Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: after the May Species Count 2017

Another smoky day here in Calgary, so it has to be another day at home with windows closed. The air quality today is expected to reach High Risk. I really hope that rain will arrive soon to help the firefighters in British Columbia and in Alberta, too! So much devastation. 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... What a great day our group of four people had on 28 May 2017, taking part in the annual May Species Count. We travelled in just one car, which worked out well. On the 2016 May Species Count, we had been unable to find a Great Gray Owl, but then I drove back to the area the next day, and found two of them. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken of them, each owl is just as exciting as the very first. So, it was a thrill on 28 May to see one of these spectacular owls. This Count's owl was on a fence post when we first saw it. As is usually the case with these owls, it was focused on finding a Meadow Vole for a snack and in fact did catch one while I was watching. It moved to a few different fence posts in its search. Once it had caught its prey, it ate it there, down on the ground - with its back to us, of course. I was kind of hoping it would fly back up to the fence with it, but it didn't. While I was taking photos, various people came along the road, a couple in cars, but most were cyclists out for a long ride on such a beautiful, sunny day. The owl basically ignored everyone, giving just a quick glance at us every once in a while. Their concentration never fails to leave me in awe. My small group found 72 species of bird on this 2017 Count - amazing, really. Three pairs of great eyes - plus me : ) Part of our Count covers some of my favourite roads, so it is not surprising that I enjoy it so much. Once the Count had finished, I drove a few of the roads again on my way home, mainly focusing on two pairs of Mountain Bluebirds that I had enjoyed watching last year. The male in this photo has four different bands on its legs, more than one usually sees. Needless to say, I went home feeling very happy after a long day of birding, and oh, so tired!

Last night, I added five extra photos, trying to catch up a little, otherwise I will never get back to the last two days of my Trinidad images. I am posting three more photos this morning. 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... I do prefer to photograph Bluebirds that have no bands on them, but the ones I usually see do have a band. This particular male was being studied and the person involved used brightly coloured bands so that she (he?) didn't need to approach the bird closely in order to tell which individual it was. I don't know if all the bands were added at the same time or not. I don't like to see that many, wondering how much their weight might affect the bird. I photographed this male a year ago at the same location, too, and he seems to be just fine. I'm always amazed how any bird can fly to warmer places for the winter and then find its way back to an exact spot. Wish my sense of direction was that good, instead of being almost non-existent! What a great day our group of four people had on 28 May 2017, taking part in the annual May Species Count. We travelled in just one car, which worked out well. On the 2016 May Species Count, we had been unable to find a Great Gray Owl, but then I drove back to the area the next day, and found two of them. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken of them, each owl is just as exciting as the very first. So, it was a thrill yesterday to see one of these spectacular owls - seen in previous photo posted today. This Count's owl was on a fence post when we first saw it. As is usually the case with these owls, it was focused on finding a Meadow Vole for a snack and in fact did catch one while I was watching. It moved to a few different fence posts in its search. Once it had caught its prey, it ate it there, down on the ground - with its back to us, of course. I was kind of hoping it would fly back up to the fence with it, but it didn't. While I was taking photos, various people came along the road, a couple in cars, but most were cyclists out for a long ride on such a beautiful, sunny day. The owl basically ignored everyone, giving just a quick glance at us every once in a while. Their concentration never fails to leave me in awe. My small group found 72 species of bird on this 2017 Count - amazing, really. Three pairs of great eyes - plus me : ) Part of our Count covers some of my favourite roads, so it is not surprising that I enjoy it so much. Once the Count had finished, I drove a few of the roads again on my way home, mainly focusing on two pairs of Mountain Bluebirds that I had enjoyed watching last year. The male in this photo has four different bands on its legs, more than one usually sees. Needless to say, I went home feeling very happy after a long day of birding, and oh, so tired! Two days later, on 30 May 2017, I was out for the day south of the city with my Daughter (a belated day out for my birthday and Mother's Day), to Nanton and a few roads nearby and then making our way to Frank Lake and finally ending up at the Saskatoon Farm, where we decided to have an early supper. My favourite kind of day, so thank you, Rachel, as always!!

Just adding five extra photos tonight, trying to catch up a little, otherwise I will never get back to the last two days of my Trinidad images. Will post three photos tomorrow morning. This photo shows a female Mountain Bluebird, far less colourful than the male. She still has a very faint wash of colour on some of her feathers. 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... What a great day our group of four people had on 28 May 2017, taking part in the annual May Species Count. We travelled in just one car, which worked out well. On the 2016 May Species Count, we had been unable to find a Great Gray Owl, but I drove back to the area the next day, and found two of them. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken of them, each owl is just as exciting as the very first. So, it was a thrill to again see one of these spectacular owls. The owl was on a fence post when we first saw it. As is usually the case with these owls, it was focused on finding a Meadow Vole for a snack and in fact did catch one while I was watching. It moved to a few different fence posts in its search. Once it had caught its prey, it ate it there, down on the ground - with its back to us, of course. I was kind of hoping it would fly back up to the fence with it, but it didn't. While I was taking photos, various people came along the road, a couple in cars, but most were cyclists out for a long ride on such a beautiful, sunny day. The owl basically ignored everyone, giving just a quick glance at us every once in a while. Their concentration never fails to leave me in awe. We found 72 bird species - amazing, really. Three pairs of great eyes - plus me : ) Part of our Count covers some of my favourite roads, so it is not surprising that I enjoy it so much. Once the Count had finished, I drove a few of the roads again on my way home, mainly focusing on two pairs of Mountain Bluebirds that I had enjoyed watching last year. Needless to say, I went home feeling very happy after a long day of birding, and oh, so tired!