Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Subfamily: Merginae

Last night, about 11:30 pm, I checked our weather forecast. Our temperature was -27C (windchill -34C .... brrrr!). Apart from many two or three days of somewhat less frigid weather, this awful deep freeze has been going on for weeks. Colour was needed on my photostream after all the snowy, owl photos that I posted. So, here is another shot of the absolutely gorgeous male Harlequin Duck that friends and I saw in June 2018, in Waterton Lakes National Park. I prefer the other photo of it that I posted ages ago, though it is easier to see the actual bird in this photo. I am going to add, for the last time, the following, that I have posted for the last two or three days. "I think the very first Long-eared Owl that I ever saw was seen on 13 October 2006. SInce then, I have been very fortunate to have seen several other individuals (see my Album) - including the day before yesterday. These owls are very secretive and many birders go years between sightings. It is so important not to give the location of this species. Be careful that there is nothing in your photos that gives away the location. Various people had been posting photos of a Long-eared Owl recently, but I had no idea where they were seeing it. Someone had posted a photo and labelled it "Calgary" (totally untrue!), so I had thought it must have been seen in one of our local city parks. Two days ago, I decided to go for a short drive and get a bit of sunshine and fresh air. Our deep freeze has lasted for more than four weeks, and I have been home for most of that time. It was a milder day, so I decided to make the most of it, especially with more snow forecast for today. Imagine my surprise when a stranger told me just where it was, and my absolute horror when I came upon a huge crowd of photographers with their lenses raised! So how did they all know about this owl?? Apparently, Facebook has such a bad reputation for people trolling everyone's photostream there, finding out locations for all sorts of things (old barns included!). Then, of course, some people phone others, to ask or to tell. Others follow ebird religiously, dashing out to see every more 'special' bird that is reported and location given. I don't post many photos on Facebook and I certainly don't post the same photo to three groups. It gets so very boring to see the same photos everywhere. These people flood their own Facebook pages and the groups! The only reason I can see is to get as many Likes as possible. Anyway, most people were down in the ditch at the fenceline, so no doubt they were able to get stunning close shots, especially those with enormous lenses. My photos were taken from the road, which was twice as far away, with a point-and-shoot. I'm not out to try and get better photos than anyone else : ) As always, there is so much competition among photographers. I was also not out there all day, like various people always are, and often day after day after day. So, after saying those things, perhaps you can imagine how extremely upset (devastated, actually) I am to have been told (when I arrived at the owl) by a couple of friends (both of whom are superb photographers) that my photograph had been taken, along with two other people in it, standing at the edge of a road earlier in February. These friends thought it was hilarious and I sure was teased a lot. As they said, my "goody two-shoes" image was gone. They both know I have very high ethics, including when it comes to photography. This photo was posted on Facebook on a provincial birding page, pointing out how dangerous it is for people to stand by the road. This thread turned into a string of comments about people harassing the owls, etc., etc., etc. Actually, the other two people in the photo are both seen taking photos (when I was told they already had taken thousands). There's me, camera not raised, looking disgusted that an owl had been flushed so that they could take flight images. The reason I was out of my vehicle was that these two people were out of theirs and racing down the road at top speed to get yet more shots. When I was sitting in my car, these photographers blocked my view of the owl, so out I got and caught up with them. To prove that I was not planning on getting out of my car this trip, I was wearing just my thin summer jacket (over fleece) in a windchill in the minus 20C's. Sorry to rant, but it just upsets me so much that this photo was taken and posted on Facebook. Have barely slept the last two nights! The very last thing I would ever want is to be connected with bad ethics!! Of course, I must be such a bad person to actually stand by the road - ha, you should see all the dozens of people who do exactly the same (without being photgraphed)! That day, I took maybe 30 photos of the Long-eared Owl, and maybe a couple of dozen of a Short-eared Owl, almost every single one of the latter needing to be deleted, because they were all totally blurry, thanks to taking the photos from inside my car. You can be sure that most of the others went home with yet another memory card containing thousands of photos. Sorry for the rant, but I am hoping that now I won't be stressing out over it quite as much, every second of the day! Ain't life fun? To the man who took my photo (as far as I know, I have never met him), how about taking a few photos of the crowds of people, especially those who were as close as they could get to the LEO. Or those who stress out the owls day after day after day, often from morning till evening! You might just get lots of likes and comments on photos of those repeat "offenders". How about giving it a try? PS: I rarely allow people (i.e. friends) to photograph me. Not sure what right this man thinks he has, to take my photo and especially to then post it on a very popular Facebook group page. I would like it removed from Facebook, or at the very least, to have myself totally blurred out of the image. When this sort of thing happens, it can totally destroy a person's joy of photography! Actually, on a more serious note, something that I'm sure most people don't think of. You really need to be careful about taking a photo of someone and then posting it (without signing a consent form). For various security reasons, doing this could actually put someone in danger. For example, a woman (or vice versa) might not want their photo being advertised in this way, not wanting an abusive spouse/partner to know where they go sometimes or what they do. Just something to keep in mind."

Taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 2000 mm, but at least I got it : ) Not the best photo, but I rarely see a Harlequin Duck, so this was a happy sighting. On 17 October 2018, I managed to get over to Carburn Park for a walk. Though I have seen a number of Rusty Blackbirds, this species was still a bird I wanted to look out for. As it turned out, this was not one of my finds. However, I saw a few other things that were a delight to see, including meeting two Ferrets that were out for a walk (or rather, travelling in a stroller) with their 'people". Both are rescue animals, which was good to see. "Ferret Rescue & Education Society (FRES) is a non-profit, charitable organization that was started by a group of devoted ferret owners in the Calgary area who recognized the need for a locally based rescue dedicated to ferrets. Our committed volunteers assist FRES in their goal to find permanent homes for all of the ferrets surrendered to us. They also provide shelter, basic needs, veterinary care, and if necessary, rehabilitation for all abused, unwanted, and abandoned ferrets regardless of their health status." From the FRES website. www.ferrets.ca/ Another lovely encounter was with the resident Great Horned Owl. Two friends that I bumped into in the park described where they had just seen it. Two or three strangers also helped pinpoint the exact tree : ) Over the years, we have seen Great Horned Owls in this park - always a joy. On this particular day, this owl was rather agitated and moved two or three times. One of the park's Eastern Gray Squirrels was teasing the owl. As if a couple of 'rescue' Ferrets and a Great Horned Owl weren't enough, we were also very lucky to see a Harlequin Duck (male) out on the Bow River. When we first saw it, it wasn't too far out on the water, but it gradually swam further and further away, diving constantly. My photos were not the greatest, but they serve as a record of seeing this very handsome duck. "The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (French Arlequin, Italian Arlecchino), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as lords and ladies. Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker and blue streak. These birds feed by swimming under water or diving. They also dabble. They eat molluscs, crustaceans and insects. Harlequins have smooth, densely packed feathers that trap a lot of air within them. This is vital for insulating such small bodies against the chilly waters they ply. It also makes them exceptionally buoyant, making them bounce like corks after dives." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_duck www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/harlequin_duck/id The weather was gorgeous, and much-deserved after the dreadful winter weather we have been having (in fall)! A perfect day to be outdoors, so I just couldn't resist. Lovely to see you, Pam, though unfortunate that you were just leaving when I arrived. Great to see you, Bonnie, and spend time with you. Had been a long time, no see.

