Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Wildscreen Arkive

Almost 2:00 pm and there are hardly any new photos on my Contacts' page. Hmm, I wonder if it's because Flickr has yet again made changes, which usually results in some kind of mess .... sigh. This particular bird resides at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale, southern Alberta, a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures,and Golden Eagles. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, educating the public. I often see Bald Eagles flying wild, both in the city and in the surrounding areas. Usually when I see one, it is flying or perched far away. Too far away to see any detail at all, which is why I love going to this Centre, to see raptors up close. It had been a few years since my last visit there - I've been maybe three or four times - and I had been longing to go back. Much too far and all new driving territory for me to even think about driving there myself. However, a month ago, on 9 September 2016, that is exactly what I did. A friend had said she would come along, too, but she emailed me at 1:00 am to say that she assumed the trip had been cancelled, as she hadn't heard back about the time to meet. In fact, I had sent two emails giving the time, so I don't know what happened there. Very unfortunate, as it would have been great to have had company on such a long drive and I know she would have had lots of fun with her camera. I knew it would be a long day and further than I would normally drive - and in a brand new car that I have yet to learn to drive! It didn't look or feel quite as new after travelling 481 km! Only got lost twice, one minor and the other major. Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere down south and I ended up in the city of Lethbridge, that I had very carefully planned to avoid. After three and three-quarter hours, I finally arrived, to my huge relief. Despite getting there later than I had hoped, I still had more than enough time to wander round the grounds and photograph the various raptors. Some were tethered out in a grassy area and others were in large outdoor cages. Wonderful to get such a close look at the various majestic birds. I took a slightly different way home via #845 (?) making absolutely sure that I didn't accidentally find myself in Lethbridge again and it wasn't too long before I found myself in the area that I had driven a few weeks before, when I went SW of Vulcan to look for Common NIghthawks (without any luck). Just so happy that I finally made myself do this drive. When I Googled the Centre's website, I discovered that they were closing two days later for the winter. So, it was either a case of going the next day or not at all till next May onwards. The very next day, 10 September 2016, I took my daughter on a long drive in Kananaskis. This was yet another place that I had longed to be able to drive for many years - and finally I did it! I had been lots of times with various friends, but this was the very first time I had ever driven myself.

R.I.P. Prince - a sad loss to the world of music and philanthropy. This morning, 21 April 2016, I needed a bright, cheery photo, not because the sun isn't shining, but for a totally different reason. My daughter was out with her Dad (in his car) yesterday, when they were rear-ended by a large truck. Insurance has said that the car is a write-off. Both seem to be OK - the blown-out back window and crumpling of the whole of the back of the car maybe acted as a shock-absorber. This is the last thing my daughter needed, as she has been through a lot the last 15 months, ever since her sister died. She has been in a lot of pain, twice in hospital (the second time for surgery), now waiting for major surgery. She and I haven't been outside Calgary together for a few months because she has to avoid any bumpy roads. She also had to move to a new place the other week. And now this! Apparently, they were stopped at a pedestrian crosswalk to allow an elderly man to cross the road. The truck driver said he was ON HIS BLUETOOTH and had looked down for TWO SECONDS!! People, DON'T use your cellphone or GPS or whatever when you are DRIVING! Makes me so mad. Distracted Driving Law in Effect - NEW Effective January 1, 2016 the penalty for distracted driving in Alberta will be a $287 fine and three demerit points. Any charges or convictions laid before January 1, 2016 will result in a $287 fine but no demerit points (regardless of whether the ticket is paid before or after January 1). The law applies to all motor vehicles as defined by the Traffic Safety Act. It restricts drivers from: using hand-held cell phones texting or e-mailing (even when stopped at red lights) using electronic devices like laptop computers, video games, cameras, video entertainment displays and programming portable audio players (e.g., MP3 players) entering information on GPS units reading printed materials in the vehicle writing, printing or sketching personal grooming (brushing and flossing teeth, putting on makeup, curling hair, clipping nails or shaving) The law applies to all roads in Alberta. Needless to say, many people are completely ignoring the above - and getting away with it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A photo from my archives - 6 June 2015. On that day, my place was beginning to get uncomfortably warm inside. That meant I needed air-conditioning and the only place to find it was in my car. So, off I went along the backroads SW of the city. I wasn't expecting to see anything different, but there were certain birds that I was certain I would see - birds that I really enjoy photographing. This drive is just a fairly short drive and fits nicely into an afternoon or early evening. So far, this year, I have only seen a handful of Bluebirds and they have all been a long way off. The "usual" included Mountain Bluebirds, and this male obliged, bringing food for his babies. It seemed that Dad would bring the larger, heavier insects, especially Grasshoppers, while Mom tended to choose lighter, more delicate ones. Funny how the nearby Tree Swallows would sometimes "tease" their Bluebird neighbours by flying and landing very near the Bluebird nesting box. Out of nowhere, the brilliant flash of blue of the male flew at top speed to chase the Tree Swallows away. On this particular day, I noticed the female Bluebird landed just a couple of feet from the Tree Swallow nesting box and just sat there with a Swallow on either side of her. No idea why she did this, as it annoyed the Swallows, and of course she was chased away. 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... Other sightings on my drive included the usual Tree Swallows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Black Terns, a pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the bright sunlight, a distant Coot feeding her little ones, a Pied-billed Grebe who was annoying an adult Coot who kept racing across the top of the water to chase the Grebe further away. My final sighting was a Coyote in a field of Dandelions. By the time I had pulled over and raised my camera, it was already heading off in the opposite direction, stopping once to look back, as Coyotes tend to do. I almost forgot to mention the highlight of my drive! Not far from home, I noticed a Canada Goose in the distance, standing in the grasses right at the edge of the road. I thought it might just step out in front of me, so I stopped in my lane and turned on my hazard flashers. Sure enough, it did exactly what I was suspecting - and it was followed by its family of half a dozen or so goslings walking in a very disciplined single file, with Mom/Dad bringing up the rear. Fortunately, the cars coming behind me in the other lane also slowed down and stopped till everyone was safely to the other side. May sound silly, but I find it such an amazing, humbling experience when this happens : )

