Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: several

Yesterday, 6 October 2018, I joined a few birding friends for another day out east of the city. The weather was beautiful, and so different from the trip that was held about a week earlier. As usual, on these bird trips, every bird was far, far away, but I was able to zoom in on these Greater White-fronted Geese. Always a joy to see them when they migrate. The "white-fronted" refers to the patch of white around the bill. Another bird I was happy to see was a Thayer's Gull. I was thinking that I had never seen one before, or at least not ot get a photo. However, I have just checked my photostream and discovered a photo of a juvenile that I took on 25 March 2018. The Thayer's Gull is now called an Iceland Gull. "The darker-winged “Thayer’s” gull of the west used to be considered a different species; the two were lumped in 2017." Like many people, I just don't "do" Gulls. A lack of interest in them does seem to be fairly widespread, Yesterday, however, our leader, Terry Korolyk, who is a Gull expert (along with tremendous knowledge on hybrids and all birds/wildlife), found several huge flocks of various Gulls at different locations, along with other bird species, including a few more Rusty Blackbirds (whose numbers are declining). A delight to see a few distant Swans, a Wilson's Snipe, Yellowlegs and an assortment of other shorebirds. Thank you, Terry, for yet another enjoyable and interesting trip. Thank you, also, for the ride.

Believe it or not, I had never seen a Brown Pelican before! We only get the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) here. However, there were several of these beautiful birds hanging around the Blue Waters Inn, on the Island of Tobago, when we were there mid-March. Sometimes, they were flying or floating on the aquamarine water of the Atlantic Ocean, or else perched on a small, wooden, floating platform out in the bay. "The Brown Pelican is a comically elegant bird with an oversized bill, sinuous neck, and big, dark body. They feed by plunge-diving from high up, using the force of impact to stun small fish before scooping them up. They are fairly common today—an excellent example of a species’ recovery from pesticide pollution that once placed them at the brink of extinction." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/id Bear with me, everyone, as I think I am going to have to post 5 (I posted 6 the first two days) photos from my trip each day, otherwise it will take me many months (years?) to get them on to Flickr. Obviously, no comments expected, unless you happen to like one photo in particular. Actually, I am so disappointed with my photos - never have so many photos come out blurry, many totally blurry and no use at all. I'm not sure why, though the light was often really bad and maybe the humidity had some effect. For some species, I will be posting awful shots, just for the record. It will take me forever to do much of a write-up about this trip, but I hope to add an extra bit of information about each photo to the very simple, basic description. Right now, I'm not quite sure where I was and when, lol! We arrived back in Calgary in the evening of 21 March 2017, and I have to get myself somewhat organized and should see to all sorts of important things. Totally dead beat after such a busy time away, dealing with extremely early mornings and hot, humid weather. Those of you who know me well, know that I am a dreadful night-owl, so getting up around 5:15 am was an absolute killer. Also, heat and humidity don't agree with my body, so each trip out was quite exhausting. In the morning of 21 March, we had to get up around 2:00 am, as we had such an early flight (5 and a half hours) from Trinidad to Toronto - followed by a four-hour flight back to Calgary. On our very first day, we had three flights in a row, as we flew from Calgary to Toronto, then Toronto to Port of Spain on Trinidad, from where we had a short flight to the island of Tobago. This adventure was only the second holiday (or was it actually my third?) of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a one-week holiday with my great friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going. Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together, spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - flights (we were so very lucky to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off!), accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could chose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself! What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with quite a few of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. The Asa Wright Nature Centre on the much larger island of Trinidad is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up a mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a van/small bus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was just enough room for two vehicles to squeeze past each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road took just over an hour each way. I'm already missing the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing.

These beautiful White-faced Ibis flew over Frank Lake the day before yesterday. They were just distant, black silhouettes, but I took a very quick shot so that at least I would catch the shape of the curved bills. Fully zoomed and brightened till a bit of their iridescent colour showed. Such a poor quality shot, and normally I wouldn't post a photo that had headless or legless birds included : ) This is the closest in-flight shot I've ever taken of these Ibis - so I'm keeping it. Two days ago, 26 April 2015, I spent the day with a fair-sized group of friends, at Frank Lake. The weather was beautiful and, for once, not windy. Frank Lake and the surrounding area is one of my favourite places to spend a day or half a day. On a trip like this one, there are a lot of the birds that I don't see, as I don't use binoculars. Also, my interest is not to see as many species as possible, but to hopefully come across a few birds close enough to photograph. Fortunately, at the bird blind/hide, a pair of Eared Grebes and a Coot were within camera range. I will add the final list of the 51 species seen, complied by our Leader, Tony Timmons. Probably not of much interest to most people, but it does help my memory. Many thanks, as always, Tony, for a very successful and most enjoyable day! Really appreciate your giving up a precious weekend day to take us out there. "The birds put on a spectacular show for the 19 participants on the Frank Lake trip today. We tallied 51 species. Expected species were present in pretty good numbers; most noteworthy being American Avocet (200+) and White-faced Ibis (120). Thousands of ducks were on the Lake. Thanks to Dan Parliament and Al Borgardt for scoping birds and sharing sightings with the group. Before the start of the trip, Rose Painter spotted two Long-billed Curlew near Blackie. Later in the day, we searched for the birds without success. Eared Grebe 250 Western Grebe 20 Double-crested Cormorant 25 Black-crowned Night Heron 1 White-faced Ibis 120 Canada Goose Swan sp. 12 Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Blue-winged Teal Cinnamon Teal Green-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser 2 f. Ruddy Duck Northern Harrier 3 Swainson's Hawk 3 Gray Partridge 4 American Coot Killdeer 5 Black-necked Stilt 10 American Avocet 200+ Greater Yellowlegs 5 Lesser Yellowlegs 17 Franklin's Gull 1000 Bonaparte's Gull 10 Ring-billed Gull 5 California Gull 20 Rock Pigeon Great Horned Owl ( 3 ad. + 3 owlets ) Black-billed Magpie American Crow Common Raven Tree Swallow 60 Bank Swallow 1 Marsh Wren 4 American Robin European Starling Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark 5 Yellow-headed Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird 1 House Sparrow Tony Timmons"

On 22 February 2015, on my way out of Fish Creek Park, an enormous flock of Bohemian Waxwings swarmed around the tall coniferous trees along the edge of the road. Hundreds of them landed at the tops of these trees and then they would swoop down to the snow-covered ground and eat the snow for a few seconds before flying to the other side of the road and back again. Unfortunately, most of them were in the shade when on the ground. "Waxwings often drink water or eat snow in winter, since the sugar in their fruit diet tends to dehydrate the birds through an osmotic effect. In the summer, the fruits are juicier and water is less of a problem" (from Wikipedia). These Bohemian Waxwings visit us in winter and then fly north for the summer, to breed. Here, in summer, we get the Cedar Waxwings instead. I pulled over to try and get a shot or two - quite the feeling to have so many of these beautiful, sleek birds flying around you when you are standing there. Earlier in the afternoon, this mass of birds landed in the parking lot trees. Interesting to hear the loud "whoosh" when they all took off so close to where we were standing. "The name "Bohemian" refers to the nomadic movements of winter flocks. It comes from the inhabitants of Bohemia, meaning those that live an unconventional lifestyle or like that of gypsies. The Bohemian Waxwing does not hold breeding territories, probably because the fruits it eats are abundant, but available only for short periods. One consequence of this non-territorial lifestyle is that it has no true song. It does not need one to defend a territory." From AllAboutBirds. "The Bohemian waxwing's call is a high trill sirrrr. It is less wavering and lower-pitched than that of the cedar waxwing. Other calls are just variants of the main vocalisation; a quieter version is used by chicks to call parents, and courtship calls, also given during nest construction, have a particularly large frequency range. Although not a call as such, when a flock takes off or lands, the wings make a distinctive rattling sound that can be heard 30 m (100 ft) away." From Wikipedia. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bohemian_waxwing/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_waxwing

Three afternoons ago, 22 February 2015, on my way out of Fish Creek Park, an enormous flock of Bohemian Waxwings swarmed around the tall coniferous trees along the edge of the road. Hundreds of them landed at the tops of these trees and then they would swoop down to the snow-covered ground and eat the snow for a few seconds before flying to the other side of the road and back again. "Waxwings often drink water or eat snow in winter, since the sugar in their fruit diet tends to dehydrate the birds through an osmotic effect. In the summer, the fruits are juicier and water is less of a problem" (from Wikipedia). I pulled over to try and get a shot or two - quite the feeling to have so many of these beautiful, sleek birds flying around you when you are standing there. Earlier in the afternoon, this mass of birds landed in the parking lot trees. Interesting to hear the loud "whoosh" when they all took off so close to where we were standing. "The name "Bohemian" refers to the nomadic movements of winter flocks. It comes from the inhabitants of Bohemia, meaning those that live an unconventional lifestyle or like that of gypsies. The Bohemian Waxwing does not hold breeding territories, probably because the fruits it eats are abundant, but available only for short periods. One consequence of this non-territorial lifestyle is that it has no true song. It does not need one to defend a territory." From AllAboutBirds. "The Bohemian waxwing's call is a high trill sirrrr. It is less wavering and lower-pitched than that of the cedar waxwing. Other calls are just variants of the main vocalisation; a quieter version is used by chicks to call parents, and courtship calls, also given during nest construction, have a particularly large frequency range. Although not a call as such, when a flock takes off or lands, the wings make a distinctive rattling sound that can be heard 30 m (100 ft) away." From Wikipedia. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bohemian_waxwing/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_waxwing

I always love seeing a display of these mushrooms around the base of a tree in the forest. These ones were seen on 17th August at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. I was there again this afternoon for a couple of hours, but everything was dry and there were far fewer fungi to be seen. I saw a dead young Coyote at the side of the road on my way to B L and pulled over just to make sure the animal was dead. Had obviously been hit by a vehicle, judging by its broken leg. I felt very sad driving the rest of the way to my destination.

We found this little cluster of mushrooms huddled against a large rotting log, on 3rd August, on a hike at Marston Creek, Kananaskis. I suspect our fungi are more or less over for this year - oh, NOOOOO!!! I'm still hoping that if/when we eventually get some rain, that maybe a few mushrooms will spring up in places. However, I do have a huge number of fungi photos that I haven't sorted through and uploaded yet : )

Now that the butterfly room is open at the Calgary Zoo's Enmax Conservatory, not only can you see several different species of butterfly but also two or three racks of rows of different shapes and colour of chrysalis (butterfly pupa). Amazing how different each kind is - one type is beautifully metallic (will post a photo of those soon).

Can you see why I did a "happy dance" (well, not quite, but there were a few exclamations out loud (even though I was by myself, ha)? This was such an amazing sight - a group of these mushrooms that looked almost like a set of fine pottery. I later came across another grouping and some of them were absolute perfection. It was hard to tear myself away from them - and I was worried that I might get home and find that all my photos were blurry, LOL. Not the case this time, thank goodness. Was out on a walk for a few hours this morning at the Paskapoo Slopes - we came across several nice mushrooms, yeah! After my afternoon shift of volunteering and then urgent food shopping, I arrived home to be greeted by one of the local Jack Rabbits. Happened to have my camera in my hand, so grocery bags were dropped and I managed to get a few shots as it sat there, obviously thinking that I couldn't see it.

Problems with uploading yet again this morning. The various herds of Bison in Yellowstone National Park have such a beautiful place to call "home". These rolling grassland hills are wonderful scenery to start with, but even nicer when there is a sprinkling of wildlife, too. Taken in Yellowstone National Park on 14 September 2012. There was so much haze while we were there, from several forest fires that were burning in the park. "The bison (Bison bison) is the largest land mammal in North America. In a typical year, more than 3,000 bison roam the grasslands of Yellowstone National Park. Bulls are more massive in appearance than cows, and more bearded. For their size, bison are agile and quick, capable of speeds in excess of 30 mph. Each year, bison injure park visitors who approach too closely. Most animals in Yellowstone are subject to different management goals when they leave the park. Bison require special attention because many have been exposed to the bacteria that causes brucellosis, a disease that also infects domestic cattle. Yellowstone has worked with the state of Montana and other federal agencies to develop a plan for managing the bison population in a way that protects both its wild and free-roaming characteristics and the health of Montana cattle. Yellowstone is the only place in the lower 48 states where a population of wild bison has persisted since prehistoric times, although fewer than 50 native bison remained here in 1902. Fearing extinction, the park imported 21 bison from two privately-owned herds, as foundation stock for a bison ranching project that spanned 50 years at the Buffalo Ranch in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley. Activities there included irrigation, hay-feeding, roundups, culling, and predator control, to artificially ensure herd survival. By the 1920s, some intermingling of the introduced and wild bison had begun. With protection from poaching, the native and transplanted populations increased. In 1936, bison were transplanted to historic habitats in the Firehole River and Hayden Valley. In 1954, the entire population numbered 1,477. Bison were trapped and herds periodically reduced until 1967, when only 397 bison were counted park wide. All bison herd reduction activities were phased out after 1966, again allowing natural ecological processes to determine bison numbers and distribution. Although winterkill takes a toll, by 1996 bison numbers had increased to about 3,500." www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/bison.htm

