Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 12 June 2018

Last night, about 11:30 pm, I checked our weather forecast. Our temperature was -27C (windchill -34C .... brrrr!). Apart from many two or three days of somewhat less frigid weather, this awful deep freeze has been going on for weeks. Colour was needed on my photostream after all the snowy, owl photos that I posted. So, here is another shot of the absolutely gorgeous male Harlequin Duck that friends and I saw in June 2018, in Waterton Lakes National Park. I prefer the other photo of it that I posted ages ago, though it is easier to see the actual bird in this photo. I am going to add, for the last time, the following, that I have posted for the last two or three days. "I think the very first Long-eared Owl that I ever saw was seen on 13 October 2006. SInce then, I have been very fortunate to have seen several other individuals (see my Album) - including the day before yesterday. These owls are very secretive and many birders go years between sightings. It is so important not to give the location of this species. Be careful that there is nothing in your photos that gives away the location. Various people had been posting photos of a Long-eared Owl recently, but I had no idea where they were seeing it. Someone had posted a photo and labelled it "Calgary" (totally untrue!), so I had thought it must have been seen in one of our local city parks. Two days ago, I decided to go for a short drive and get a bit of sunshine and fresh air. Our deep freeze has lasted for more than four weeks, and I have been home for most of that time. It was a milder day, so I decided to make the most of it, especially with more snow forecast for today. Imagine my surprise when a stranger told me just where it was, and my absolute horror when I came upon a huge crowd of photographers with their lenses raised! So how did they all know about this owl?? Apparently, Facebook has such a bad reputation for people trolling everyone's photostream there, finding out locations for all sorts of things (old barns included!). Then, of course, some people phone others, to ask or to tell. Others follow ebird religiously, dashing out to see every more 'special' bird that is reported and location given. I don't post many photos on Facebook and I certainly don't post the same photo to three groups. It gets so very boring to see the same photos everywhere. These people flood their own Facebook pages and the groups! The only reason I can see is to get as many Likes as possible. Anyway, most people were down in the ditch at the fenceline, so no doubt they were able to get stunning close shots, especially those with enormous lenses. My photos were taken from the road, which was twice as far away, with a point-and-shoot. I'm not out to try and get better photos than anyone else : ) As always, there is so much competition among photographers. I was also not out there all day, like various people always are, and often day after day after day. So, after saying those things, perhaps you can imagine how extremely upset (devastated, actually) I am to have been told (when I arrived at the owl) by a couple of friends (both of whom are superb photographers) that my photograph had been taken, along with two other people in it, standing at the edge of a road earlier in February. These friends thought it was hilarious and I sure was teased a lot. As they said, my "goody two-shoes" image was gone. They both know I have very high ethics, including when it comes to photography. This photo was posted on Facebook on a provincial birding page, pointing out how dangerous it is for people to stand by the road. This thread turned into a string of comments about people harassing the owls, etc., etc., etc. Actually, the other two people in the photo are both seen taking photos (when I was told they already had taken thousands). There's me, camera not raised, looking disgusted that an owl had been flushed so that they could take flight images. The reason I was out of my vehicle was that these two people were out of theirs and racing down the road at top speed to get yet more shots. When I was sitting in my car, these photographers blocked my view of the owl, so out I got and caught up with them. To prove that I was not planning on getting out of my car this trip, I was wearing just my thin summer jacket (over fleece) in a windchill in the minus 20C's. Sorry to rant, but it just upsets me so much that this photo was taken and posted on Facebook. Have barely slept the last two nights! The very last thing I would ever want is to be connected with bad ethics!! Of course, I must be such a bad person to actually stand by the road - ha, you should see all the dozens of people who do exactly the same (without being photgraphed)! That day, I took maybe 30 photos of the Long-eared Owl, and maybe a couple of dozen of a Short-eared Owl, almost every single one of the latter needing to be deleted, because they were all totally blurry, thanks to taking the photos from inside my car. You can be sure that most of the others went home with yet another memory card containing thousands of photos. Sorry for the rant, but I am hoping that now I won't be stressing out over it quite as much, every second of the day! Ain't life fun? To the man who took my photo (as far as I know, I have never met him), how about taking a few photos of the crowds of people, especially those who were as close as they could get to the LEO. Or those who stress out the owls day after day after day, often from morning till evening! You might just get lots of likes and comments on photos of those repeat "offenders". How about giving it a try? PS: I rarely allow people (i.e. friends) to photograph me. Not sure what right this man thinks he has, to take my photo and especially to then post it on a very popular Facebook group page. I would like it removed from Facebook, or at the very least, to have myself totally blurred out of the image. When this sort of thing happens, it can totally destroy a person's joy of photography! Actually, on a more serious note, something that I'm sure most people don't think of. You really need to be careful about taking a photo of someone and then posting it (without signing a consent form). For various security reasons, doing this could actually put someone in danger. For example, a woman (or vice versa) might not want their photo being advertised in this way, not wanting an abusive spouse/partner to know where they go sometimes or what they do. Just something to keep in mind."

