Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: sparkle

This morning, I am posting three more photos taken with the Nikon B700. Yesterday, 24 April 2018, I went for a morning walk in Carburn Park with a group of friends, hoping to see a few things to photograph. Late last night, I posted on Facebook about the huge issue I am having with this replacement camera, with images suddenly jumping upward, downward and to the side when I press the shutter button. I received a very helpful comment form someone, suggesting I try using the zoom lever on the side of the camera, instead of the zoom on the top. I had never used the side zoom on any camera that I have owned. As it was getting on for midnight, I only tried a series of shots indoors, but it seemed to work much better. Today, I will again have to do some more testing. It was great to see a group of American White Pelicans near the edge of the river. I don't know if this was the same group I saw recently, just at a different location. Somehow, even after years of seeing these spectacular birds in the city, I still find it strange. They just look so exotic. Not the best light to photograph them, but it was good to see that the whites were not blown out and the white feathers had plenty of detail. Our crazy, crazy weather! Yesterday, I believe the temperature got up to about 20C. Of course, I wouldn't dream of saying that I was too warm before the end of the walk, lol. Not after the dreadful winter we have just survived. Just checked the forecast and I see it says 21C, 23C and 26C for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I still have a large snowdrift in my backyard!

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

Just part of a snow bank along the edge of one of the gravel backroads, somewhere SW of Nanton - a small town that is half an hour's drive south of Calgary. Taken on 5 January 2014, when we were taking part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for Nanton and its surrounding areas. That was the day that we hit -34C when we were driving down to Nanton ... brrr!

The beauty of nature! Amazing how a photo can turn a couple of little raindrops into a pair of sparkling diamonds : ) There are a lot of wild Roses open now, giving a beautiful colour to the bushes. The flowers are 5-8 cm across. This is the floral emblem of Alberta.

Macro of a beautiful purple Iris that was growing at the Calgary Zoo on June 12th. Rain had damaged a lot of the garden flowers, unfortunately.

Not sure it's really worth posting, but these little "snowballs" always catch my eye when I'm out on a walk in the park. These two were maybe a couple of inches across. I wonder exactly how they form - the one on the right had obviously been rolling down the slight hill. Taken yesterday in Fish Creek Park, between Bebo Grove and Shannon Terrace.

Taken a few days ago on the scouting trip for the Calgary Christmas Bird Count that takes place this coming Sunday, December 18th. A very overcast day, but it was amazing to walk for about four hours in such beautiful falling snow. Awful light for taking photos and the birds we saw were all far away. However, this cluster of bright red Rose Hips did co-operate : )

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.

On October 18th, I drove west from the city out towards the mountains. Highway 22X/Highway 66 goes past Bragg Creek and ends up at Forgetmenot Pond - one of my favourite places to drive for just an afternoon. Snow was on the ground when I reached the Pond and so I was down on my knees in snow to photograph this whispy Yellow Mountain-avens seedhead. A little sunshine on the snow and I ended up with a bokeh of tiny sparkles. It snowed a bit this morning while we were on a three-hour walk again in Fish Creek Park - no Northern Pygmy-owl, no Northern Goshawk, no Townsend's Solitaire, no Coyotes - but I did spot a very small caterpillar clinging to a tall stalk of grass, LOL!

Gorgeous orchids growing in the new Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo, back in late November. I love the way they glisten, and their patterns are always intriguing. Chickened out of going on a very COLD walk this morning, deciding to stay home all day instead. Our temperatures are supposed to be warming up for the next few days, thank goodness, so I reckoned I'd wait for that before going out. Spent this afternoon backing-up more of my endless nature photo folders - an urgent, monotonous and time-consuming task/chore : )

This is the flower of Campion, Silene pratensis, which we found at Sikome, Fish Creek Park. It's an introduced (non-native) plant and is a weed. "White cockle is thought to have been introduced to North America from Europe in the early nineteeth century through contaminated crop seeds. It is now widespread in the northern United States and southern Canada. However, only Washington lists Silene latifolia subsp. alba as a noxious weed. Like many introduced species, it can be found on roadsides and other disturbed areas, but it is also cultivated as an ornamental flower. It is worth noting that Silene latifolia subsp. alba has been the subject of several taxonomic disputes and has consequently gained a number of scientific names, including Lychnis alba, Silene alba, and Silene pratensis. The name Silene probably comes from the Greek sialon, meaning "saliva". This term is also related to Bacchus' perpetually intoxicated tutor, Silenus, said to often be covered with foam -- much like the secretions found on many members of the pink family." This information was provided below my photo on the UBC (University of British Columbia) Botany Photo of the Day website.

Yes, this was this morning, LOL! Actually, it has been a beautiful, sunny day, around 0C or a degree or two above. Was out on a walk all morning at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, which is where I noticed this leaf lying on the path. I can never see a leaf edged with ice-crystals and not photograph it. Straight after this walk, I called in at the Zoo, which was nearby. SO many people everywhere, enjoying the sunshine!! I couldn't get all that many photos - think I prefer a weekday, not a weekend. The most-photographed creature there for me was a Canada Goose, who was standing on the path, on guard, while his mate was up on a low roof, building her nest : ) One very happy animal was the new, male Snow Leopard. He and the female have just been introduced - and today he must have been feeling VERY happy (to the embarassment of many parents with young children, LOL). Hopefully, there will be babies this year.