Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 22 November 2016

We have been plunged back into severe winter weather again. The temperature this morning is -22C (windchill -28C) and tomorrow will be a few degrees colder, at -28C (windchill -35C!!!). globalnews.ca/video/3229197/snow-route-parking-ban-for-ca... There is a Snowfall Warning Alert in effect continuing today, Monday, 6 February 2017. It snowed overnight, but it's falling more lightly at the moment. "Issued at 10:33 Sunday 05 February 2017. A long period of snowfall, with total amounts of 15 to 25 cm continues." Isn't that what we all just longed to hear, lol?! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On 22 November 2016, I was finally able to remove the White-tailed Ptarmigan from the top of my mental Wish List! Over the last few years, I have been with a friend maybe four or five times to look for these in the mountains, without any luck. I had told friends that this year, if I didn't see one of these grouse, I would build a snowbird and photograph it. It was just so exciting to see 15 of these beautiful birds that day with friends, Dorothy and Stephen. We would definitely never have found them without help from several other friends. As you can imagine, spotting a white bird against a snowy background from a great distance is pretty well impossible, especially if they are in the shade - this photo was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm with my point-and-shoot. I am so happy to have seen these birds and get any kind of photos. As photographers know, shooting white on white is never easy. These birds tend to walk around in just a small area for a while, feeding on the Willow buds, 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, 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. This photo was taken on the first recent trip to look for them. I was so very fortunate to go out with different friends on two more days, on 23 and 29 November 2016, and lucky enough to see these birds both times. I didn't have to trudge through very deep snow on this and the second trip, but was up to my knees in the white stuff for part of the third visit. "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

On 22 November 2016, I was finally able to remove the White-tailed Ptarmigan from the top of my mental Wish List! Over the last few years, I have been with a friend maybe four or five times to look for these in the mountains, without any luck. I had told friends that this year, if I didn't see one of these grouse, I would build a snowbird and photograph it. It was just so exciting to see 15 of these beautiful birds that day with friends, Dorothy and Stephen. We would definitely never have found them without help from several friends. As you can imagine, spotting a white bird against a snowy background from a great distance is pretty well impossible, especially if they are in the shade - this photo was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm with my point-and-shoot. A bit more grainy than I would have liked, but I am still so happy to have seen these birds and get any kind of photos. As photographers know, shooting white on white is never easy. These birds tend to walk around in just a small area for a while, feeding on the Willow buds, 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, 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. This photo was taken on the first recent trip to look for them. I was so very fortunate to go out with different friends on two more days, on 23 and 29 November 2016, and lucky enough to see these birds both times. I didn't have to trudge through very deep snow on this and the second trip, but was up to my knees in the white stuff for part of the third visit. "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

Hope no one is already getting fed up of seeing White-tailed Ptarmigan photos - I still have lots I could post : ) On 22 November 2016, I was finally able to remove the White-tailed Ptarmigan from the top of my mental Wish List! Over the last few years, I have been with a friend maybe four or five times to look for these in the mountains, including this very spot, without any luck. I had told friends that this year, if I didn't see one of these grouse, I would build a snowbird and photograph it. A lot of very deep snow in the whole area! It was just so exciting to see 15 of these beautiful birds on this day, with friends, Dorothy and Stephen. We would definitely never have found them without help from several friends. As you can imagine, spotting a white bird against a snowy background from a great distance is pretty well impossible - this photo was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1110 mm with my point-and-shoot. Shooting white on white is never easy. These birds tend to walk around in just a small area, feeding on the Willow buds, 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, 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

Note to anyone who belongs to the ipernity website (includes me): ipernity will be closing. A great shame, but also frustrating. I have all 12,644 of my images and descriptions on ipernity - exactly the same as on Flickr. No idea where we are supposed to move to now, if anywhere. Does anyone have any ideas for good sites? www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4642052 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On 22 November 2016, I was finally able to remove the White-tailed Ptarmigan from the top of my mental Wish List! Over the last few years, I have been with a friend maybe four or five times to look for these in the mountains, without any luck. I had told friends that this year, if I didn't see one of these grouse, I would build a snowman bird and photograph it. A lot of very deep snow in the whole area! This photo was taken from the road before I climbed half way down a short slope. These birds tend to walk around in just one very small area at a time, feeding on the Willow buds, 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 process. It was just so exciting to see 15 of these beautiful birds with friends, Dorothy and Stephen. Of course, to see just one bird would have been thrilling, too. We would definitely never have found them without help from several other friends. As you can imagine, spotting a white bird against a snowy background from a great distance is pretty well impossible - this photo was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm with my point-and-shoot. "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 Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for inviting me to go out for a day in the mountains. A day that turned out to be really great, helping us to see these beautiful 'lifers'.

This was one of the places where friends Dorothy and Stephen and I stopped in the mountains, on 22 November 2016. On this day, I was finally able to remove the White-tailed Ptarmigan from the top of my mental Wish List! Over the last few years, I have been with a friend maybe four or five times to look for these in the mountains, without any luck. I had told friends that this year, if I didn't see one of these grouse, I would build a snowman bird and photograph it. A lot of very deep snow in the whole area! It was just so exciting to see 15 of these beautiful birds. We would definitely never have found them without help from several friends. As you can imagine, spotting a white bird against a snowy background from a great distance is pretty well impossible. Though many of my photos were a bit more grainy than I would have liked, I am still so happy to have seen these birds and get any kind of photos. Shooting white on white is never easy. "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

Yesterday, 22 November 2016, I was finally able to remove the White-tailed Ptarmigan from the top of my Wish List! Over the last few years, I have been with a friend maybe four or five times to look for these in the mountains, without any luck. I had told friends that this year, if I didn't see one of these grouse, I would build a snowman bird and photograph it. A lot of very deep snow in the whole area! It was just so exciting to see 15 of these beautiful birds yesterday, with friends, Dorothy and Stephen. We would definitely never have found them without help from several friends. As you can imagine, spotting a white bird against a snowy background from a great distance is pretty well impossible - this photo was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm with my point-and-shoot. A bit more grainy than I would have liked, but I am still so happy to have seen these birds and get any kind of photos. Shooting white on white is never easy. "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