Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014May06

On 27 April 2014, I went with a group of friends to Frank Lake for the day. It started off extremely foggy with a touch of hoarfrost. Perhaps not the ideal weather for seeing birds, but the fog did eventually clear and the sun came out. It turned out to be a beautiful day and most enjoyable. We saw 53 bird species - all, except for two owl nests, were extremely distant, so any photos I took are so far away. Have to admit that I was fascinated by the hoar frost and (melting) ice crystals, so I spent some time taking photos of these while my friends checked out the lake for distant sightings of birds. Before long, every ice crystal had melted and our winter wonderland had vanished.

It always feels so good to have the Tree Swallows back after a long winter! Their beautiful, iridescent blue feathers make such a welcome change from seven months of winter white. This male was photographed fairly near a nesting box, SE of Calgary at Frank Lake, on 27 April 2014. "Handsome aerialists with deep-blue iridescent backs and clean white fronts, Tree Swallows are a familiar sight in summer fields and wetlands across northern North America. They chase after flying insects with acrobatic twists and turns, their steely blue-green feathers flashing in the sunlight. Tree Swallows nest in tree cavities; they also readily take up residence in nest boxes. This habit has allowed scientists to study their breeding biology in detail, and makes them a great addition to many a homeowner’s yard or field." From allaboutbirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/tree_swallow/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_Swallow