon 6 Mallard 300 Blue-winged Teal 4 Cinnamon Teal 3 Northern Shoveler 267 Canvasback 1 Redhead 24 Ring-necked Duck 2 Lesser Scaup 140 White-winged Scoter 2 Bufflehead 8 Ruddy Duck 290 Red-necked Grebe 4 Eared Grebe 230 Western Grebe 17 Double-crested Cormorant 25 American White Pelican 64 Great Blue Heron 1 Black-crowned Night-Heron 5 White-faced Ibis 13 Northern Harrier 2 Swainson's Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Sora 2 American Coot 500 Black-necked Stilt 1 American Avocet 16 Black-bellied Plover 2 Killdeer 3 Spotted Sandpiper 4 Willet 10 Marbled Godwit 8 Wilson's Snipe 2 Wilson's Phalarope 1 Franklin's Gull 1022 California Gull 185 Black Tern 1 Common Tern 3 Forster's Tern 16 Rock Pigeon 2 Short-eared Owl 3 Merlin 1 Eastern Kingbird 1 Black-billed Magpie 4 Common Raven 1 Tree Swallow 20 Marsh Wren 1 European Starling 10 American Pipit 2 Clay-colored Sparrow 4 Vesper Sparrow 2 Savannah Sparrow 16 Red-winged Blackbird 72 Western Meadowlark 4 Yellow-headed Blackbird 280 Brewer's Blackbird 8 Brown-headed Cowbird 9 House Sparrow 1 Howard Heffler"

When birds are very few and far between, as seems to be the case so much of the time these days, there is no shortage of snow to photograph! Amazing how snow takes on so many different shades of blue, depending on the light and weather. This photo has such different colouring from the previous image. The photo above was taken at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, on 24 February 2014. That was the last day I've been out till today, 7 March 2014, other than to have minor surgery on 25 February. Cabin fever set in a few days ago, lol, but today, I have a very early start, as I am going off for the day with friends.

This was taken near the Ptarmigan Cirque parking lot in Kananaskis, along Highway 40, SW of Calgary, on 23 November 2013, when a birding friend and I went in search of a White-tailed Ptarmigan (without success!). The snow was so deep, you needed snowshoes or cross-country skis, which I don't have. This photo shows just a tiny portion of where the snow above had slipped over a lower layer. Just liked the sparkling, untouched snow.

Winter is still officially a few weeks away, but that doesn't stop Old Man Winter from paying us an unwelcome visit : ) Taken on 29 October 2013, during a bird walk in Fish Creek Park, around the Shannon Terrace and Bebo Grove areas. I think this snow-covered fence was near the parking lot at the Educational Centre at Shannon Terrace.

When the sun shines, you can get some interesting patterns here in winter, when something creates thin shadow lines on the sparkling snow. Another photo from my archives, taken on 17 February 2011, at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park. I guess there are still problems with the newer Flickr uploader - had to use the old one this morning, which worked just fine.

A long-distance shot and heavily cropped, but it just seemed a bit of a waste to delete such sparkling snow and the touch of pink iridescence in this Rock Dove's feathers. Taken on 4 February 2013, down by the open water of the creek in Fish Creek Park, just west of Macleod Trail S. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Dove

Looking into the sun, the water and reeds were sparkling with tiny starbursts. This is a view at Lloyd Park, looking over the lake, taken on October 13th. I called in here just briefly on my way home from driving into Kananaskis along Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66). This lake is just south of Highway 22X.

Time for spring - please! This morning, I went for a walk in Fish Creek Park with a few friends. When we met, I decided I was going to drive to the next part of the park, and not walk there. The path was absolutely treacherous - it looked fairly clear but was covered in a sheet of dangerous black ice. The same everywhere, including when I walked from my front door to my car - too icy to walk on the path, so had to plough through the snow to the side of the path. The roads were grim, too. It was a relief to be back home. Very overcast, as well. I had a neat experience at the far west end of the park, though. I was watching some little Black-capped Chickadees, when an enormous flock of Bohemian Waxwings arrived . They moved from one area of trees to the next, twittering the whole time. Then suddenly I found myself standing in the middle of the flock as they flew just over my head and within a couple of feet either side of me. Hundreds (thousands?) of them. Never had that happen before! Usually, they are high in the sky when I see them flying, not down low like this.

Looking out over the frozen Glenmore Reservoir and into the sun when I was on a second walk at North Glenmore Park yesterday late afternoon.

Waterdrops on petals, taken a while ago, but kept putting off posting it because I'm not sure if I like it or not, LOL.

These white, sparkling petals belonged to one of the small Chrysanthemum flowers that I bought a short while ago. The whole flower looks fringed and this is what I saw through my macro lens when focussed on a few petal tips. Not sure if bending my neck to take macro photos has irritated something in my neck, but I have had a painful neck and been feeling dizzy two whole days now, which is a real nuisance, especially this close to Christmas, LOL! Our deep-freeze broke today, thank goodness, though I wasn't able to go out and make the most of it.