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

Today, our temperature is -23°C, with a windchill of -27°C! We are in a deep-freeze, that now looks like it will be here for another few days. Today, I am again posting just one photo - I have been spending far too many hours researching other websites and posting a few photos to one of them. With the IPERNITY website shutting down at the end of January 2017, people are looking at alternative websites for posting their images. A lot of Flickr people moved over to ipernity, especially in May 2013, many of them deleting all their photos and leaving Flickr completely. I have exactly the same photostream on ipernity as on Flickr (i.e. 12,660 photos) and I do like the ipernity layout and use. Basically, I only use it as another place to store my photos and descriptions, as I just don't have time to comment, etc. Of course, I have my photos backed up on external hard drives, so it is really all the descriptions that I want to back up at yet another place. Far, far too time-consuming to post more than a handful of my photos elsewhere, and I have to admit I am getting REALLY fed up of having to spend so much precious time. Quite a few people are suggesting the 23hq website, so I thought I would take a look at it yesterday afternoon. Just in case anyone from ipernity (or Flickr) is wondering what 23hq layout looks like, I added a link to my newly created photostream there yesterday. However, last night, I decided to make all those photos private - thanks Pam J! Only about 80 photos (so far?), but at least I have those descriptions backed up. Of all the websites I have checked out over the last few years, I still reckon Flickr is the best - despite its glitches and the fact that there have been two sudden, overnight major loss of views in Stats (for me, at least, plus some others) since May 2016, which I don't understand. Too obvious to be a coincidence, and I'm not impressed! Of course, the future of Flickr is uncertain, but hopefully that will all be sorted out with a happy ending! www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott Another website I tried ages ago (only 8 of my photos there) is 500px: 500px.com/annkelliott I like Smugmug and have quite a few of my photos on there: annkelliott.smugmug.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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... On 15 June 2016, I drove SW of the city to check on a few Mountain Bluebirds. I remember that one adult male was a different kind of blue, and I think this bird is the one in this photo. One pair seems to have disappeared. Another nesting box still has babies in it and I was so happy to see that they had not left home yet. One of the babies had its head and part of its body peering out of the hole and I was expecting it to fly at any moment. That didn't happen, though I suspect it will happen either today or tomorrow, which means I will miss them fledging. While I was there, I could see and hear Dad calling. He wasn't feeding them, and I think he was trying to encourage them to leave the nest. At the third box I stopped at, I had never seen either the female or the male with food in their beaks, so I was beginning to think that maybe they had no babies. Then yesterday, the female was around the nest box and seemed to become excited. She flew up to the high electricity wire and the male flew in to join her, bringing some tasty insect which he fed to her. I like to think that maybe there were eggs in her nest and that one had just hatched. Who knows? It was a great day for finding rare Bobolinks, too! I saw maybe five of these beautiful birds. They were on the far side of the road, unfortunately, and I wasn't able to get any decent shots. Each time a car or truck went by, the birds took off for a few seconds, but then returned. I drove down the road and turned around, hoping to get a better view, but they had disappeared and never returned. A couple of years ago, on 27 June 2014, I had been lucky enough to spot one just a bit further along the same road. No owls to be seen on this trip, but I did see a couple of my 'usual' Wilson's Snipes. They almost always give plenty of photo opportunities, for which I am always so thankful. I was already out of the car and when one flew to a fence post just down the road, I slowly walked till I was close enough. These birds can spook very easily, so it was a weird feeling to have nothing between it and me. Oh, and near the start of my drive, I saw a Skunk run across the road ahead of me! I pulled over and got out, hoping to see where it went down the embankment. Unfortunately, it had disappeared into the long grasses. If I remember correctly, this was only the third Skunk I had ever seen in the wild.

This photo was taken on 15 June 2016, when I went for a short drive SW of the city. I really do need to go to a few different areas, to see different bird species, but my most recent drives have been mainly to check on three different pairs of Mountain Bluebirds, and to see at least one of the usual Wilson's Snipes. This one gave a little stretch. On this trip, I saw all the usual things, knowing that before too long, all of them will have left on their long, long journeys. "These plump, long-billed birds are among the most widespread shorebirds in North America. They can be tough to see thanks to their cryptic brown and buff coloration and secretive nature. But in summer they often stand on fence posts or take to the sky with a fast, zigzagging flight and an unusual “winnowing” sound made with the tail." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wilsons_snipe/id "Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a small, stocky shorebird. This species was considered to be a subspecies of the Common Snipe (G. gallinago) until 2003 when it was given its own species status. Wilson's Snipe differs from the latter species in having a narrower white trailing edge to the wings, and eight pairs of tail feathers instead of the typical seven of the Common Snipe. Its common name commemorates the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson's_snipe According to Fisher and Acorn's book, "Birds of Alberta", "the common Snipe is both secretive and well camouflaged, so few people notice it until it flushes suddenly from a nearby grassy tussock. As soon as the Snipe takes to the air, it performs a series of quick zigzags - an evasive maneuver designed to confuse predators. Because of this habit, Snipes were among the most difficult birds to shoot (in the days when shorebirds were hunted for sport), and skilled sportsmen were known as "snipers" - a term later adopted by the military." youtu.be/Z16CUdX2g5Q

