Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: fence rail

Yesterday, 16 July 2016, I needed to go for a short drive. I had finally got my winter tires replaced with my all-season tires and I had to drive a few kilometers before getting the wheels retorqued. I have an upcoming long day drive with my daughter and didn't want to drive on lug-nuts that needed tightening. So, off I went SW of the city, covering my usual roads. It had been a little while since I last went there, partly because of my weekend trip to Waterton Lakes National Park and partly because of all the thunderstorms and rain we have been getting recently. Today is the final day of the Calgary Stampede - wonder how all the wet, thundery days have affected attendance this year. There was not a whole lot to be seen on my drive, though I was happy that one of my usual Wilson's Snipes was standing on a fence post, posing beautifully like it always does. I could also see a very, very distant Black Tern youngster being fed by an adult. A few Red-winged Blackbirds were still in the area. I had checked what time the tire place closed on a Saturday, so I knew my time was limited. However, on the return drive, I spotted a Mountain Bluebird and then another and another .... I was thrilled to bits to finally see a fledgling (and its siblings). Usually, the families that I follow disappear overnight and I never get to see the young ones out of the nest box. I just made it to the tire place before it closed! In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...

Easy to identify by the straw-coloured patch on the back of the head - IF you are lucky enough to find one. Took this photo on 25 June 2016, when I drove SW of the city to possibly meet friends. No one was sure how bad the weather was going to be, as the forecast was for rain and thunderstorms. It had rained overnight, so everywhere was soaking wet. Normally, on a day like that, I stay home, but I'm really glad I did go, especially as I was able to find a Bobolink again. Or, perhaps I should say it found me. Three times now, when I have been photographing a particular pair of Mountain Bluebirds, I have heard a certain persistent call, turned around, and there was a Bobolink sitting on a fence post across the road. It just kept up this call until I stopped what I was doing, crossed the road, and started taking photos of him, as if to say: "Hey, take my photo, too!" I didn't think any friends were going to turn up, as I hadn't seen anything that looked like a small convoy of cars. Then suddenly, one single car came around a distant corner and stopped. Three people got out - Andrew, Tony and Howard. Three people who are excellent birders and who didn't let the weather keep them from doing what they love. I followed them slowly as far as Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, where the day's walk was supposed to take place, stopping to look at various birds along the way, Once there, we parted ways, as I didn't want hours of walking in mud and dripping trees. Instead, I wandered for a few minutes near the parking lot and then I returned to the Bluebirds, where the Bobolink reappeared and repeated his behavior, giving me another chance for photos. "Perched on a grass stem or displaying in flight over a field, breeding male Bobolinks are striking. No other North American bird has a white back and black underparts (some have described this look as wearing a tuxedo backwards). Added to this are the male’s rich, straw-colored patch on the head and his bubbling, virtuosic song. As summer ends he molts into a buff and brown female-like plumage. Though they’re still fairly common in grasslands, Bobolink numbers are declining." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bobolink/id "The Bobolink inhabits Canada's grassland and agricultural areas from the interior of British Columbia to the east coast. Relative to 1970 levels, this species has shown a large decrease across most of its range, with the exception of the Prairie Potholes Bird Conservation Region where populations have changed little. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed the Bobolink as Threatened in 2010 (COSEWIC 2010d). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada." www.ec.gc.ca/soc-sbc/oiseau-bird-eng.aspx?sY=2014&sL=...