Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: cone seeds

William J. Bagnall Wilderness Park is named after Mountain View County’s first reeve, who served in the position from 1961 to 1981 and also served as a councillor until 1985. The William J. Bagnall Wilderness Park (34.7 acres) is located seven kilometres west of Water Valley just off Highway 579. "Remediation efforts for the wilderness park were undertaken after the area was made inaccessible following the flood of 2005. Included in the upgrades is a new entry and parking lot on the south side (just off Highway 579); two walking trails that will form a 1.2-kilometre loop; a historical sign detailing the history of the site as a coal mining area; a small picnic area, including outhouses, tables and pest-proof containers; along with several stairways for steep-grade accessibility." From an article in the Mountainview Gazette on 14 June 2011. www.mountainviewgazette.ca/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201... Yesterday, 18 April 2016, I went NW of Calgary with a small group of friends to explore the William J. Bagnall WIldness Park. This was actually my very first visit to this wilderness park. A couple of friends had mentioned it recently and two weeks ago, on 5 April 2016, I finally decided to go and explore the area. That day, I drove through some beautiful scenery, but discovered after I got home that, in fact, I had not even been in the park itself. Instead, I had kept driving past the entrance way along what I think is the Harold Creek Rd. William J. Bagnall Wilderness Park is only small, with a fairly short trail that loops back to the parking lot. It leads through the forest, down the forested hillside to the creek which still has a layer of old snow and ice on it, and then back up the slope to where the cars were parked. It was still too early for plants and fungi to be growing, but the friends I went with are specialists in mosses, lichens and fungi, with most impressive knowledge of every kind of nature, including birds. The second photo I posted this morning shows one of the rather attractive lichens that we saw on a rocky outdrop that was covered in these circular patterns. As far as photography goes, there was not very much to photograph, though I did catch this little Red Squirrel near the parking lot. I also stood listening to the call of a Varied Thrush and, when I was ahead of the rest of the group, I suddenly saw a bird fly into a distant tree. Couldn't find it in my viewfinder, but I could tell exactly where the call was coming from. Then the bird flew and I got a tiny glimpse of its colour. A tiny Comma butterfly gave me a chance to use my camera, too. We stopped and ate our lunch at the small picnic area that has an outhouse. Always a welcome sight! Once back at the cars, we then returned to the city via Highway 22. Thanks so much for driving, Peter - much appreciated. It was pure luxury to travel my usual owling route with someone else driving! A great day in glorious weather and in great company. Nothing like having summer weather in mid-April. It's supposed to get up to 27C this afternoon, which is crazy. A week from today, though, the forecast is for 3C and snow, lol!

A week ago, on 22 February 2016, I went on a birding walk at the Bow Valley Ranch, Sikome & Hull's Wood areas in Fish Creek Park. This little Red Squirrel was welcome on this rather birdless day. We had split into two groups, and the list is a combined list from both. My group didn't see the Pheasant or Shrike (i.e the two best sightings!). FFCPPSoc. Birding, FC Hq & Sikome, FCPP, Calgary, 0915-1200, Mon22Feb2016. Sunny, N. wind 15kph -2 to 6°C. Two groups; 1. Canada Goose- 500 2. Mallard-100 3. Common Goldeneye-30 4. Bufflehead-10 5. Ring-necked Pheasant-1 m 6. Bald Eagle-2 (1ad/1juv). 7. Great Horned Owl-2, pair nesting. 8. Downy Woodpecker-10 9. Hairy Woodpecker-1 10. Northern Flicker-15 11. Northern Shrike-1 12. Blue Jay-1+ 13. Black-billed Magpie-6 14. Common Raven-7Black-capped Chickadee-25 15. Black-capped Chickadee-15 16. Red-breasted Nuthatch-3 17. White-breasted Nuthatch-5 18. European Starling-5 19. House Finch-2 20. White-winged Crossbill-8 21. Pine Siskin-4 22. House Sparrow-3 Eastern Gray Squirrel-3 After going home for lunch, I then called in at Fish Creek Park again, but at a different location of the park. I was really hoping to see the Varied Thrush again and hopefully get a few much better photos. I passed a couple that I recognized and asked them if they had seen the Thrush and they told me that, yes,it was there. Well, do you think I could find it, lol?! Of course not! Also had a most interesting chat with another couple down there, whom I had never met before - Mike and Cheryl. So nice to meet you both. From Fish Creek Park, I finally went and washed my absolutely filthy car. A few months of driving through muddy slush in the city and on the gravel backroads out of the city, you couldn't tell what colour my vehicle was.