Last year, on 6 June 2015, my place was beginning to get uncomfortably warm inside. That meant I needed air-conditioning and the only place to find it was in my car. So, off I went along the backroads SW of the city. I wasn't expecting to see anything different, but there were certain birds that I was certain I would see - birds that I really enjoy photographing. I really do need to drive somewhere different, but this drive is just a fairly short drive and fits nicely into an afternoon or early evening. The "usual" included Mountain Bluebirds, and this male obliged, bringing food for his babies. It seemed that Dad would bring the larger, heavier insects, especially Grasshoppers, while Mom tended to choose lighter, more delicate ones. Funny how the nearby Tree Swallows would sometimes "tease" their Bluebird neighbours by flying and landing very near the Bluebird nesting box. Out of nowhere, the brilliant flash of blue of the male flew at top speed to chase the Tree Swallows away. On this particular day, I noticed the female Bluebird landed just a couple of feet from the Tree Swallow nesting box and just sat there with a Swallow on either side of her. No idea why she did this, as it annoyed the Swallows, and of course she was chased away. 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... Other sightings on my drive included the usual Tree Swallows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Black Terns, a pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the bright sunlight, a distant Coot feeding her little ones, a Pied-billed Grebe who was annoying an adult Coot who kept racing across the top of the water to chase the Grebe further away. My final sighting was a Coyote in a field of Dandelions. By the time I had pulled over and raised my camera, it was already heading off in the opposite direction, stopping once to look back, as Coyotes tend to do. I almost forgot to mention the highlight of my drive! Not far from home, I noticed a Canada Goose in the distance, standing in the grasses right at the edge of the road. I thought it might just step out in front of me, so I stopped in my lane and turned on my hazard flashers. Sure enough, it did exactly what I was suspecting - and it was followed by its family of half a dozen or so goslings walking in a very disciplined single file, with Mom/Dad bringing up the rear. Fortunately, the cars coming behind me in the other lane also slowed down and stopped till everyone was safely to the other side. May sound silly, but I find it such an amazing, humbling experience when this happens : )