HAPPY snowy CANADIAN THANKSGIVING! Last night, I came across this photo in one of my photo folders and discovered that I never posted it on flickr. I remember being taken aback when I first saw the image after downloading it to my computer, as I had never expected it to look quite like this. Of course, the background does make it more difficult to see the beautiful Harlequin Duck, but that's OK. We were so lucky to see this striking bird and so close. "The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (French Arlequin, Italian Arlecchino), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as lords and ladies. Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker and blue streak. These birds feed by swimming under water or diving. They also dabble. They eat molluscs, crustaceans and insects. Harlequins have smooth, densely packed feathers that trap a lot of air within them. This is vital for insulating such small bodies against the chilly waters they ply. It also makes them exceptionally buoyant, making them bounce like corks after dives." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_duck www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/harlequin_duck/id Waterton Lakes National Park is where three friends (Anne B, Janet and Shirley) and I went on 11 and 12 June 2018. Part of Monday was spent travelling south to Waterton Lakes National Park, stopping at several places en route, including Lundbreck Falls. With no stops, it takes roughly three hours to get there. We stayed on Monday night at the Bear Mountain Motel in Waterton town. Tuesday morning, we drove around the Waterton area, hoping to maybe see more bears, and then made our way back north, reaching Calgary late afternoon/early evening. As it was, we were so lucky to see a gorgeous Cinnamon Black Bear, at first from a great distance and then unexpectedly close. Also spotted a Black Bear in among the blackened, burned trees that were near the edge of the road. It was very difficult to see and impossible to find an open spot through which to take photos - but it was our second bear. I had been hoping to someday get a chance to get down to Waterton again, especially to see how it looked after the devastating Kenow wildfire that damaged or destroyed so much of the park in 2017. Most of the park is still closed, but the whole town site and Chief Mountain Parkway and area are open. To me, the park looked beautiful, with enough green areas to contrast with the dead trees on the mountain sides. Firefighters did such a brilliant job last year of saving the whole town, and a team of firefighters form Calgary had been given the task of doing all they could to save the historic Prince of Wales Hotel. There it still stands, untouched. One can see how close to the town and iconic Hotel the fire had come - right up to the very edge, where a sprinkler system had been set up before the fire got close. Wild animals, plants and birds were seen. There were plenty of wildflowers, though I suspect we may have been just a little early for many species. I was so pleased to spot a small patch of what I thought might be Mariposa Lilies near the edge of the road that we were driving on. We stopped for me to check and, sure enough, my friends were able to see these unusual flowers for the first time. Chipmunk, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Columbian Ground Squirrels and deer were seen. Not a huge variety of birds, but we were only able to look in such a limited space. It was great, though, to see two distant Sandhill Cranes and a distant Common Loon on her nest. Supper on Monday was at Zum's restaurant - an interesting place with walls covered with old vehicle licence plates. Apparently, people send them to the restaurant from so many places, near and far. The food was good and, next morning, after a short drive to see what we could find, we returned there for a good breakfast. Apart from the most unpleasant, very strong wind all day both days, we were very lucky with the weather for our two days. No rain, thank goodness. The morning was chilly and so was the night. The temperature got up to 20C on our way home.

