Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 4 May 2016

It never fails to amaze me how a camera (especially a point-and-shoot) can photograph something like an owl that is perched on a very high branch of a tall tree, and yet make the bird look as if it was sitting more or less at eye level and close. Clever! According to the EXIF data, this was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm (48x zoom). On 4 May 2016, I had a volunteer shift and then thought I might call in at the Reader Rock Garden. Changed my mind when I discovered that new road construction was taking place at the very first corner I was going to take, so I couldn't turn right. Instead, I called in at Fish Creek Park to check on the family of Great Horned Owls. Both young ones were still in the nest tree, but I could only see one of the owlets properly and there was no activity at all while I was there - a friend did see both after I left. Isn't that always the way, lol? When I called in at the park two days later, I discovered that both owlets had fledged and one was on the ground. I wasn't expecting that to happen so quickly, so I never did get a chance to see or photograph both owlets in the nest cavity or balancing on the rim of the tree trunk. I didn't post a photo of the owlet on top of a fallen log, as I was waiting to hear from someone that it had successfully climbed high up into a tree. There were enough people around it when it was on the ground when I was there - I didn't want to encourage a whole pile of others coming down to the park in case the owlet was on the ground for days, like happened a few years ago at a different location in the park. Apparently, it climbed the tree quite quickly, so wasn't on the ground for long, thank goodness. Now I will feel comfortable posting a photo of the little owl standing on the log, so will do so in the next few days. I think the adult in this photo was Mom. She was sitting upright for a while and then shifted position slightly, so I did manage to get a few slightly different shots of her. After the owls, I walked over to a creek where I was lucky enough to see a beautiful pair of Wood Ducks and a pair of American Wigeon. A treat to see them closer than I usually see them. Haven't seen them there since, so I was lucky that day. "With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics. Great Horned Owls are nocturnal. You may see them at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree limbs at the edges of open areas, or flying across roads or fields with stiff, deep beats of their rounded wings. Their call is a deep, stuttering series of four to five hoots." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_horned_owl

One week ago, on 4 May 2016, I had a volunteer shift and then thought I might call in at the Reader Rock Garden afterwards. Changed my mind when I discovered that new road construction was taking place at the very first corner I was going to take, so I couldn't turn right. Instead, I called in at Fish Creek Park to check on the Great Horned Owls. I so rarely get photos of American Wigeons, as when I do see one, it is almost always way off in the distance. On this day, however, I was lucky enough to see a pair of them resting on a log, as well as a pair of Wood Ducks that were swimming nearby, all close enough to photograph. You can see just a tiny bit of iridescent green on this male's head, behind the eye. "A common and increasingly abundant duck, the American Wigeon breeds in northwestern North America and is found throughout the rest of the continent in migration and in winter. Its small bill and the male's white forehead, as well as certain aspects of nesting and feeding behavior, distinguish this species from other dabbling ducks." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Wigeon/id

Brief update on the massive Fort McMurray wildfire: "The wildfire near Fort McMurray continues to grow northeast of the city and could double in size by Saturday (i.e. today, 7 May 2016) afternoon, according to officials." Today, this is my main photo (i.e. the very last one to be posted). Yet again, some people have been recently seeing either my second or third photo as my main one. This morning, I uploaded each photo separately, so hopefully, my three photos will be seen by other people in the order in which I posted and in the order that I see them. Three afternoons ago, on 4 May 2016, I had a volunteer shift and then thought I might call in at the Reader Rock Garden. Changed my mind when I discovered that new road construction was taking place at the very first corner I was going to take, so I couldn't turn right. Instead, I called in at Fish Creek Park to check on the Great Horned Owls. I so rarely get photos of American Wigeons, as when I do see one, it is almost always way off in the distance. On this day, however, I was lucky enough to see a pair of them resting on a log, as well as a pair of Wood Ducks that were swimming nearby, all close enough to photograph. You can see just a tiny bit of iridescent green patch on this male's head, behind the eye. "A common and increasingly abundant duck, the American Wigeon breeds in northwestern North America and is found throughout the rest of the continent in migration and in winter. Its small bill and the male's white forehead, as well as certain aspects of nesting and feeding behavior, distinguish this species from other dabbling ducks." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Wigeon/id

Yesterday afternoon, 4 May 2016, I had a volunteer shift and then thought I might call in at the Reader Rock Garden. Changed my mind when I discovered that new road construction was taking place at the very first corner I was going to take, so I couldn't turn right. Instead, I called in at Fish Creek Park to check on the family of Great Horned Owls. Only saw one of the two owlets and there was no activity at all while I was there - a friend did see both after I left. Isn't that always the way, lol? I so rarely get photos of Wood Ducks, as when I do see one, it is almost always way off in the distance. Yesterday, however, I was lucky enough to see a pair of them, as well as a pair of American Wigeon, all close enough to photograph. "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_duck

Yesterday afternoon, 4 May 2016, I had a volunteer shift and then thought I might call in at the Reader Rock Garden. Changed my mind when I discovered that new road construction was taking place at the very first corner I was going to take, so I couldn't turn right. Instead, I called in at Fish Creek Park to check on the family of Great Horned Owls. Only saw one of the two owlets and there was no activity at all while I was there - a friend did see both after I left. Isn't that always the way, lol? I so rarely get photos of Wood Ducks, as when I do see one, it is almost always way off in the distance. Yesterday, however, I was lucky enough to see a pair of them, as well as a pair of American Wigeon, all close enough to photograph. Photographed these nearby bright Golden Bean flowers, also called Buffalo Bean. This is one of our earliest spring flowers and they are everywhere at the moment, splashing the landscape with vibrant colour. "It is also called the Buffalo Bean. It was named the Buffalo Bean by Blackfoot because this flower bloomed as the buffalo moved to their summer grazing grounds." From the Cross Conservation Area. "A member of the pea family, it grows in grassland, hillsides, and patchy woodland areas to a height of about 30 cm, and produces bright yellow golden flowers about a centimetre long. The flowers were commonly used by the natives as a source of yellow dye and were boiled in a tea as a cure for stomach ailments for people and horses. The plant has toxic properties if ingested; symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, dizziness, and abdominal pain." From Wikipedia.