HAPPY snowy CANADIAN THANKSGIVING! Last night, I came across this photo in one of my photo folders and discovered that I never posted it on flickr. I remember being taken aback when I first saw the image after downloading it to my computer, as I had never expected it to look quite like this. Of course, the background does make it more difficult to see the beautiful Harlequin Duck, but that's OK. We were so lucky to see this striking bird and so close. "The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (French Arlequin, Italian Arlecchino), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as lords and ladies. Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker and blue streak. These birds feed by swimming under water or diving. They also dabble. They eat molluscs, crustaceans and insects. Harlequins have smooth, densely packed feathers that trap a lot of air within them. This is vital for insulating such small bodies against the chilly waters they ply. It also makes them exceptionally buoyant, making them bounce like corks after dives." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_duck www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/harlequin_duck/id Waterton Lakes National Park is where three friends (Anne B, Janet and Shirley) and I went on 11 and 12 June 2018. Part of Monday was spent travelling south to Waterton Lakes National Park, stopping at several places en route, including Lundbreck Falls. With no stops, it takes roughly three hours to get there. We stayed on Monday night at the Bear Mountain Motel in Waterton town. Tuesday morning, we drove around the Waterton area, hoping to maybe see more bears, and then made our way back north, reaching Calgary late afternoon/early evening. As it was, we were so lucky to see a gorgeous Cinnamon Black Bear, at first from a great distance and then unexpectedly close. Also spotted a Black Bear in among the blackened, burned trees that were near the edge of the road. It was very difficult to see and impossible to find an open spot through which to take photos - but it was our second bear. I had been hoping to someday get a chance to get down to Waterton again, especially to see how it looked after the devastating Kenow wildfire that damaged or destroyed so much of the park in 2017. Most of the park is still closed, but the whole town site and Chief Mountain Parkway and area are open. To me, the park looked beautiful, with enough green areas to contrast with the dead trees on the mountain sides. Firefighters did such a brilliant job last year of saving the whole town, and a team of firefighters form Calgary had been given the task of doing all they could to save the historic Prince of Wales Hotel. There it still stands, untouched. One can see how close to the town and iconic Hotel the fire had come - right up to the very edge, where a sprinkler system had been set up before the fire got close. Wild animals, plants and birds were seen. There were plenty of wildflowers, though I suspect we may have been just a little early for many species. I was so pleased to spot a small patch of what I thought might be Mariposa Lilies near the edge of the road that we were driving on. We stopped for me to check and, sure enough, my friends were able to see these unusual flowers for the first time. Chipmunk, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Columbian Ground Squirrels and deer were seen. Not a huge variety of birds, but we were only able to look in such a limited space. It was great, though, to see two distant Sandhill Cranes and a distant Common Loon on her nest. Supper on Monday was at Zum's restaurant - an interesting place with walls covered with old vehicle licence plates. Apparently, people send them to the restaurant from so many places, near and far. The food was good and, next morning, after a short drive to see what we could find, we returned there for a good breakfast. Apart from the most unpleasant, very strong wind all day both days, we were very lucky with the weather for our two days. No rain, thank goodness. The morning was chilly and so was the night. The temperature got up to 20C on our way home.

Not a very inspiring photo, but a group of us were lucky to see this female Harlequin Duck at Carburn Park on 2 September 2014. She was resting on a small gravel bar out in the middle of the Bow River - hence a fully-zoomed and well-cropped photo. You can see that she has a white spot behind the ear and faded, variable white patches in front of the eye. A pair of these beautiful ducks (the male is spectacular) could often be seen from the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, but unfortunately, the Sanctuary suffered so much damage from the 2013 Alberta Flood of the Century, that it is still closed more than a year later. They are locally uncommon here from May to September. I think I'm right in saying that there have only been about five of these small ducks in the city, so it's always a treat to see them. "The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (French Arlequin, Italian Arlecchino), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as lords and ladies. Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker and blue streak. These birds feed by swimming under water or diving. They also dabble. They eat molluscs, crustaceans and insects. Harlequins have smooth, densely packed feathers that trap a lot of air within them. This is vital for insulating such small bodies against the chilly waters they ply. It also makes them exceptionally buoyant, making them bounce like corks after dives." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_duck www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/harlequin_duck/id