I have been unlucky (so far) in getting even a fairly close, recent shot of a Short-eared Owl, so thought I'd post a close-up of a tiny, popcan-sized or fist-sized Northern Pygmy-owl from almost a year ago, taken in not the best light. On 22 February 2015, we got another chance to see the tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl in Fish Creek Park. When I arrived, people who had been there for some time had already found the owl, perched in a smallish tree. Within a very short time, it suddenly flew down to where we were standing, maybe six feet away from my feet, and then returned to the tree. We were surprised that it sat for so long before eating the brains of its prey and then we began to wonder if perhaps it needed to bring up a pellet first. Sure enough, eventually, that is what it did. "Northern Pygmy Owls are 'sit and wait' predators, that hunt mainly by vision, diving down onto prey on the ground and driving the talons into the prey's throat. They will also attack birds in shrubs, crashing into the hapless victims. Most prey is carried off in the feet to feeding sites. Birds are usually plucked before being consumed. They often eat only the brains of birds and the soft abdomen of insects. One of these little owls can carry prey weighing up to 3 times its own weight. The Northern Pygmy Owl feeds on a wide range of small prey including small mammals, birds, and reptiles and amphibians. Voles make up the bulk of their diet, with birds comprising most of the rest (mainly songbirds, but as large as a California Quail). Other small mammals include shrews, mice, chipmunks, bats, moles, young rabbits, and weasels. Insects may be very important when they are most abundant. Other prey taken are toads, frogs and small lizards and snakes. During winter, surplus prey is cached in a cavity, often in large quantities. Summer caches are usually much smaller. Pellets are very small, averaging about 3cm long. They are formed only occasionally as these owls don't consume large amounts of fur, feathers, or bone. The pellets tend to fall apart shortly after ejection." From OwlPages. www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Glaucidium&species=ca... "The Northern Pygmy-Owl may be tiny, but it’s a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads, and piercing yellow eyes. They hunt during the day by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, songbirds often gather to mob sitting owls until they fly away. Mobbing songbirds can help you find these unobtrusive owls, as can listening for their call, a high-pitched series of toots." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_pygmy_owl On my way out of the park, an enormous flock of Bohemian Waxwings swarmed around the tall coniferous trees along the edge of the road. Hundreds of them landed at the tops of these trees and then they would swoop down to the snow-covered ground and eat the snow for a few seconds before flying to the other side of the road and back again.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! All three photos posted this morning were taken in the United States in September 2012. Thought I would dig into my archives and find three photos to remind me of what a great country the US is and what treasures it holds. Not that I ever forget : ) Wanted to wish all Americans everywhere, at home or living in other countries around the world, a wonderful Thanksgiving. Special thoughts to those who are serving their country, and their families, especially those who will not be able to spend this special day together. These are some of the Bison that dear friends (Linda and Tony) from England and I saw during our time in Yellowstone National Park, US. These animals are just huge and powerful - was so thankful for good zoom : ) Our week away, 11-17 September, took us down to Grand Teton National Park as well, returning to Calgary via Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. We came across several herds of Bison during our trip, and also came across a few "lone" Bison, some distant and some very close. The one day, we were lucky enough to witness a distant small herd thundering down a dusty hillside slope to the river below. Felt like we were watching an old Cowboy movie or documentary. "The bison (Bison bison) is the largest land mammal in North America. In a typical year, more than 3,000 bison roam the grasslands of Yellowstone National Park. Bulls are more massive in appearance than cows, and more bearded. For their size, bison are agile and quick, capable of speeds in excess of 30 mph. Each year, bison injure park visitors who approach too closely. Most animals in Yellowstone are subject to different management goals when they leave the park. Bison require special attention because many have been exposed to the bacteria that causes brucellosis, a disease that also infects domestic cattle. Yellowstone has worked with the state of Montana and other federal agencies to develop a plan for managing the bison population in a way that protects both its wild and free-roaming characteristics and the health of Montana cattle. Yellowstone is the only place in the lower 48 states where a population of wild bison has persisted since prehistoric times, although fewer than 50 native bison remained here in 1902. Fearing extinction, the park imported 21 bison from two privately-owned herds, as foundation stock for a bison ranching project that spanned 50 years at the Buffalo Ranch in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley. Activities there included irrigation, hay-feeding, roundups, culling, and predator control, to artificially ensure herd survival. By the 1920s, some intermingling of the introduced and wild bison had begun. With protection from poaching, the native and transplanted populations increased. In 1936, bison were transplanted to historic habitats in the Firehole River and Hayden Valley. In 1954, the entire population numbered 1,477. Bison were trapped and herds periodically reduced until 1967, when only 397 bison were counted park wide. All bison herd reduction activities were phased out after 1966, again allowing natural ecological processes to determine bison numbers and distribution. Although winterkill takes a toll, by 1996 bison numbers had increased to about 3,500." www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/bison.htm "Brucellosis has caused devastating losses to farmers in the United States over the last century. It has cost the Federal Government, the States, and the livestock industry billions of dollars in direct losses and the cost of efforts to eliminate the disease. Brucellosis causes abortions, infertility, and lowered milk production in cattle and bison and is transmissible to humans as undulant fever. In people, the disease causes severe flu like symptoms that can last for months or years. Treatment in humans is not always successful. Moreover, treatment is not successful in animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has been working cooperatively with the livestock industries and State animal health authorities to eradicate brucellosis from the United States. As of March 1, 2002, 48 States have achieved brucellosis-free status with no known infection. The only known focus of Brucella abortus infection left in the nation is in bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). With respect to this area, APHIS is cooperating with State and Federal agencies to implement a bison management plan, in order to provide for a free ranging bison herd and to prevent exposure of cattle to potentially infected wildlife." www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/cattle/d...

