Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: storm-water pond

Another dreary, overcast day today, with a temperature of 1C (windchill -4C) this morning. Yesterday, 10 October 2017, was much the same, if not worse, but I decided to join friends for a three-hour walk - that included a fair bit of standing - at the east end of Fish Creek Provincial Park. I was hoping that there might still be some fall colour to be seen. Strong winds and snow had removed a lot of the leaves from the trees, but there were still enough to give a golden glow to photos. There is a 70% chance for mixed precipitation this afternoon, so yesterday may have been the last of any good colour. This photo was taken at one of the storm-water ponds. We had a few good sightings yesterday, including a Great Blue Heron that seemed to have a problem with swallowing a very tiny fish it had caught. It would catch the fish, and then drop it back in the water, and repeated this several times. I don't think it ever did catch and actually eat it. Another fun thing to see was a male Downy Woodpecker that suddenly flew down to someone's hand. Chickadees and Nuthatches were also very aware that we were standing there. They are so busy searching for and collecting food to store away for the long, harsh winter months. Great Horned Owls nest each year at the east end of the park and have done so for years. I don't know how on earth someone spotted the one we saw yesterday. It was perched far away in a wooded area and was almost impossible to see. If I moved two or three inches to the left or right, the owl was hidden from view. Even though I have seen endless owls over the years, it is always a good feeling to see one again. I guess I missed the owls in this area back in March or April of this year - too busy with preparations for my trip to Trinidad & Tobago, but also, last winter was so brutal.

Ha, I'm hoping this photo is not showing up as my main photo for this morning. Posting it only as a record of a two and a half hour walk I did yesterday morning, in Fish Creek Park. I rarely get any photos that are worth posting on these walks and this is about the 'best' of the handful I took. I have missed the two previous walks with friends so thought I really must try and get out on this one. We met near the Bow Valley Ranch and, after walking down as far as Annie's cafe to look for any birds that were around, we then headed across the field to the Bow River. We turned around once we reached the first storm-water pond, which is where I took this zoomed in shot of a few of the birds seen there. The forecast at the moment is for mixed precipitation tonight and tomorrow morning and scattered flurries for Friday (22 September). Our temperature shortly before noon today is 7C, but next week is supposed to be back in the mid to high teens, which would be wonderful!.

I don't see Wood Ducks very often and, usually when I do see them, they are far away. The two males and one female in this photo were just within photo range, fully zoomed and cropped. A second female was nearby. They were hanging out at a local storm-water pond at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park, and were seen on a birding walk with friends on 1 November 2016. By the way, a note to any local birders - the road down to Bankside has been closed for the winter. I don't remember this happening other years. Now you have to park in the Burnsmead parking lot and walk the rest of the way. I will add the list of the 32 bird species seen, in a comment box below. "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

I seem to keep running out of time to add descriptions for each day! After missing many chances to get out when my old car became more or less undrivable for part of the summer, plus a newly found courage to drive further afield (except within the city!), I guess I am taking every chance I can now, before the snow arrives. Actually, there was a sprinkling of snow on the ground in a few places when I drove through Kananaskis today, 3 October 2016. We know it can't be far away. I'm also trying to get a bit more used to my new vehicle before the roads become icy. This photo was taken yesterday, 2 October 2016, when I went on an afternoon birding walk with friends. We walked around the Bebo Grove area, including calling in at the storm-water ponds at Marshall Springs. The few birds we did see were all far away, but the beautiful fall colours made up for any shortage of bird species.

Fall has definitely arrived here, bringing its beautiful colours. We don't have Maple trees here, so our autumn colours are yellows and golds with touches of orange. This photo was taken in Fish Creek Park, at one of the storm-water ponds at Burnsmead.