Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: dried grass

Crazy, crazy weather! We have only just come out of an awful deep-freeze that lasted for many weeks. "The chance for some +20 degree weather extends across southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan early next week including the city of Calgary, where some daily temperature records are in jeopardy. The record to beat on Monday and Tuesday is 18.3°C and 18.9°C, which were both set on March 18 and 19 back in 1928." From the Weather Network on 16 March 2019. I am going to be taking a break from posting photos on Flickr soon - decided to grab three photos to post this morning after all. Will return when I don't have to keep going into my archives. As I have been doing the last few days, I will add the description that I added under a previously posted photo from the same day. "After a long day out at Frank Lake on Saturday, 19 March, and then checking the upcoming weather forecast, Sunday, 20 March 2016, looked like it was going to be the only decent day of the coming week. Of course, we all know that weather forecasts can change. So, my alarm clocks were all set ridiculously early, though I still left home a bit later than I had intended, and I took myself NW of the city again to see if I could see an owl. Just a handful of friends were there and we got a few moments of great views of this Great Gray Owl, including when it was down on the ground during a failed attempt to catch a Meadow Vole. I think it took all of us by surprise when it flew and landed near to us. During the rest of the time, I did see an owl fly off into the trees a couple of times, but the rest of the time was spent waiting and chatting with my friends. Patience ..... While we were waiting, someone spotted a beautiful male Mountain Bluebird way down the road. I am pretty sure I had caught a quick glimpse of another Bluebird on my drive to my destination. Also, I seem to remember catching a quick sight of another one recently, but can't for the life of me remember where or when. It's always such a thrill to see a Bluebird, especially the very first of the season. That flash of bright blue takes one's breath away. Two beautiful birds to see on this first day of spring!" "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl

On 29 November 2016, I was fortunate enough to have a third trip into the mountains to look for and photograph these wonderful White-tailed Ptarmigan. Friend, Shirley, had been out there before, but just missed seeing them. She asked if I wanted to go with her, and I jumped at the chance. I knew several other people who were planning to go, so felt a little more confident that we would probably be able to find these birds. Find them, we did - but, oh, what we had to go through in order to see them! Unlike the other two times I had been, on 22nd and 23rd November, this time the birds were not near the main road area but, instead, were first spotted way across the valley, low down on the mountainside. A few years ago, I had done a short walk along this valley in deep, deep snow and vowed I would never be so foolish to do it again. You need snowshoes and, even then, the going is difficult. Of course, I don't have snowshoes, nor did a few of my friends. When I heard that some people ahead of us had seen a few of the birds closer than the mountainside, I decided I would at least start 'walking' and see how far I got. The first short distance through the snow was flat, but then we had to climb upwards through knee deep snow. I almost had to give up, but thanks to friend, Tony, who basically dragged me up some of the most difficult parts, I was able to plough my way to where the closest Ptarmigan were. A few other helping hands, too, made this climb possible. Several of the birds were in the sunshine for a while, either resting or taking a few short steps. So different compared to seeing and photographing them on a cloudy, gloomy day. These birds tend to walk around in just a small area for a while, feeding on the buds of the low Willow bushes, and then the group lies down, some of them burrowing till just the head and neck are visible, or some will burrow till they disappear completely under the snow. Every now and then, you can hear the little sounds they make. After resting, they repeat the feeding process and then rest again. As you can imagine, from a distance, a turn of the head so that a bird is looking away from you, all that remains is something that looks like one of the many lumps of snow everywhere. "The smallest grouse in North America, the White-tailed Ptarmigan inhabits alpine regions from Alaska to New Mexico. It has numerous adaptations to its severe habitat, including feathered toes, highly cryptic plumage, and an energy-conserving daily regime." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Ptarmigan/id "The white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), also known as the snow quail, is the smallest bird in the grouse family. It is a permanent resident of high altitudes on or above the tree line and is native to Alaska and the mountainous parts of Canada and the western United States. It has also been introduced into the Sierra Nevada in California, the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon and the Uinta Mountains in Utah. Its plumage is cryptic and varies at different times of the year. In the summer it is speckled in gray, brown and white whereas in winter it is wholly white. At all times of year the wings, belly and tail are white. The white-tailed ptarmigan has a diet of buds, leaves, flowers and seeds. The nest is a simple depression in the ground in which up to eight eggs are laid. After hatching, the chicks soon leave the nest. At first they eat insects but later move on to an adult diet, their mother using vocalisations to help them find suitable plant food. The population seems to be stable and the IUCN lists this species as being of "Least Concern". From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_ptarmigan Eventually, it was time to head back down and along to the cars, repeating the difficult process of 'step and plunge' through the snow. It felt so good to finally reach the car! Shirley and I had left the city and travelled south via Turner Valley, but came back to the city via Barrier Lake and Highway 1. While driving out to Highway 40 in the morning, we stopped to watch this beautiful female Moose along the road from Turner Valley. She was quite a distance from the road, and turned to look at us, even taking a couple of steps towards us. After a short while, she decided that we just weren't all that interesting or a threat, and continued into the trees. Later, we stopped to watch a couple of Bighorn Sheep on Highway 40. Other than that, there was no sign of other wildlife other than many tracks left in the snow. “The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female. The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose</a

