Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: boardwalk

Flickr's "Big Move" has been made today, 23 May 2019, and now various bits and pieces that need tweaking or fixing can be gradually worked out. Flickr/Smugmug staff must be exhausted! Hard to imagine moving billions of photos and so much data from Yahoo to Amazon. Thank you, everyone involved in working on this over the past year. I was determined to see if Uploader worked tonight. I had to try three or four times to post most of the 12 new photos, but eventually they all appeared. These images were all taken on 19 May 2019, when I spent the day with my daughter, to celebrate Mother's Day and yet another birthday for me. I always look forward to a day like this - my favourite way to spend a day! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and windy, especially when we went to Frank Lake after spending time at the Saskatoon Farm. We both still managed to get a few photos and, despite the weather. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at the Farm, after which we walked around the grounds. I always enjoy seeing the farm cats and dogs wandering about, inside and outside. Visitors are not allowed to bring dogs, which means that the farm animals can roam in peace. The gardens have not yet been planted with flowers - just as well, as I noticed that there was a risk of frost on two recent nights. There are flowers blooming in the greenhouses, though. Our next destination was Frank Lake, where we hoped to see at least a few birds. It was very quiet, with little to photograph - not the best time of the day. Two Eared Grebes were swimming near the blind, but what a challenge they were! Non stop swimming and constantly changing direction, fast. I think I ended up with a couple of photos that might be sharp enough to post - the rest have been deleted. A Yellow-headed Blackbird, perched on a cattail, was swaying in and out of the viewfinder. It felt really good to get out, as I have been spending so much time going through so many images from my trip to South Texas. It did feel a little strange to be driving, as I have barely been out the last few weeks.

AND I AM FINALLY FINISHED with photos from our two-week trip to Ontario and Quebec!!!! There are now 856 images in my album for these two areas - many are distant, low quality photos, but important to me as a record of where I have been and what I was lucky enough to see during that time. Many thanks to everyone for your patience while I have flooded my photostream over and over again. No more Snow Geese and no more tiny, mystery birds : ) For now, at least. This was such an amazing holiday with four friends! I know how lucky I am, and appreciate so much being invited to go on this trip. Four friends (four of the six friends with whom I went to Trinidad & Tobago in March 2017) and I left Calgary airport on 6 May 2018 and flew to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. There, we rented a van and did the long drive to Point Pelee for four whole days of birding. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel in Leamington, which is close to Point Pelee National Park. It fills up very quickly (with birders) and our rooms were booked months ago. Our four days walking at Point Pelee were interesting and I, for sure, saw various things I had never seen before, including my very first Raccoon : ) Various friends had told me that the Warblers at Pelee were fantastic - so many and numerous species, and so close. Have to disagree with the "closeness" when we were there! I don't have binoculars as cameras are enough for me to carry around, so I know I missed all sorts of birds. Though my Warbler count was lower than my friends' counts, I was happy to at least get a few distant photos of some species. So many of my shots are awful, but I will still post some of them, just for the record of seeing them. Some photos are so bad that I doubt anyone can ID them. We covered several different trails at Pelee, and also drove to a few places somewhat further afield, such as Hillman Marsh. If you are unfamiliar with this Conservation Area, just wait till you see a photo of the old barn that was there. I couldn't believe my eyes! I was in so much pain that I wasn't sure if I would be able to walk across a grassy area to take a few photos. However, it was so unusual and beautiful, that I reckoned I could try and move forward inch by inch - and crawl (ha, ha) if necessary. Another place we enjoyed was Rondeau National Park. One amazing and totally unexpected sighting just outside Pelee was a very distant male Snowy Owl sitting in a fieldl!! We walked every single day that we were at Pelee and the areas mentioned above, seeing not just birds, but a frog/toad, snakes that we suspect were mating, several Painted turtles, a few plants (including both white and red Triliums, that I had never seen growing wild before, and a couple of Jack in the Pulpit plants). The Friends of Point Pelee have food available at lunch time that one can buy. They also have a shuttle bus that one can take from the Visitor Centre all the way to the southern tip of Pelee, which is the most southern part of Canada. They also have birding walks with a guide each day (there is a charge). On 9 May, we spent the morning from 6:00 am to 11:00 am on a birding walk at Pelee with guide, Tom Hince, whom we had contacted while we were still in Calgary. At the end of our stay at Point Pelee, we had to drive all the way back to Toronto, from where we flew to Quebec airport. From there, we had a four-hour drive to Tadoussac on the coast of the St. Lawrence Seaway. This is such a delightful, small place and in a beautiful setting. One of our friends, Anne B, and her husband have a summer cabin further along the cliff from the few stores and port. She had invited the four of us to go with her from Pelee to spend a week at her beautiful home. What an absolute treat this was! We were able to meet some of her relatives, too, who also have built cabins out there. We were looked after so well, and we were able to see and photograph all sorts of birds and other things. We made several trips to see different places, including the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, where we were able to see endless thousands of Snow Geese. Breathtaking! We also had two boat trips from Tadoussac - one was a whaling trip in a Zodiac, where we saw very, very distant Beluga and Minke Whales. The Belugas looked almost like the white wave crests - but they were Belugas. The other boat trip was to Brandy Pot Island, inhabited by thousands of Razorbills and Common Murres, which were new birds for me, and Double-crested Cormorants that were nesting in tree tops. That long boat trip (in a tiny boat named Juno, piloted by Greg) started off in the rain and dark clouds and it was soooo cold! Thermal underwear, layers of fleece and toque and gloves were needed. This day was arranged through a contact of Anne's and it was so much enjoyed! Of course, we anchored a distance away from the island and sat there and ate our sandwiches and took endless photos. It is forbidden to land on the island at nesting time. Anne B, I can't thank you enough for organizing this holiday for us all and for inviting us to spend a week at your cabin. You worked so hard and it was so much appreciated by each and every one of us. Thank you for doing all the many hours of driving, too! Janet and Anne, thank you so much for compiling the lists of birds seen each day at various locations, and posted to ebird. These entries will be a huge help while I try and sort out where we were and when, and what species we saw. Miss your cookies and muffins, Janet, that you kindly made for us in Tadoussac, to go along with the wonderful meals that Anne planned and made for us : )