This photo was taken in the spring, and I have waited to post it until the youngsters had grown and disappeared, to avoid photographers invading their space and causing stress. Aren't those little ones cute? Zoomed in from car, stopped on the road. naturecanada.ca/what-we-do/naturevoice/endangered-species... naturecanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/FEHAANPBrochur... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is 10:30 am on 24 August 2018, and the sky is smoke filled and dark as can be. An Air Quality alert continues. Rain is expected to arrive shortly (and, yes, here comes the rain!), which will be most welcome. Our temperature is only 11C! I was shocked to see the following warning yesterday, knowing the absolute devastation that our beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park suffered in the summer of 2017. "PARKS CANADA HAS ISSUED AN EVACUATION ALERT FOR ALL AREAS IN WATERTON NATIONAL PARK DUE TO WILDFIRE: Thursday August 23, 2018 - 10:45pm Parks Canada has issued an Evacuation Alert for all areas in Waterton Lakes National Park. A wildfire that started south of Waterton in the Boundary Creek valley is currently burning out of control. Because of the potential danger to life and health, Parks Canada has issued an Evacuation Alert for all of Waterton Lakes National Park. An Evacuation Alert has been issued to prepare you to evacuate your premises or property should it be found necessary. Visitors and residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to evacuation; however you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions. The wildfire in Waterton Lakes National Park approximately 5 km south of the townsite. It is located in the Boundary Creek Valley and approaching Upper Waterton Lake. Parks Canada staff are monitoring the fire. People in Waterton Park should be prepared to evacuate on short notice." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can tell by the photos I posted this morning, I got out of the forest and into the dry prairies. Three days ago, on 21 August 2018, it turned out to be such a great day, with some much-appreciated sightings. I must have spent about 8 or 9 hours driving and almost every inch of my body aches like crazy. Now, each summer, I try and do two or three longer (for me) drives, making sure I don't lose confidence to get there. Weather-wise, it was around 24C, so not too hot. Yes, it was still smokey from the British Columbia wildfires, making distant hills barely visible and deleting mountains from view, but it didn't have too much effect on closer photography. It was a good day for Hawks, seeing three on the way south and a few on the way home. I almost missed two hawks, as the hay bale they were standing on was way out in a large field. At first, I thought there were three hawks together, but when I stopped to take a few photos, I realized that there were only two - one looked almost like two hawks close together, but then I saw that it had its wings mantled. I guess it wanted to make sure that the second hawk behind it couldn't steal any of the food from it. A Horned Lark, a Western Meadowlark juvenile, and a Vesper Sparrow gave me the chance for a photo or two, and a lone hawk I spotted way in the distance was a Ferruginous Hawk. A happy sighting, as these hawks are so few and far between.

This is where three friends (Anne B, Janet and Shirley) and I went the last two days, 11 and 12 June 2018. Part of Monday was spent travelling south to Waterton Lakes National Park, stopping at several places en route, including Lundbreck Falls. With no stops, it takes roughly three hours to get there. We stayed on Monday night at the Bear Mountain Motel in Waterton town, that you can see part of in this photo. I'm not sure, but our motel might be just off the photo on the right. Tuesday morning, we drove around the Waterton area, hoping to maybe see more bears, and then made out way back north, reaching Calgary late afternoon/early evening. As it was, we were so lucky to see a gorgeous Cinnamon Black Bear, at first from a great distance and then unexpectedly close. Also spotted a Black Bear in among the blackened, burned trees that were at the edge of the road. It was very difficult to see and impossiible to find an open spot through which to take photos - but it was our second bear. One of my favourite mountains in Waterton is the jagged row of pinnacles that can be seen slightly right of the centre of this image. These are the Citadel Peaks pinnacles, seen from near the Prince of Wales Hotel, high up on the cliff overlooking Upper Waterton Lake. The wind was SO strong for the whole of our stay (which is why I did not stand closer to the edge!) and it is amazing that any of my photos taken on these two days came out at all. A real challenge for any camera Image Stabilization system! I had been hoping to someday get a chance to get down to Waterton, especially to see how it looked after the devastating Kenow wildfire that damaged or destroyed so much of the park in 2017. Most of the park is still closed, but the whole town site and Chief Mountain Parkway and area are open. To me, the park looked beautiful, with enough green areas to contrast with the dead trees on the mountain sides. Firefighters did such a brilliant job last year of saving the whole town, and a team of firefighters form Calgary had been given the task of doing all they could to save the historic Prince of Wales Hotel, seen in my next image. There it still stands, untouched. One can see how close to the town and iconic Hotel the fire had come - right up to the very edge, where a sprinkler system had been set up before the fire got close. Wild animals, plants and birds were seen. There were plenty of wildflowers, though I suspect we may have been just a little early for many species. I was so pleased to spot a small patch of what I thought might be Mariposa Lilies near the edge of the road that we were driving on. We stopped for me to check and, sure enough, my friends were able to see these unusual flowers for the first time. Chipmunk, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Colombian Ground Squirrels and deer were seen. Not a huge variety of birds, but we were only able to look in such a limited space. It was great, though, to see two distant Sandhill Cranes and a distant Common Loon on her nest. "With its merging landforms, connected ecoregions and its mild, moist, windy climate, Waterton Lakes National Park is an amazing meeting place for an abundant and diverse collection of vegetation. Despite it's small size (505 sq km) Waterton is graced with over 1000 species of vascular plants . Over half of Alberta's plant species are found in this tiny place. The park's four ecoregions - foothills parkland, montane, subalpine and alpine - embrace forty-five vegetation communities. Sixteen of these are considered significant because they are rare or fragile and threatened. Waterton also has an unusually high number of rare plants - over 175 are provincially rare (e.g. mountain lady's-slipper, pygmy poppy, mountain hollyhock), and over twenty of these are found only in the Waterton area (e.g. western wakerobin, Lewis' mock-orange, white-veined wintergreen). Over 50 species are rare in Canada (e.g. Bolander's quillwort, Lyall's scorpionweed, Brewer's monkeyflower.)" From Parks Canada website. www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/waterton/natcul/natcul1/f.aspx Apart from the wind, we were very lucky with the weather for our two days. No rain, thank goodness. The morning was chilly and so was the night. Yesterday, Tuesday, the temperature got up to 20C on our way home.

