Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 29 December 2016

Happy March 1st, everyone! Can't believe how fast time is flying by. The temperature is 0C this afternoon, with a forecast for possible snow flurries. This photo was taken on 29 December 2016, when three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area, NW of Calgary. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. We all travelled in just one car, and the area we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). We had to be way NW of the city, ready to start driving our Count area by 8:00 am. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start this Count. This is one of the Llamas seen at one of the farms we called in at during our coverage. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. Unfortunately, it was very overcast when we were there, so this was taken in poor light. There was so much snow on the long driveway that led to the house, that we were unable to drive up, so we decided to walk. Actually, several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the driver's vehicle, just in case. "Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a shy, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop - of course, it IS a birding trip : ) A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen it from before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add the list of species seen, in a comment box below.

I was without Internet earlier this morning, but thankfully it is back on again. I wonder if our bitterly cold weather had anything to do with it. Just before noon, our temperature is -20C (windchill -28C). Tomorrow should be a bit milder, and then after that, temperatures are forecast for above 0C , which will feel so good. On 29 December 2016, three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went in my group, travelling in just one car, and the area we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). We have to be way NW of the city, ready to start driving our Count area by 8:00 am. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start this Count. This is one of the Llamas seen at one of the farms we called in at during our coverage. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. Unfortunately, it was very overcast when we were there, so this was taken in poor light. There was so much snow on the long driveway that led to the house, that we were unable to drive up, so we decided to walk. Actually, several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the driver's vehicle, just in case. "Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old, white dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop. A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below.

There is a Snowfall Warning Alert in effect today, 5 February 2017. The snow was heavy earlier today, but 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?! The temperature is -17C (windchill -22C). I don't see one of these old, round, wooden grain storage bins very often. Guess it's called a silo, though it is so different from the more modern, metal ones. Couldn't resist taking a quick shot of it. This photo was taken on 29 December 2016, when three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went, travelling in just one car, and the section of the Count circle that we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). We had to be way NW of the city, ready to start driving our Count area by 8:00 am. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start this Count. Unfortunately, it was a very overcast day, which was not good as far as taking photos was concerned. There was so much snow on the ground and several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the driver's vehicle, just in case. At one of the first acreages we call in at each year, we always get such a warm welcome. Tea, coffee and cookies are always waiting for us : ) One of my favourite farms to call in at has several beautiful Llamas, These animals tend to be one of the highlights of my day. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old, white dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two lovely old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop. A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow.

I couldn't resist taking a quick shot of this cheery mailbox/birdhouse/feeder (?) that we passed on the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Count. Red is such a cheery colour on a cold winter's day, for a start, plus I love old grain elevators. The small windows have been taped over, presumably to keep the snow and rain out - maybe it is used as a mailbox. This photo was taken on 29 December 2016, when three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went, travelling in just one car, and the section of the Count circle that we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). We had to be way NW of the city, ready to start driving our Count area by 8:00 am. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start this Count. Unfortunately, it was a very overcast day, which was not good as far as taking photos was concerned. There was so much snow on the ground and several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the driver's vehicle, just in case. At one of the first acreages we call in at each year, we always get such a warm welcome. Tea, coffee and cookies are always waiting for us : ) One of my favourite farms to call in at has several beautiful Llamas, These animals tend to be one of the highlights of my day. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old, white dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two lovely old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop. A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below.

This photo was taken on 29 December 2016, when three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went, travelling in just one car, and the section of the Count circle that we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). This is one of the Llamas seen at one of the farms we called in at during our coverage. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. Unfortunately, it was very overcast when we were there, so this was taken in poor light. There was so much snow on the long driveway that led to the house, that we were unable to drive up, so we decided to walk. Actually, several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the vehicle, just in case. "Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two fine old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop. A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below.

Yet another deep-freeze day, with a temperature of -22C (windchill -33C) at noon. Another few bitterly cold days, and things are supposed to warm up, thank goodness. My intention is to stay home in the warm - again. On 29 December 2016, three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went in my group, travelling in just one car, and the area we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). We have to be way NW of the city, ready to start driving our Count area by 8:00 am. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start this Count. This is one of the Llamas seen at one of the farms we called in at during our coverage. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. Unfortunately, it was very overcast when we were there, so this was taken in poor light. There was so much snow on the long driveway that led to the house, that we were unable to drive up, so we decided to walk. Actually, several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the vehicle, just in case. "Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old, white dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop. A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below.

A few issues with Flickr today, including not being able to click on any of my photos when I first load Flickr each time. Also, the graph for Stats wouldn't show up till after several tries. Various little odds and ends happening. Yet another deep-freeze day, with a temperature of -22C (windchill -33C) at noon. Another few bitterly cold days, and things are supposed to warm up, thank goodness. My intention is to stay home in the warm - again. On 29 December 2016, three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went in my group, travelling in just one car, and the area we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). We have to be way NW of the city, ready to start driving our Count area by 8:00 am. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start this Count. Unfortunately, it was a very overcast day, which was not good as far as taking photos was concerned. There was so much snow on the ground and several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the vehicle, just in case. At one of the first acreages we call in at each year, we always get such a warm welcome. Tea, coffee and cookies are always waiting for us : ) This is where I photographed this barn with its attractive mural, taken as we drove past it. I added a filter to the image in post-processing, to sharpen the details. One of my favourite farms to call in at has several beautiful Llamas, These animals tend to be one of the highlights of my day. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old, white dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop. A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below.

I had these three images from two days ago ready to post yesterday, but I overslept by about an hour and a half, which left me just 27 minutes from waking up suddenly and actually leaving the house!! This is always my biggest concern on any Count day - will I wake up in time or might I sleep through my two alarm clock radios and a kitchen timer. Well, yesterday, it was the latter, and it was not pleasant! Annoying, too, as yesterday's Count is my favourite Count. All three photos posted this morning, 31 December 2016, were taken two days ago, when three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went two days ago, travelling in just one car, and the area we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). This is one of the Llamas seen at one of the farms we called in at during our coverage two days ago. This farmer has several of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. Unfortunately, it was very overcast when we were there, so this was taken in poor light. There was so much snow on the long driveway that led to the house, that we were unable to drive up, so we decided to walk. Actually, several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the vehicle, just in case. "Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a beautiful, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop. A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen before.

I had these three images from two days ago ready to post yesterday, but I overslept by about an hour and a half yesterday, which left me just 27 minutes from waking up suddenly and actually leaving the house!! This is always my biggest concern on any Count day - will I wake up in time or might I sleep through my two alarm clock radios and a kitchen timer. Well, yesterday, it was the latter, and it was not pleasant! Annoying, too, as yesterday's Count is my favourite Count. I did three long-day counts within the last four days, with the last two being back to back days, which is just too much. By the way, this is the 113th Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, so it has been going on for more than a century! Today will be a day for staying home, but tomorrow morning, I take part in the 27th annual New Year's Day Fish Creek Park Count in the city. The forecast for tomorrow is more snow. All three photos posted this morning, 31 December 2016, were taken two days ago, when three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went two days ago, travelling in just one car, and the area we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). We have to be way NW of the city by 8:00 am, ready to start driving our Count area. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start this Count. One of the highlights of this Count for me is seeing several Llamas on one of the farms. Unfortunately, it was very overcast all day. Several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the driver's vehicle, just in case. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a shy, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop - of course, it IS a birding trip : ) A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen it from before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below.

I had today's three images from two days ago ready to post yesterday, but I overslept by about an hour and a half yesterday, which left me just 27 minutes from waking up suddenly and actually leaving the house!! This is always my biggest concern on any Count day - will I wake up in time or might I sleep through my two alarm clock radios and a kitchen timer. Well, yesterday, it was the latter, and it was not pleasant! Annoying, too, as yesterday's Count is my favourite Count. I did three long-day counts within the last four days, with the last two being back to back days, which is just too much. By the way, this is the 113th Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, so it has been going on for more than a century! Today will be a day for staying home, but tomorrow morning, I take part in the 27th annual New Year's Day Fish Creek Park Count in the city. The forecast for tomorrow is more snow. All three photos posted this morning, 31 December 2016, were taken two days ago, when three of us took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called a Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of backroads and farms just like on our other Counts. Only three of us went two days ago, travelling in just one car, and the area we covered was east of Highway 22/Cowboy Trail (across from the Water Valley area). We had to be way NW of the city by 8:00 am, ready to start driving our Count area. There always seems to be a beautiful sunrise when we start this Count. One of the highlights of this Count for me is seeing several Llamas on one of the farms. Unfortunately, it was very overcast all day. Several of the backroads were in bad condition and I was expecting us to get stuck, which fortunately didn't happen. A huge bag of gravel and a snow shovel were in the back of the driver's vehicle, just in case. Another of my favourite farms to stop at has a shy, old dog named Fang, along with beautiful cats, and I always look forward to seeing them each year. The neighbouring farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, we drove in past them, but didn't stop - of course, it IS a birding trip : ) A bit further in, we did get out of the car while our leader tried to find someone to ask permission for us to get out and look for birds. No one could be found, but it gave me the chance to take two rapid shots through the trees of the second barn, from a side view, which I had never seen it from before. So, it was a very enjoyable day, though there were not all that many species or individual birds to be seen. Many thanks, Andrew, for driving our leader and myself. You did a great job of handling the roads that had not been cleared of snow. I will add a list of the bird species seen, in a comment box below.