Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 4 leg bands

Yesterday afternoon, 13 July 2018, I watched as a tiny spider crawled up the breast of this motionless male Mountain Bluebird - and suddenly, goodbye spider! How wonderful it feels to have a cooler morning! A short while ago, it was just 11C, now 15C just before noon. Finally, I can get some cooler air inside my place. The last two days, I have had to go out in my car just to get the relief of air-conditioning. Yesterday, I more or less repeated my drive from the previous day, except that I called in at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park to see if there was any sign of fungi growing. It is still not the peak of the fungi season, so I was not too hopeful. I barely entered the forest, as it still gives me the creeps, - Bears, Cougar and Moose are seen there, and I have been told so many times not to go by myself. So far, I have only seen a very large Moose. I did find a cluster of very tiny mushrooms ad several clumps of orange Coral Fungus in their usual location. Took a few wildflower shots, too, which I don't do very often these days, unlike a few years ago. 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... "A female Mountain Bluebird pays more attention to good nest sites than to attractive males. She chooses her mate solely on the basis of the location and quality of the nesting cavity he offers her—disregarding his attributes as a singer, a flier, or a looker. A male Mountain Bluebird frequently feeds his mate while she is incubating and brooding. As the male approaches with food, the female may beg fledgling-style—with open beak, quivering wings, and begging calls. More often, she waits until her mate perches nearby, then silently flicks the wing farthest from him—a signal that usually sends him off to find her a snack. The oldest recorded Mountain Bluebird was a female, and at least 9 years old when she was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Alberta in 2005. She had been banded in the same province in 1997." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/

What a SAD, SAD day! If you are familiar with Anthony Bourdain, chef, traveller, explorer, a man who got on well with anyone, anywhere, no matter who they were, or where they come from, this is a very sad day, hearing of his death, from suicide. I have watched his TV shows for a long time, enjoying seeing him interact with local people in all sorts of exotic or unusual places, that most people would never dream of visiting. A real people person. I have always loved the way he reminds us, with such ease, that people are the same everywhere on this planet. I remember last year, two of his shows covered Trinidad & Tobago (which I had just visited) and Oman (where I had lived for 6 years). He had overcome so many struggles through his life and had become very successful in what he loved to do. Unfortunately, deep demons had obviously not left him completely, as, at the age of 61, he committed suicide while filming in France. So sad for the world to lose such a unique, kind man, and unbearably sad for his young daughter and his family and friends. www.cnn.com/2018/06/08/us/anthony-bourdain-obit/index.html www.eater.com/2017/6/11/15771544/anthony-bourdain-oman-pa... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last night, 7 June 2018, I added seven extra photos from our Pt Pelee trip, to get them into my albums. All the photos are from the afternoon of our very first day at Pt Pelee. I am trying to post more or less in the order that the photos were taken, and unfortunately, there are so many odds and ends that I want to keep just for the record. I promise that, later on, I will have photos of some very different things - thank goodness. I did not have much success with seeing and photographing all the tiny, very fast-moving Warblers at Pt Pelee, so I wanted to post the poor photos that I did get, at night, when most people are off Flickr. If anyone does happen to see them, please do let me know if I have given a wrong ID for any bird or plant. A friend had invited me to go with her yesterday, 7 June 2018, to have lunch at the Delta Hotel in Kananaskis Village, and it felt good to breathe the mountain air. Of course, when I do go on a rare trip to the mountains, I go in search of birds, wildflowers, scenery - anything beautiful - so this outing was different and something I would never do myself. We both had to admit afterwards that the food was not good at all and the price was way beyond what was deserved. While typing these words, I suddenly remembered that I had read several reviews online before we went and they had said exactly the same thing. The staff were very pleasant and helpful, I should add. On the way home, I decided to drive back via my 'usual' area, to see if any of the Mountain Bluebirds and other species were out and about. Most did not disappoint. I have been following this handsome male, wearing the unusually high number of bands, for a few years now. Each colour was used for a different reason during someone's study of the bird's behaviour. 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... "A female Mountain Bluebird pays more attention to good nest sites than to attractive males. She chooses her mate solely on the basis of the location and quality of the nesting cavity he offers her—disregarding his attributes as a singer, a flier, or a looker. A male Mountain Bluebird frequently feeds his mate while she is incubating and brooding. As the male approaches with food, the female may beg fledgling-style—with open beak, quivering wings, and begging calls. More often, she waits until her mate perches nearby, then silently flicks the wing farthest from him—a signal that usually sends him off to find her a snack. The oldest recorded Mountain Bluebird was a female, and at least 9 years old when she was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Alberta in 2005. She had been banded in the same province in 1997." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/

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!

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... Yesterday afternoon, 12 June 2017, on the spur of the moment, I went for a short drive SW of the city. The sun was shining, but unfortunately it was windy most of the time. My main purpose was to check on a few of the Mountain Bluebirds, who are now busy as can be, collecting insects to feed to their hungry babies. I know this will soon be over and the young ones will have fledged, so I really must make myself visit them again, or it will be too late. I had also hoped that maybe one of the Great Gray Owls in the area might just be out hunting. No luck this time. Makes me even more grateful to have seen one during our May Species Count on 28 May 2017.

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!!