Waterton Lakes National Park is where three friends (Anne B, Janet and Shirley) and I went the last two days, 11 and 12 June 2018. Part of Monday was spent travelling south to Waterton Lakes National Park, stopping at several places en route, including Lundbreck Falls. With no stops, it takes roughly three hours to get there. We stayed on Monday night at the Bear Mountain Motel in Waterton town. Tuesday morning, we drove around the Waterton area, hoping to maybe see more bears, and then made out way back north, reaching Calgary late afternoon/early evening. As it was, we were so lucky to see a gorgeous Cinnamon Black Bear, at first from a great distance and then unexpectedly close. Also spotted a Black Bear in among the blackened, burned trees that were near the edge of the road. It was very difficult to see and impossible to find an open spot through which to take photos - but it was our second bear. I had been hoping to someday get a chance to get down to Waterton, especially to see how it looked after the devastating Kenow wildfire that damaged or destroyed so much of the park in 2017. Most of the park is still closed, but the whole town site and Chief Mountain Parkway and area are open. To me, the park looked beautiful, with enough green areas to contrast with the dead trees on the mountain sides. Firefighters did such a brilliant job last year of saving the whole town, and a team of firefighters form Calgary had been given the task of doing all they could to save the historic Prince of Wales Hotel. There it still stands, untouched. One can see how close to the town and iconic Hotel the fire had come - right up to the very edge, where a sprinkler system had been set up before the fire got close. "Built in 1926-27 during one of Waterton’s windiest and snowiest winters, the Prince of Wales Hotel is the park's most recognized landmark. During its construction the extreme weather conditions and poor access created many problems for contractors Douglas Oland and James Scott, from Cardston, Alberta. On December 10 1926 hurricane-force winds (estimated at 145 km/hr) blew each of the hotel's wings about 7.5 cm off their foundation. The men managed to winch the sections back in line. Three months later winds reached speeds of over 129 km/hr, again pushing the building off its foundation. This time Oland feared structural damage if they tried to pull back the now fully-framed building so he decided to leave it slightly out of plume. The hotel is named after Edward, Prince of Wales who later became King Edward VIII, and, like its namesake, it has a colourful history. If its Douglas fir pillars could talk they would tell you a tale of American imagination and money, built with Canadian grit and patience. Today, many people recognize the Prince of Wales as a railway hotel, but few realize it was built by the Great Northern of United States ... and not the Canadian Pacific. In February 1993 the Historic Sites and Monuments Board approved the Prince of Wales' designation as a National Historic Site, recognizing its architectural style (rustic design tradition, with peaked roofs, gables, balconies and timber-frame interior that give it an appearance of a giant alpine chalet) and its contribution to tourism in the mountains. On July 23 1995 a commemorative plaque ceremony was held at the hotel." From Parks Canada. www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/waterton/natcul/natcul4.aspx Wild animals, plants and birds were seen. There were plenty of wildflowers, though I suspect we may have been just a little early for many species. I was so pleased to spot a small patch of what I thought might be Mariposa Lilies near the edge of the road that we were driving on. We stopped for me to check and, sure enough, my friends were able to see these unusual flowers for the first time. Chipmunk, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Columbian Ground Squirrels and deer were seen. Not a huge variety of birds, but we were only able to look in such a limited space. It was great, though, to see two distant Sandhill Cranes and a distant Common Loon on her nest. Apart from the most unpleasant, very strong wind all day both days, we were very lucky with the weather for our two days. No rain, thank goodness. The morning was chilly and so was the night. Yesterday, Tuesday, the temperature got up to 20C on our way home.