No very recent photos to post, other than owls, so I'm going back a few months for two of my images today. I had seen this beautiful Spotted Sandpiper on a previous occasion and was happy to see that it was still at the same location, SW of the city. I rarely get to see this species, especially close enough to be photographed. "The dapper Spotted Sandpiper makes a great ambassador for the notoriously difficult-to-identify shorebirds. They occur all across North America, they are distinctive in both looks and actions, and they're handsome. They also have intriguing social lives in which females take the lead and males raise the young. With their richly spotted breeding plumage, teetering gait, stuttering wingbeats, and showy courtship dances, this bird is among the most notable and memorable shorebirds in North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/spotted_sandpiper/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_sandpiper

I haven't had problems with uploading for a long time, but I did this morning. Had to use the old uploader to add this photo to my photostream. Just checked My Contacts new photos page and most of them are showing as plain white boxes. Later: it seems to be fixed now. On 19 August 2014, I was lucky enough to have the chance to try and photograph a couple of these absolutely adorable little creatures : ) After a while, I was beginning to despair of ever getting any decent shots at all. These tiny Pikas, also known as Rock Rabbits, hardly ever remain still and they are extremely fast! Imagine a mountain hillside covered in sharp, jagged rocks of all sizes and then try to picture how difficult it is to find in the viewfinder the single rock on which one of these Pikas might happen to be sitting for a second or two, lol! By the time you find the rock, the Pika is long gone. They rely on existing spaces between the rocks for their homes - they don't dig a burrow, though they can dig to make their home bigger. Because the Pikas are a similar colour to many of the surrounding rocks, it is so difficult to see them - unless you happen to catch sight of some movement or you see a bunch of greenery moving at top speed over the rocky mountain side. They keep so busy, collecting plants and leaves to store in their little cave for the winter. This photo shows one of them collecting a large mouthful of greens ready to store. As soon as they have dropped the bunch of greenery in their cave, off they go to collect yet another mouthful. As time passed, I managed to take quite a lot of photos, though a lot needed to be deleted. Hope you don't get tired of seeing these little guys, but they are just so very cute. They are only about 15 to 23 centimetres (5.9 to 9.1 in) in body length, so really are pretty small. And, no, I didn't put one in my pocket to bring home with me! "The American Pika is a generalist herbivore. It eats a large variety of green plants, including different kinds of grasses, sedges, thistles and fireweed. Although pikas can meet their water demands from the vegetation they eat, they do drink water if it is available in their environment. Pikas have two different ways of foraging: they directly consume food (feeding) or they cache food in haypiles to use for a food source in the winter (haying). The pika feeds throughout the year while haying is limited to the summer months. Since they do not hibernate, pikas have greater energy demands than other montane mammals. In addition, they also make 13 trips per hour to collect vegetation when haying, up to a little over 100 trips per day." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_pika Link to a video that someone has posted on YouTube, to see and hear these little Rock Rabbits: youtu.be/W4U9IxhQSTc

"The Northern Pygmy-Owl may be tiny, but it’s a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads, and piercing yellow eyes. They hunt during the day by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, songbirds often gather to mob sitting owls until they fly away. Mobbing songbirds can help you find these unobtrusive owls, as can listening for their call, a high-pitched series of toots." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id These owls also have a taste for Meadow Voles and during the past few weeks, photographers have seen this bird catch numerous Voles, including this unlucky little one, seen on 23 February 2015. This particular day was very quiet while I was there, with not much owl activity at all. We just lucked out when it caught this Meadow Vole.

What a day I had on 7 December 2014, with friends Cathy and Terry, in an absolute winter wonderland! We set off from Calgary about 7:45 am (still dark) and drove westwards to the Kananaskis area of our majestic mountains. My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose and on this day they did really well, finding the beautiful female seen in this photo and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! The closest we saw them both was when they approached the car. You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All this female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance : ) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free carwash, anyone?? Most of the time, this female was in the shade, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun. We saw this female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around either. I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and see the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. My friends were so delighted to be able to let me experience this, though I always tell them that just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me. Thanks so much, Cathy and Terry, for such a great day - including the delicious chili that you brought along. “The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female. The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose