Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 15 May 2016

Update on the massive wildfire in the Fort McMurray area: "On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Albertan history. As of May 17, it continues to spread across northern Alberta, consuming forested areas and impacting Athabasca oil sands operations. It may become the costliest disaster in Canadian history. .... While the fire had moved away from Fort McMurray, explosions and poor air quality continued to prevent residents and rebuilding crews from returning to the town. The wildfire is still burning and is expected to take months to contain and extinguish." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Fort_McMurray_wildfire www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/the-fort-mcmurray-di... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wasn't sure whether to post this photo, but decided that I would, as I like the sparkle. These were just two plain white feathers floating on the green water of Frank Lake, near the birding blind. On 15 May 2016, I spent the day with a group of friends on a trip SE of Calgary, to Frank Lake. This is one of my favourite areas and I always look forward to our day trips there. Will add the report and final list of 63 species, compiled by our leader, Howard Heffler. As usual, I didn't see some of the species, as I don't use binoculars and most birds were very, very distant. Thanks so much for a great day, Howard, and thanks so much for the ride, Andrew! Both much appreciated. "Fourteen participants showed up by 8:30 AM at Anderson LRT and we car pooled in four vehicles to Basin #1 at Frank Lake. From the entrance parking lot we had good views of two Short-eared Owls hunting over the marsh. They are such beautiful flyers. We drove to the outfall and walked to the blind and back. We then drove to Basin #2 where we lucked into a couple of distant White-winged Scoters. An Eastern Kingbird was a first-of-year for me. Next was Brant Lake where the highlight was Black-bellied Plovers. It was (relatively) warm and sunny all day with a bit of wind in the afternoon. Thanks to the regulars and to the newbies for coming out. And thanks to Andrew Hart for eBird listing. Snow Goose 1 Canada Goose 195 Trumpeter Swan 1 Tundra Swan 4 Gadwall 144 American Wigeon 6 Mallard 300 Blue-winged Teal 4 Cinnamon Teal 3 Northern Shoveler 267 Canvasback 1 Redhead 24 Ring-necked Duck 2 Lesser Scaup 140 White-winged Scoter 2 Bufflehead 8 Ruddy Duck 290 Red-necked Grebe 4 Eared Grebe 230 Western Grebe 17 Double-crested Cormorant 25 American White Pelican 64 Great Blue Heron 1 Black-crowned Night-Heron 5 White-faced Ibis 13 Northern Harrier 2 Swainson's Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Sora 2 American Coot 500 Black-necked Stilt 1 American Avocet 16 Black-bellied Plover 2 Killdeer 3 Spotted Sandpiper 4 Willet 10 Marbled Godwit 8 Wilson's Snipe 2 Wilson's Phalarope 1 Franklin's Gull 1022 California Gull 185 Black Tern 1 Common Tern 3 Forster's Tern 16 Rock Pigeon 2 Short-eared Owl 3 Merlin 1 Eastern Kingbird 1 Black-billed Magpie 4 Common Raven 1 Tree Swallow 20 Marsh Wren 1 European Starling 10 American Pipit 2 Clay-colored Sparrow 4 Vesper Sparrow 2 Savannah Sparrow 16 Red-winged Blackbird 72 Western Meadowlark 4 Yellow-headed Blackbird 280 Brewer's Blackbird 8 Brown-headed Cowbird 9 House Sparrow 1 Howard Heffler"

On 24 April 2016, I took and posted a photo of this same small, bare-branched tree/shrub with about 50 Tree Swallows perched on the branches. On 15 May 2016, I was back at the same spot and saw several of these Brown-headed Cowbirds perched there instead. Four of the birds (male and female) were doing what Cowbirds do - stand with their heads pointed upwards. I have added an old, previously-posted photo of a small Clay-coloured Sparrow feeding/raising a large baby Brown-headed Cowbird, in a comment box below. An article from 10 September 2015 states that research shows that female Cowbirds "return to take a look-see. This way the female cowbirds can assess which host nests were most successful, and avoid laying future eggs in those that failed." From NatureWorldNews. www.natureworldnews.com/articles/16586/20150910/female-co... "'Brood parasitic' means that it lays its eggs in the nests of other small passerines (perching birds), particularly those that build cup-like nests. The Brown-headed Cowbird eggs have been documented in nests of at least 220 host species, including hummingbirds and raptors. The young cowbird is fed by the host parents at the expense of their own young. Brown-headed Cowbird females can lay 36 eggs in a season. More than 140 different species of birds are known to have raised young cowbirds." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-headed_Cowbird Will add the report and final list of 63 species, compiled by our leader, Howard Heffler. As usual, I didn't see some of the species, as I don't use binoculars and most birds were very, very distant. Thanks so much for a great day, Howard, and thanks so much for the ride, Andrew! Both much appreciated. "Fourteen participants showed up by 8:30 AM at Anderson LRT and we car pooled in four vehicles to Basin #1 at Frank Lake. From the entrance parking lot we had good views of two Short-eared Owls hunting over the marsh. They are such beautiful flyers. We drove to the outfall and walked to the blind and back. We then drove to Basin #2 where we lucked into a couple of distant White-winged Scoters. An Eastern Kingbird was a first-of-year for me. Next was Brant Lake where the highlight was Black-bellied Plovers. It was (relatively) warm and sunny all day with a bit of wind in the afternoon. Thanks to the regulars and to the newbies for coming out. And thanks to Andrew Hart for eBird listing. Snow Goose 1 Canada Goose 195 Trumpeter Swan 1 Tundra Swan 4 Gadwall 144 American Wigeon 6 Mallard 300 Blue-winged Teal 4 Cinnamon Teal 3 Northern Shoveler 267 Canvasback 1 Redhead 24 Ring-necked Duck 2 Lesser Scaup 140 White-winged Scoter 2 Bufflehead 8 Ruddy Duck 290 Red-necked Grebe 4 Eared Grebe 230 Western Grebe 17 Double-crested Cormorant 25 American White Pelican 64 Great Blue Heron 1 Black-crowned Night-Heron 5 White-faced Ibis 13 Northern Harrier 2 Swainson's Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Sora 2 American Coot 500 Black-necked Stilt 1 American Avocet 16 Black-bellied Plover 2 Killdeer 3 Spotted Sandpiper 4 Willet 10 Marbled Godwit 8 Wilson's Snipe 2 Wilson's Phalarope 1 Franklin's Gull 1022 California Gull 185 Black Tern 1 Common Tern 3 Forster's Tern 16 Rock Pigeon 2 Short-eared Owl 3 Merlin 1 Eastern Kingbird 1 Black-billed Magpie 4 Common Raven 1 Tree Swallow 20 Marsh Wren 1 European Starling 10 American Pipit 2 Clay-colored Sparrow 4 Vesper Sparrow 2 Savannah Sparrow 16 Red-winged Blackbird 72 Western Meadowlark 4 Yellow-headed Blackbird 280 Brewer's Blackbird 8 Brown-headed Cowbird 9 House Sparrow 1 Howard Heffler"