A short while ago, I posted a very similar photo of a Bobolink, but am adding this one, as I think it is slightly better - more detail in the feathers. Same messy background, though. On this drive, on 15 June 2016, I saw maybe five of these beautiful birds. They were on the far side of the road and I wasn't able to get any decent shots. Each time a car or truck went by, the birds took off for a few seconds, but then returned. I drove down the road and turned around, hoping to get a better view, but they had disappeared and never returned. A couple of years ago, on 27 June 2014, I had been lucky enough to spot one just a bit further along the same road. "Perched on a grass stem or displaying in flight over a field, breeding male Bobolinks are striking. No other North American bird has a white back and black underparts (some have described this look as wearing a tuxedo backwards). Added to this are the male’s rich, straw-colored patch on the head and his bubbling, virtuosic song. As summer ends he molts into a buff and brown female-like plumage. Though they’re still fairly common in grasslands, Bobolink numbers are declining." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bobolink/id "The Bobolink inhabits Canada's grassland and agricultural areas from the interior of British Columbia to the east coast. Relative to 1970 levels, this species has shown a large decrease across most of its range, with the exception of the Prairie Potholes Bird Conservation Region where populations have changed little. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed the Bobolink as Threatened in 2010 (COSEWIC 2010d). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada." www.ec.gc.ca/soc-sbc/oiseau-bird-eng.aspx?sY=2014&sL=... Checking on three different pairs of Mountain Bluebirds, one pair seems to have disappeared. Another nesting box still has babies in it and I was so happy to see that they had not left home yet. One of the babies had its head and part of its body peering out of the hole and I was expecting it to fly at any moment. That didn't happen, though I suspect it will happen either today or tomorrow, which means I will miss them fledging. While I was there, I could see and hear Dad calling. He wasn't feeding them, and I think he was trying to encourage them to leave the nest. At the third box I stopped at, I had never seen either the female or the male with food in their beaks, so I was beginning to think that maybe they had no babies. Then yesterday, the female was around the nest box and seemed to become excited. She flew up to the high electricity wire and the male flew in to join her, bringing some tasty insect which he fed to her. I like to think that maybe there were eggs in her nest and that one had just hatched. Who knows? No owl to be seen on this trip, but I did see a couple of my 'usual' Wilson's Snipes. They almost always give plenty of photo opportunities, for which I am always so thankful. I was already out of the car and when one flew to a fence post just down the road, I slowly walked till I was close enough. These birds can spook very easily, so it was a weird feeling to have nothing between it and me. Oh, and near the start of my drive, I saw a Skunk run across the road ahead of me! I pulled over and got out, hoping to see where it went down the embankment. Unfortunately, it had disappeared into the long grasses. If I remember correctly, this was only the third Skunk I had ever seen in the wild.

Four days ago, I was lucky enough to catch sight of two Bobolinks flying and chasing each other. These birds are rare in Alberta, though I did see one on 27 June 2014. No chance for photos during this very brief sighting. Then yesterday, 15 June 2016, i went for a short drive to my 'usual' area, SW of the city. My main reason for going was that I won't be able to go again today or tomorrow and I wanted to know if the baby Mountain Bluebirds had now fledged. Yesterday, I saw maybe 5 of these Bobolinks. They were on the far side of the road (of course!) and I'm amazed that my camera focused on such small objects from such a long distance - it doesn't, usually. Each time a car or truck went by, the birds took off for a few seconds, but then returned. I drove down the road and turned around, hoping to get a better view, but they had disappeared and never returned. "Perched on a grass stem or displaying in flight over a field, breeding male Bobolinks are striking. No other North American bird has a white back and black underparts (some have described this look as wearing a tuxedo backwards). Added to this are the male’s rich, straw-colored patch on the head and his bubbling, virtuosic song. As summer ends he molts into a buff and brown female-like plumage. Though they’re still fairly common in grasslands, Bobolink numbers are declining." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bobolink/id "The Bobolink inhabits Canada's grassland and agricultural areas from the interior of British Columbia to the east coast. Relative to 1970 levels, this species has shown a large decrease across most of its range, with the exception of the Prairie Potholes Bird Conservation Region where populations have changed little. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed the Bobolink as Threatened in 2010 (COSEWIC 2010d). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada." www.ec.gc.ca/soc-sbc/oiseau-bird-eng.aspx?sY=2014&sL=... Checking on three different pairs of Mountain Bluebirds, one pair seems to have disappeared. Another nesting box still has babies in it and I was so happy to see that they had not left home yet. One of the babies had its head and part of its body peering out of the hole and I was expecting it to fly at any moment. That didn't happen, though I suspect it will happen either today or tomorrow, which means I will miss them fledging. While I was there, I could see and hear Dad calling. He wasn't feeding them, and I think he was trying to encourage them to leave the nest. At the third box I stopped at, I had never seen either the female or the male with food in their beaks, so I was beginning to think that maybe they had no babies. Then yesterday, the female was around the nest box and seemed to become excited. She flew up to the high electricity wire and the male flew in to join her, bringing some tasty insect which he fed to her. I like to think that maybe there were eggs in her nest and that one had just hatched. Who knows? No owl to be seen on this trip, but I did see a couple of my 'usual' Wilson's Snipes. They almost always give plenty of photo opportunities, for which I am always so thankful. I was already out of the car yesterday and when one flew to a fence post just down the road, I slowly walked till I was close enough. These birds can spook very easily, so it was a weird feeling to have nothing between it and me. Oh, and near the start of my drive, I saw a Skunk run across the road ahead of me! I pulled over and got out, hoping to see where it went down the embankment. Unfortunately, it had disappeared into the long grasses. If I remember correctly, this was only the third Skunk I had ever seen in the wild.