Wow, it's just before noon and only 10 new photos showing from my Contacts. This morning, 1 December 2016, the temperature is -2C and it's snowing heavily. Early yesterday evening, I went food shopping, as snow was forecast for today, and it was snowing lightly then, too. That was the first time I had driven my 'new' car in snow - the other times, I had simply stayed home and waited for the snow to melt : ) Unfortunately, I have an appointment to get to in a short while. Two days ago, on 29 November 2016, I was fortunate enough to have a third trip into the mountains to look for and photograph wonderful White-tailed Ptarmigan. Friend, Shirley, had been out there before, but just missed seeing them. She asked if I wanted to go with her, and I jumped at the chance. I knew several other people who were planning to go, so felt a little more confident that we would probably be able to find these birds. We left the city and travelled south via Turner Valley, but came back to the city via Barrier Lake and Highway 1. While driving out to Highway 40 in the morning, we stopped to watch this beautiful female Moose along the road from Turner Valley. She was quite a distance from the road, and turned to look at us, even taking a couple of steps towards us. After a short while, she decided that we just weren't all that interesting or a threat, and continued into the trees. Later, we stopped to watch a couple of Bighorn Sheep on Highway 40. Other than that, there was no sign of other wildlife other than many tracks left in the snow. “The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female. The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose When we finally reached our destination, we were thrilled to hear from several other people that Ptarmigan were being seen. So, find them, we did - but, oh, what we had to go through in order to see them! Unlike the other two times I had been, on 22nd and 23rd November, this time the birds were not near the main road area but, instead, were first spotted way across the valley, low down on the mountainside. A few years ago, I had done a short walk along this valley in deep, deep snow and vowed I would never be so foolish to do it again. You need snowshoes and, even then, the going is difficult. Of course, I don't have snowshoes, nor did a few of my friends. When I heard that some people ahead of us had seen a few of the birds closer than the mountainside, I decided I would at least start 'walking' and see how far I got. The first short distance through the snow was flat, but then we had to climb upwards through knee deep snow. I almost had to give up, but thanks to friend, Tony, who basically dragged me up a couple of the most difficult parts, I was able to plough my way to where the closest Ptarmigan were. A few other helping hands, too, made this climb possible. Several of the birds were in the sunshine, either resting or taking a few short steps. These birds almost looked as if they had a small light under their body, lighting up the lowest feathers and making the bird glow. So different compared to seeing and photographing them on a cloudy, gloomy day. Eventually, it was time to head back down and along to the cars, repeating the difficult process of 'step and plunge' through the snow. It felt so good to finally reach the car! From today (1 December) onward, the north and south winter gates will be closed across Highway 40, so these birds will be left in peace for the rest of the winter, until 14 or 15 June 2017. All the wildlife in the area will be free of human presence while they have their young ones in the spring. Thanks so much for a great day, Shirley! I'm so glad you were finally able to see a few of these beautiful Ptarmigan in their winter white. It was very unfortunate that at least one person was not able to do the difficult walk and so will have to wait till next fall to hopefully get a 'lifer'. Most people I know have/had never seen this species when white, so I'm feeling extremely lucky! Of course, even if one doesn't find the Ptarmigan, the scenery alone is just breathtaking.

