Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 13 October 2016

Not MY hand, of course! Tuesday, 18 October 2016, and the temperature is 0°C (windchill -3°C) and it snowed again overnight. As dreary as can be outside, though the sun is supposed to come out this afternoon. This little male Red-breasted Nuthatch flew down to our leader's hand during a walk in South Glenmore Park, on 13 October 2016. A rather grainy image, as it was taken in the poor light of the forest on a very gloomy day. Like the Black-capped Chickadees, some Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches and, to a much lesser extent, Boreal Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers will fly to your hand in certain natural areas. It just depends on how used to humans the birds are. On this day, we walked from the sailing club west towards Weaselhead. When I walk in this area, it's usually for the fresh air and exercise. As far as the birds are concerned, everything tends to be over on the far side of the Glenmore Reservoir. It's no fun at all trying to photograph birds that are barely visible with the naked eye! On this day, some of those very distant specks turned out to be Surf Scoters and Western Grebes. The first part of our walk was along the rough trail near the edge of the water, and on our return walk, we used the main, paved path. It was during the latter half of the walk that we spotted something moving in the tall grasses. Really, all you could see at first was a pair of ears. It could easily have been someone's dog, but when a little more of it showed through the grass, we could see it was a beautiful Coyote. Lovely colouring and looking very healthy. I had to zoom right in and the light was awful, but I managed to get a shot or two. I will add our leader's list of species seen: S. Glenmore Reservoir, SW Calgary, 0915-1200, Thu13Oct2016. Completely overcast, calm -1 to 1°C 1. American Wigeon-1+ 2. Mallard-25 3. Ring-necked Duck-6+ 4. Scaup sp.-10+ 5. Surf Scoter-9+ 6. Bufflehead-20 7. Common Goldeneye-15 8. Common Merganser-3 9. Horned Grebe-50+ 10. Red-necked Grebe-1 11. Eared Grebe-2 12. Western Grebe-15 13. Sharp-shinned Hawk-1 14. American Coot-50+ 15. Bonaparte’s Gull-7 16. Herring Gull?-3 17. Downy Woodpecker-21 18. Northern Flicker-2 19. Blue Jay-2 20. Black-billed Magpie-10 21. American Crow-4 22. Common Raven-3 23. Black-capped Chickadee-30 24. Red-breasted Nuthatch-3 25. Brown Creeper-2 26. Hermit Thrush?-2 Red Squirrel 4 Coyote 1 After the walk, friend Sandy invited a couple of us back to her place for lunch. Very enjoyable and much-appreciated - thanks, Sandy!

A rather hazy photo taken two days ago, on 13 October 2016, when I joined a group of friends for a birding walk in South Glenmore Park. When I walk in this area, it's usually for the fresh air and exercise. As far as the birds are concerned, everything tends to be over on the far side of the Glenmore Reservoir. It's no fun at all trying to photograph birds that are barely visible with the naked eye! On this day, some of those very distant specks turned out to be Surf Scoters and Western Grebes. The first part of our walk was going westwards along the rough trail near the edge of the water, and on our return walk, we used the main, paved path. It was during the latter half of the walk that we spotted something moving in the tall grasses. Really, all you could see at first was a pair of ears. It could easily have been someone's dog, but when a little more of it showed through the grass, we could see it was a beautiful Coyote. Lovely colouring and looking very healthy. I will add our leader's list of species seen: S. Glenmore Reservoir, SW Calgary, 0915-1200, Thu13Oct2016. Completely overcast, calm -1 to 1°C 1. American Wigeon-1+ 2. Mallard-25 3. Ring-necked Duck-6+ 4. Scaup sp.-10+ 5. Surf Scoter-9+ 6. Bufflehead-20 7. Common Goldeneye-15 8. Common Merganser-3 9. Horned Grebe-50+ 10. Red-necked Grebe-1 11. Eared Grebe-2 12. Western Grebe-15 13. Sharp-shinned Hawk-1 14. American Coot-50+ 15. Bonaparte’s Gull-7 16. Herring Gull?-3 17. Downy Woodpecker-21 18. Northern Flicker-2 19. Blue Jay-2 20. Black-billed Magpie-10 21. American Crow-4 22. Common Raven-3 23. Black-capped Chickadee-30 24. Red-breasted Nuthatch-3 25. Brown Creeper-2 26. Hermit Thrush?-2 Red Squirrel 4 Coyote 1 After the walk, friend Sandy invited a couple of us back to her place for lunch. Very enjoyable and much-appreciated - thanks, Sandy! This was the view taken from this area, looking west towards the Rocky Mountains. The snow we had over the Thanksgiving weekend in Calgary had all melted.

Yesterday morning, 13 October 2016, I joined a group of friends for a birding walk in South Glenmore Park. When I walk in this area, it's usually for the fresh air and exercise. As far as the birds are concerned, everything tends to be over on the far side of the Glenmore Reservoir. It's no fun at all trying to photograph birds that are barely visible with the naked eye! Yesterday, some of those very distant specks turned out to be Surf Scoters and Western Grebes. The first part of our walk was along the rough trail near the edge of the water, and on our return walk, we used the main, paved path. It was during the latter half of the walk that we spotted something moving in the tall grasses. Really, all you could see at first was a pair of ears. It could easily have been someone's dog, but when a little more of it showed through the grass, we could see it was a beautiful Coyote. Lovely colouring and looking very healthy. I had to zoom right in and the light was awful, but I managed to get a shot or two. Though the quality of this photo is really poor, there is something about it that I like. "The coyote appears often in the tales and traditions of Native Americans—usually as a very savvy and clever beast. Modern coyotes have displayed their cleverness by adapting to the changing American landscape. These members of the dog family once lived primarily in open prairies and deserts, but now roam the continent's forests and mountains. They have even colonized cities like Los Angeles, and are now found over most of North America. Coyote populations are likely at an all-time high. These adaptable animals will eat almost anything. They hunt rabbits, rodents, fish, frogs, and even deer. They also happily dine on insects, snakes, fruit, grass, and carrion. Because they sometimes kill lambs, calves, or other livestock, as well as pets, many ranchers and farmers regard them as destructive pests." From National Geographic. animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/coyote/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote I will add our leader's list of species seen: S. Glenmore Reservoir, SW Calgary, 0915-1200, Thu13Oct2016. Completely overcast, calm -1 to 1°C 1. American Wigeon-1+ 2. Mallard-25 3. Ring-necked Duck-6+ 4. Scaup sp.-10+ 5. Surf Scoter-9+ 6. Bufflehead-20 7. Common Goldeneye-15 8. Common Merganser-3 9. Horned Grebe-50+ 10. Red-necked Grebe-1 11. Eared Grebe-2 12. Western Grebe-15 13. Sharp-shinned Hawk-1 14. American Coot-50+ 15. Bonaparte’s Gull-7 16. Herring Gull?-3 17. Downy Woodpecker-21 18. Northern Flicker-2 19. Blue Jay-2 20. Black-billed Magpie-10 21. American Crow-4 22. Common Raven-3 23. Black-capped Chickadee-30 24. Red-breasted Nuthatch-3 25. Brown Creeper-2 26. Hermit Thrush?-2 Red Squirrel 4 Coyote 1 After the walk, friend Sandy invited a couple of us back to her place for lunch. Very enjoyable and much-appreciated - thanks, Sandy!