We came across several herds of Bison during our trip to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park and also came across a few "lone" Bison, some distant and some very close. Such enormous, powerful animals. The one day, we were lucky enough to witness a small herd thundering down a dusty hillside slope to the river below. Felt like we were watching an old Cowboy movie or documentary. "Brucellosis has caused devastating losses to farmers in the United States over the last century. It has cost the Federal Government, the States, and the livestock industry billions of dollars in direct losses and the cost of efforts to eliminate the disease. Brucellosis causes abortions, infertility, and lowered milk production in cattle and bison and is transmissible to humans as undulant fever. In people, the disease causes severe flu like symptoms that can last for months or years. Treatment in humans is not always successful. Moreover, treatment is not successful in animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has been working cooperatively with the livestock industries and State animal health authorities to eradicate brucellosis from the United States. As of March 1, 2002, 48 States have achieved brucellosis-free status with no known infection. The only known focus of Brucella abortus infection left in the nation is in bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). With respect to this area, APHIS is cooperating with State and Federal agencies to implement a bison management plan, in order to provide for a free ranging bison herd and to prevent exposure of cattle to potentially infected wildlife." www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/cattle/d...

A terrible quality photo, but I just had to post this - I doubt I will ever see anything like this again! A group of us were on a 3+ hour walk yesterday morning in Fish Creek Park (between Votier's Flats and Bebo Grove). when suddenly this adorable family of Least Weasels scuttled through the grass and tangles near the edge of the path. There were eight of these little velvety babies (nearly full-grown, 5.5 inch long) moving "en masse". Amazing to watch them move, for the most part all huddled together. In this image, they were struggling to get under this log and out the other side to catch up with Mom. You can't just push in front of everyone to get photos, so I wasn't able to move to where I could see them properly - however, better crummy photos than none at all : ) (Map location - a very wild guess at where we saw them, ha). "The least weasel (Mustela nivalis) is the smallest member of the Mustelidae (as well as the smallest of the Carnivora), native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, though it has been introduced elsewhere. It is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and presumably large population. Despite its small size, the least weasel is a fierce hunter, capable of killing a rabbit 5-10 times its own weight." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_weasel

After a very quick drive out westwards from the city yesterday afternoon, and discovering that the wildflowers - other than purple Asters! - were finished and that fall really is just around the corner, I decided to call in at Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Park, on the way home, for a short walk. Everywhere was as dry as can be and I hadn't expected to find any fungi. However, I did come across four or five species, the most beautiful of which was this little heap of quite small Puffballs. Made my day : )

I'm posting two photos (this and the Sora) today that are being posted for interest, definitely not for photographic merit, LOL! We managed to find these tiny Calypso Orchids two days ago in the forest at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, when we were doing the annual May Species Count in the Priddis area. I always think of these tiny wild orchids as being very delicate, but they seemed to have held up well after our recent snow the other day! The paths at Brown-Lowery were in an awful state - snow, slippery slush and mud!

Not my usual kind of photo at all, LOL, but just had to tell you about such a neat experience I had yesterday afternoon! When I reached my destination in a local park, I noticed that the River Boat Rescue vehicle was in the parking lot. I was really hoping that the boat was on the river just to check that all was safe. Then a huge Fire Rescue Truck and a Fire Truck (Fire Engine, to some of you) came along the park roadway and came to a stop. Out climbed six members of "some of our Finest". I then became a little concerned as to why this many rescue vehicles had arrived. As I started walking over to check on "my" owls, all these guys started walking in the same direction as I was going. I wondered if maybe they had had a report about someone in the area and I wasn't sure whether I should keep walking in the same direction, possibly getting in their way. As I caught up to them, I jokingly said " I guess you guys aren't here to see the owls". Well, guess what - they WERE, LOL!!! I certainly hadn't expected THAT answer : ) I was just so impressed and touched that these Firefighters had come to check out the fluffy trio and Mom and Dad Great Horned Owl! One of the guys knew all about the owls here and last year's nearby owl family and I loved that he felt they were important enough to be shared with his crew. I asked if they would mind if I took this photo, and permission was granted : )

Puffballs are one of my favourite fungi - love their roundness and the various patterns on them. This cluster was growing on 23rd August last year at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park.

A little group of scaly fungi growing in the Bragg Creek Natural Area, on 22nd August. August seems to have been an amazing month for finding a huge variety of fungi.

The ground was covered with similar mushrooms, in every direction, and though every single one was old and withered, I thought they had a strange kind of beauty. What a sight it must have been when they were all fresh! Seen in a small area of mixed trees in Jim Coutts' homestead garden, south of the city, near Nanton, on 5th September.