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA!! GOOD LUCK, WORLD!! Today is THE day - voting for the next U.S. President. May the BEST person win. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What crazy weather we are having here in Calgary - it's already 10C this morning and it is forecast to soar to 20C this afternoon! Insane weather for 8 November. As warm as many of our days this past, rainy summer. On 26 October 2016, I went on a day trip with friends, Shirley and Anne. We had a very early start, 7:00 am, and drove west of the city to start with, driving to the far end of Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66). While at Elbow Falls, we saw a pair of American Dippers flying from rock to rock. They were vocalizing, too, which I had never heard before. Though there seemed to be very few birds to be seen all day, we were so lucky to see a total of four Moose - two at each of two different locations SW of the city. This photo shows one of the two that we saw first. They were moving in and out of all the bushes, but I was able to get a shot or two when they were out in the open. It is always nice to see a Moose, and to see four in one day was a real treat. The second two were fairly young ones. From Elbow Falls Trail, we drove down through the Millarville area and finally ended up east of High River. We found one of the Great Horned Owls that everyone had been following earlier in the year, along with a nearby little American Tree Sparrow. We did see a few Hawks, including a Rough-legged Hawk on a hay bale and very dark morph Hawk later in the day. A great day, ladies - thank you so much for inviting me along and thanks so much, Shirley, for driving! Greatly appreciated.

I was out on another day trip yesterday, 26 October 2016, and just ran out of time this morning to add two of my descriptions. Usually, I don't have three long day outings within five days, except during the Christmas Bird Counts, and it really tired me out, and I'm still dragging my heels late this evening, even more so as I was out on a birding walk along the Bow River south of Lafarge area with friends this morning. Yesterday was a great day, most enjoyable, spent with friends, Shirley and Anne. We had a very early start, 7:00 am, and drove west of the city to start with, driving to the far end of Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66). While at Elbow Falls, we saw a pair of American Dippers flying from rock to rock. They were vocalizing, too, which I had never heard before. Though there seemed to be very few birds to be seen all day, we were so lucky to see a total of four Moose - two at each of two different locations SW of the city. This photo shows one of the two that we saw first. They were moving in and out of all the bushes, but I was able to get a shot or two when they were out in the open. It is always nice to see a Moose, and to see four in one day was a real treat. The second two were fairly young ones. From Elbow Falls Trail, we drove down through the Millarville area and finally ended up east of High River. We found one of the Great Horned Owls that everyone had been following earlier in the year, along with a nearby little American Tree Sparrow. We did see a few Hawks, including a Rough-legged Hawk on a hay bale and very dark morph Hawk later in the day. A great day, ladies - thank you so much for inviting me along and thanks so much, Shirley, for driving! Greatly appreciated.

This photo was taken on 2 April 2016, NW of the city. It feels like months since I last saw a Great Gray. It had been a week since I had last driven to this area, so I decided to drive there again and see if one could be seen. When I arrived, three people had already found a Great Gray Owl - apparently, it had been sitting on a fence post moments before, but flew off into the far line of trees just as I was slowly arriving. Much as I am delighted to see an owl anywhere, along the edge of the trees is my least favourite place, as the owl is then in the shade. After a while, I decided to drive further along the road to see if there were any other owls to be seen, and when I returned, the handful of people were photographing one sitting on a fence post. I just managed to get three or four shots before it flew off to the forest. Not the greatest shot, which is why I didn't upload it as my main image this morning, but it was nice to see the bird perched in the sunlight. "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl

After a long day out at Frank Lake on Saturday, 19 March, and then checking the upcoming weather forecast, Sunday, 20 March 2016, looked like it was going to be the only decent day of the coming week. Of course, we all know that weather forecasts can change. So, my alarm clocks were all set ridiculously early, though I still left home a bit later than I had intended, and I took myself NW of the city again to see if I could see an owl. Just a handful of friends were there and we got a few moments of great views of this Great Gray Owl, including when it was down on the ground during a failed attempt to catch a Meadow Vole. I think it took all of us by surprise when it flew and landed near to us. During the rest of the time, I did see an owl fly off into the trees a couple of times, but the rest of the time was spent waiting and chatting with my friends. Patience ..... While we were waiting, someone spotted a beautiful male Mountain Bluebird way down the road. I am pretty sure I had caught a quick glimpse of another Bluebird on my drive to my destination. Also, I seem to remember catching a quick sight of another one recently, but can't for the life of me remember where or when. It's always such a thrill to see a Bluebird, especially the very first of the season. That flash of bright blue takes one's breath away. Two beautiful birds to see on this first day of spring! "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl

This photo was taken on 2 April 2016, NW of the city. It had been a week since I had last driven to this area, so I decided to drive there again and see if one could be seen. When I arrived, three people had already found a Great Gray Owl - apparently, it had been sitting on a fence post moments before, but flew off into the far line of trees just as I was slowly arriving. Much as I am delighted to see an owl anywhere, along the edge of the trees is my least favourite place, as the owl is then in the shade. After a while, I decided to drive further along the road to see if there were any other owls to be seen, and when I returned, the handful of people were photographing one sitting on a fence post. I just managed to get three or four shots before it flew off to the forest. Not the greatest shot, which is why I didn't upload it as my main image this morning, but it was nice to see the bird perched in the sunlight. "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Owl

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 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... This was my very first visit to this wilderness park. A couple of friends had mentioned it a few days ago and I finally decided to go and explore part of the area. Yesterday, 5 April 2016, I had to remove my car from my parking lot so that it could be cleaned. I don't have a current street pass, so I knew that I had a few hours to kill before I could get back home. The notice said that cleaning would start at 12:00 noon, so at 11:40 am, I was on my way, heading NW of the city. There was no way I was going to set my alarm clocks for 5:00 am again, so I thought I would do an afternoon/evening drive for a change. I was hoping that I might just see one of the Great Gray Owls, but there was nothing in sight, other than a couple of Ravens and a pair of distant Mountain Bluebirds. It was kind of amusing, as there was one other car up there, moving very slowly. Turned out to be a man who told me that he had never once been there without seeing a Great Grey Owl. Well, I jokingly told him that maybe I would end up changing that for him - and sure enough, not a single owl. He's probably hoping that he never runs into me again, lol! After calling in at the little store in Water Valley, I drove westwards, a road I had never driven before, and eventually reached the William J. Bagnall WIlderness Park. I can't remember exactly where the park began, but this is fairly typical landscape of the area. The scenery was beautiful, with many treed ridges with small creeks in between. There were still patches of ice in places - something I hadn't seen for quite a while. I didn't look for birds, as I was so focused on the road ahead and not getting lost. A wide road, but slightly muddy gravel which made the car 'slide' a little. I'm not quite sure just where the road goes in the park, but I turned around when I came to a fork in the road and the roads became very narrow. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to drive in either direction. Oh, yes, I had forgotten, early on, I had come to a sign telling drivers that they would be driving at their own risk! I never like seeing these signs, ha, including knowing that my car is now 17 years old. After the long drive back to the city, I was tired and just wanted to go straight home. However, I knew I just had to go and wash my absolutely filthy vehicle that was caked in so much dried mud from so many back road drives recently. Didn't want the mud falling on to a newly cleaned parking space. Took forever to wash,, but now simply gleams (temporarily!). Guess what I discovered when I did reach home - the parking lot had NOT been cleaned after all ... sigh.

