Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: black & white with iridescent green & blue

We have been under a heat warning recently, and yesterday's temperature got up to either 31C or 32C. It was just unbearable in my place and I needed to get out for a short drive and be in the air-conditioning of my car. We have also been having rain on some days, which was desperately needed. As I headed out west yesterday, I could see that I was heading towards a grey sky and, sure enough, the rain started. Not the best sort of day for photos, but I managed to get a few to keep me happy. All of the roads were my usual roads, though the views from them all had smoke haze. I'm not sure which wildfires this smoke is coming from - down in the US, or British Columbia, or from fires in our own province? I haven't noticed a smokey smell, though. Last summer, 2017, was dreadful for smoke and heat. This young Magpie was one of several in a family along one of the backroads. Love its fluffy feathers. It only rested on this fence post for a few seconds. Other than a few of the usual birds, such as Brewer's Blackbirds, Cedar Waxwings and Eastern Kingbirds, the only bird that was different was a Wilson's Snipe that was at the far water's edge of a large pond. Too far for even remotely decent photos, but it made a change to see a Snipe on the ground and not on a fence post.

The Black-billed Magpie tends to look like a black and white bird from a distance, but when the light catches it in just the right way, the iridescent colours show very nicely. They can be seen everywhere, and lots of them. They are usually accompanied by a comment such as "It's just a Magpie", lol. However, they really are beautiful birds, especially in the sunlight. On 27 May 2015, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as the sun was shining, I called in at the Reader Rock Garden. There was rain in the forecast so I thought I'd better make the most of the blue sky while I could. Alberta is bone dry everywhere, with wildfires especially further north. So, much as I really dislike the rain, we desperately need it. From the Garden, I drove through the adjoining Union Cemetery and then another nearby cemetery, and then called in at a wetland in SW Calgary, where I got a quick shot of this Magpie. "Black-billed Magpies are familiar and entertaining birds of western North America. They sit on fenceposts and road signs or flap across rangelands, their white wing patches flashing and their very long tails trailing behind them. This large, flashy relative of jays and crows is a social creature, gathering in numbers to feed at carrion. They’re also vocal birds and keep up a regular stream of raucous or querulous calls." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-billed_Magpie/lifehistory