Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014October06

This photo was taken when I finally got to the Calgary Zoo, on 28 September 2014. I hadn't been since before the Alberta Flood of the Century in June 2013, which devastated the Zoo and made it necessary to close the Zoo for many months. Several of these small, colourful birds had made nests that were hanging from the leaves of a tropical plant. This bird looked like it just couldn't stop weaving, as it carefully, but quickly, chose long, narrow strands of leaf and wove the ends of other leaves together in such a meticulous way. It was almost as though it just couldn't stop weaving, ha. I wonder if this is how they start a nest, though it looked more like just a flat "platform". "The Taveta weaver (Ploceus castaneiceps) is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. The name of the bird comes from the unique markings/coloration of the bird, as well as how these birds weave intricate nests. The male Taveta weaver is a vibrant golden yellow color; this color is duller on its back. The wings and tail are a greener color, whereas brown spots are located on the chest. The back of the head is red, and the bill, or beak, is black. The female is an olive color with paler streaks. In general, the Taveta weaver is a small bird, around the size of the finch and closely related to the sparrow. These birds live in large groups, or colonies. Weavers often make a unique—often described as "weird"—noise to communicate. Male weavers build extravagant oval nests over water attached to stems of reeds or grasses. The Taveta weavers lay two or three glossy, dark, olive-green eggs. The female bird chooses who she will mate, depending on how impressed she is with a male's skill to construct a nest." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taveta_weaver

We don't have the glorious Maple leaves that some parts of Canada have, that turn a rich red in the fall. Our fall colours are mainly yellow with an occasional splash of orange. There are two species here that I sometimes see that remind me of what we are missing - wild Gooseberry and the plant/shrub that is in this photo. I'm not sure what it is, but perhaps some kind of currant bush? Just a quick shot, taken on 20 September 2014, when I was walking along the path to see the family of Beavers. I haven't been there for quite some time, so I hope all is well with them. I actually got out on a birding walk yesterday morning, a rare thing for me these days. We walked along the path in South Glenmore Park, overlooking the Glenmore Reservoir. We found only 20 species of bird, mainly the usual ones such as Chickadees, Crows, Ravens, Coots, Robins, and Nuthatches. However, we were lucky enough to see an immature Pacific Loon that was out in the middle of the reservoir. Then it disappeared and, for a brief couple of seconds, reappeared somewhat closer to us. I was able to get just one 48x zoomed shot, heavily cropped, that I might post sometime, as that was my first "proper" sighting of a Pacific Loon. So amazing to see how long these Loons can stay underwater and then reappear such a long distance away. We also were treated to two Common Loons that flew overhead. Though we saw so few birds and bird species, it was a beautiful, sunny morning, with temperatures of 10°C to 16°C.