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 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... This was my very first visit to this wilderness park. A couple of friends had mentioned it a few days ago and I finally decided to go and explore part of the area. Yesterday, 5 April 2016, I had to remove my car from my parking lot so that it could be cleaned. I don't have a current street pass, so I knew that I had a few hours to kill before I could get back home. The notice said that cleaning would start at 12:00 noon, so at 11:40 am, I was on my way, heading NW of the city. There was no way I was going to set my alarm clocks for 5:00 am again, so I thought I would do an afternoon/evening drive for a change. I was hoping that I might just see one of the Great Gray Owls, but there was nothing in sight, other than a couple of Ravens and a pair of distant Mountain Bluebirds. It was kind of amusing, as there was one other car up there, moving very slowly. Turned out to be a man who told me that he had never once been there without seeing a Great Grey Owl. Well, I jokingly told him that maybe I would end up changing that for him - and sure enough, not a single owl. He's probably hoping that he never runs into me again, lol! After calling in at the little store in Water Valley, I drove westwards, a road I had never driven before, and eventually reached the William J. Bagnall WIlderness Park. I can't remember exactly where the park began, but this is fairly typical landscape of the area. The scenery was beautiful, with many treed ridges with small creeks in between (see the third photo I posted today). There were still patches of ice in places - something I hadn't seen for quite a while. Elevations near Water Valley are higher than in Calgary, which means that it is colder and wetter. I didn't look for birds, as I was so focused on the road ahead. A wide road, but slightly muddy gravel which made the car 'slide' a little. I'm not quite sure just where the road goes in the park, but I turned around when I came to a fork in the road and the roads became very narrow. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to drive in either direction. Oh, yes, I had forgotten, early on, I had come to a sign telling drivers that they would be driving at their own risk! I never like seeing these signs, ha, including knowing that my car is now 17 years old. After the long drive back to the city, I was tired and just wanted to go straight home. However, I knew I just had to go and wash my absolutely filthy vehicle that was caked in so much dried mud from so many back road drives recently. Didn't want the mud falling on to a newly cleaned parking space. Took forever to wash,, but now simply gleams (temporarily!). Guess what I discovered when I did reach home - the parking lot had NOT been cleaned after all ... sigh.

Happy Easter Monday, everyone! Forgot to post this shot separately from the first two, so I'm hoping this one will still show up as my main photo (i.e. very last photo posted) for today. A few minutes later - decided to delete the image and post again. Apologies to the two people who had already made it a fave. After a long day out at Frank Lake on Saturday, 19 March, and then checking the upcoming weather forecast, Sunday, 20 March 2016, looked like it was going to be the only decent day of the coming week. Of course, we all know that weather forecasts can change. So, my alarm clocks were all set ridiculously early, though I still left home a bit later than I had intended, and I took myself NW of the city again to see if I could see an owl. Just a handful of friends were there and we got a few moments of great views of this Great Gray Owl, including when it was down on the ground during a failed attempt to catch a Meadow Vole. I think it took all of us by surprise. During the rest of the time, I did see an owl fly off into the trees a couple of times, but the rest of the time was spent waiting and chatting with my friends. Patience ..... While we were waiting, someone spotted a beautiful male Mountain Bluebird way down the road. I am pretty sure I had caught a quick glimpse of another Bluebird on my drive to my destination. Also, I seem to remember catching a quick sight of another one recently, but can't for the life of me remember where or when. It's always such a thrill to see a Bluebird, especially the very first of the season. That flash of bright blue takes one's breath away. Two beautiful birds to see on this first day of spring! "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl

Posting late again today, maybe around 12:30 noon. Later: something is making me wonder if today's photos are showing up. Or maybe everyone really is fed up of owl photos : ) Ha, ha! After a long day out at Frank Lake on Saturday and then checking the upcoming weather forecast, Sunday, 20 March 2016, looked like it was going to be the only decent day of the coming week. Of course, we all know that weather forecasts can change. So, my alarm clocks were all set ridiculously early, though I still left home a bit later than I had intended, and I took myself NW of the city again to see if I could see an owl. Just a handful of friends were there and we got a few moments of great views of this Great Gray Owl, including a very brief stop on top of this broken branch a few inches off the ground and on top of a fairly close tree while it was hunting. I think it took all of us by surprise. During the rest of the time, I did see an owl fly off into the trees a couple of times, but the time was spent waiting and chatting with my friends. Patience ..... While we were waiting, someone spotted a beautiful male Mountain Bluebird way down the road. I am pretty sure I had caught a quick glimpse of another Bluebird on my drive to my destination. Also, I seem to remember catching a quick sight of another one recently, but can't for the life of me remember where or when. It's always such a treat to see a Bluebird, especially the very first of the season. That flash of bright blue is breathtaking. Two beautiful birds to see on this first day of spring! "Although the Great Gray Owl is the tallest American owl with the largest wingspan, it is just a ball of feathers. It preys on small mammals and has relatively small feet. Both the Great Horned and Snowy owls weigh half again as much, and have larger feet and talons. The oldest recorded Great Gray Owl was at least 18 years, 9 months old and lived in Alberta." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Gray_Owl/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl

Yesterday evening, 29 June 2015, a small group of us met at 6:30 pm and went SW of the city with Don Stiles, who has been a dedicated Mountain Bluebird Monitor for something like 38 years! It was around 10:00 pm when I arrived home. I told the group that I would post three of the photos I took, on Flickr today. The light was not good for photos, at least not with my camera, and the later it got and the light faded, the worse they turned out. The last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed that many of my photos are not turning out how I would have expected. There seems to be a somewhat green cast on some of them, along with being grainy. I always dread the year and a half mark with any camera I buy – that is when a few things start not working the same. This drive is an annual trip along Don’s Bluebird Route. We get the chance to see Mountain Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and Wrens nesting in various wooden nesting boxes along the country roads. Some boxes have eggs in the nest, others have tiny babies all packed tightly together. One of the boxes had a female Tree Swallow adult in it, too, and, as it hadn't been banded before, Don demonstrated how he carefully puts a metal band around the tiny leg. At the one particular Bluebird box, Mom and Dad were waiting nearby, insects in their beaks ready to feed their babies as soon as we had finished. They are such good parents. Along the route, we saw a few other birds and animals, including a pair of beautiful American Goldfinches, various Blackbirds and a few ducks. We were lucky to see several Elk, too, that were wild – not sure if I can rescue one of the photos I took of them, but will try later. Many thanks, as always, Don, for letting us come along with you. It is an evening I look forward to every year, and I could tell how much everyone enjoyed themselves yesterday! 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... For anyone who might wonder if a baby bird is handled, will its parents pick up my scent and abandon it? The answer below is from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: A. It's a myth that parent birds will abandon young that have been touched by humans—most birds have a poor sense of smell, and birds in general identify their young using the same cues we humans do—appearance and sound. It's perfectly safe to pick up a fallen nestling and put it back in the nest, or to carry a fledgling out of danger and place it in a tree or shrub." Same would apply to bird banding. NO BIRD OR WILD ANIMAL SHOULD EVER BE KEPT AS A PET!

On 20 April 2015, I got up early to go on a birding walk with friends. I checked the weather forecast for this week and when I saw that rain was expected for four days in a row, starting the next day, I changed my mind and went for a long drive NW and SW of the city for the day instead. Left home around 8:45 am and got back about 6:45, driving about 330 km. The day before, I had been out on a day trip to Pine Coulee Reservoir with birding friends, but only got half a dozen very distant, blurry shots of birds. I just couldn't wait any longer to go and see if I could find one of the Great Gray Owls that a few people had been seeing recently, NW of the city. No luck at all, though I did see a Moose and a pair of Bluebirds, all of which helped lessen the disappointment of not finding an owl. The Moose had been feeding near the edge of the road when I spotted it. A minute or two later, it crossed the road and began feeding there. Suddenly, it took off across that road, leaping over a barbed-wire fence to the safety of the forest. Took me by surprise until I noticed a couple of cows (bulls) that had walked up behind the Moose and spooked it! I almost watched disaster, as the Moose got its leg briefly tangled in the barbed-wire as it leapt and almost stumbled. The only other thing that I found to photograph were cows, so on my way home, I took the long way and came back via backroads SW of the city. Drove a couple of roads that were new to me and was glad to find a wooden structure that I had seen on someone's Facebook page. He had very kindly told me where to look, though I wasn't quite sure which road it was on until I was there. I also called in briefly at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, hoping that I might just be lucky enough to see one particular bird species (a Varied Thrush that a couple of people had seen near the parking lot recently), that I hadn't seen before - out of luck, again.

Not quite the best pose, but I just managed to get a quick shot or two of this female Mountain Bluebird before she went inside her nesting box to add more dried grass to her nest. In many ways, the back view is more interesting with its touches of blue than the plain, grayish front colours. I was just thankful to be able to post a Bluebird photo that was taken this spring, instead of last, from my archives. Feels so good to see them back here again. On the morning of 20 April 2015, I got up early to go on a birding walk with friends. I checked the weather forecast for this week and when I saw that rain was expected for four days in a row, starting tomorrow, I changed my mind and went for a long drive NW and SW of the city for the day instead. Left home around 8:45 am and got back about 6:45, driving about 330 km. The day before, I had been out on a day trip to Pine Coulee Reservoir with birding friends, but only got half a dozen very distant, blurry shots of birds. I just couldn't wait any longer to go and see if I could find one of the Great Gray Owls that a few people had been seeing recently, NW of the city. No luck at all, though I did see a Moose and this pair of Bluebirds, all of which helped lessen the disappointment of not finding an owl. The Moose had been feeding near the edge of the road when I spotted it. A minute or two later, it crossed the road and began feeding there. Suddenly, it took off across that road, leaping over a barbed-wire fence to the safety of the forest. Took me by surprise until I noticed a couple of cows (bulls) that had walked up behind the Moose and spooked it! I almost watched disaster, as the Moose got its leg briefly tangled in the barbed-wire as it leapt and almost stumbled. The only other thing that I found to photograph were cows, so on my way home, I took the long way and came back via backroads SW of the city. Drove a couple of roads that were new to me and was glad to find a wooden structure that I had seen on someone's Facebook page. The photographer had very kindly told me where to look, though I wasn't quite sure which road it was on until I was there. I also called in briefly at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, hoping that I might just be lucky enough to see one particular bird species that I hadn't seen before - out of luck, again. The paths in the park were so muddy. 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...

Not quite the best pose, but I just managed to get a quick shot before this female Mountain Bluebird turned her back towards me. I was just thankful to be able to post a Bluebird photo that was taken this spring, instead of last, from my archives. Feels so good to see them back here again. Yesterday morning, 20 April 2015, I got up early to go on a birding walk with friends. I checked the weather forecast for this week and when I saw that rain was expected for four days in a row, starting tomorrow, I changed my mind and went for a long drive NW and SW of the city for the day instead. Left home around 8:45 am and got back about 6:45, driving about 330 km. The day before, I had been out on a day trip to Pine Coulee Reservoir with birding friends, but only got half a dozen very distant, blurry shots of birds. I just couldn't wait any longer to go and see if I could find one of the Great Gray Owls that a few people had been seeing recently, NW of the city. No luck at all, though I did see a Moose and this pair of Bluebirds, all of which helped lessen the disappointment of not finding an owl. The Moose had been feeding near the edge of the road when I spotted it. A minute or two later, it crossed the road and began feeding there. Suddenly, it took off across that road, leaping over a barbed-wire fence to the safety of the forest. Took me by surprise until I noticed a couple of cows (bulls) that had walked up behind the Moose and spooked it! I almost watched disaster, as the Moose got its leg briefly tangled in the barbed-wire as it leapt and almost stumbled. The only other thing that I found to photograph were cows, so on my way home, I took the long way and came back via backroads SW of the city. Drove a couple of roads that were new to me and was glad to find a wooden structure that I had seen on someone's Facebook page. He had very kindly told me where to look, though I wasn't quite sure which road it was on until I was there. I also called in briefly at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, hoping that I might just be lucky enough to see one particular bird species that I hadn't seen before - out of luck, again, 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... Once again, sleep was more important, so I'm posting really late again today, shortly after noon.

I love seeing old barns and homesteads when driving the backroads around Calgary. This one was photographed SE of Calgary, on 14 April 2014, when I went driving the backroads for the day with my youngest daughter. Thought it would make a change of subject for my photostream, away from birds and wild or garden flowers. Looks like we are in for about a week of isolated showers, but the heavy rain seems to have come to an end, thank goodness. Hopefully, southern Alberta river levels will start to go down, avoiding any further flooding. Eerily strange coincidence that this is exactly the same time as Alberta's Flood of the Century last year, 20 June 2013.

When I spent the day driving the backroads SE of the city with my youngest daughter, on 14 April 2014, we photographed this and a few other rather distant beautiful horses. They were in the field across the road from Superman's farm (from the 1978 movie "Superman: The Movie"). Does anyone know what breed of horse this is?