Phew, I have just finished the last few photos from Day 3 of our trip to Point Pelee (Ontario) and Tadoussac (Quebec) back in May 2018. I wasn't going to post any photos today, but changed my mind tonight. Earlier today, I was out with my daughter, going west of the city to check out a couple of rural Christmas markets. We had an interesting Moose encounter en route. After the markets, she came back with me to help sort through a few things and take a couple of heavy garbage bags to the bin for me. I'm not supposed to lift heavy things after getting 2 cortisone injections. Promise, no more images of this gorgeous old house and the nearby barn! Several of the similar photos were taken with different cameras, so I wanted to compare them. The DeLaurier Homestead and Trail was such a delight to visit in Point Pelee. I was in seventh heaven, photographing this beautiful old house and the nearby barn. The photo colours vary mainly because I used two different cameras. "DeLaurier House is approached along a boardwalk at the western edge of the marsh lands at Point Pelee National Park. It is a two-storey, gable-roofed structure, which incorporates two attached log houses. The dwelling is clad in board and batten siding and the shingled roof exhibits two roof pitches with one brick chimney. Windows and doors are asymmetrically arranged on the walls of the house. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building. DeLaurier House is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value. DeLaurier House is associated with the early settlement of the Point Pelee area. It illustrates the life and times of a small French-Canadian community outside Québec and the agricultural activity on Point Pelee between 1850 and 1966. The reclamation of marshland led to Point Pelee becoming one of Canada’s finest agricultural areas in the latter half of the 19th century. The house is also associated with its builder, Oliver DeLaurier, and with his descendants. The house was used as a neighbourhood tavern for local parties and for community dances. In addition, the house is the oldest remaining structure and illustrates the development of export-oriented farming at Point Pelee during the late 19th century. It is now the interpretive center for the Point Pelee National Park. DeLaurier House is valued for its good aesthetic and functional design. The integration of the two, simple log houses shows Olivier DeLaurier’s resourcefulness despite limited income and construction experience. The interior also illustrates the building’s evolutionary nature, having been modified for use by two families in the early 1900s and later renovated to accommodate the interpretive programs of the park. Notable for its craftsmanship, the dwelling was clad in board and batten siding and finished with a shingle roof, in order to present a uniform appearance and to demonstrate the DeLaurier’s improved economic and social status in the community." www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=4764 On Day 3, we had arranged for a guide, Tom Hince, to take us out between 6:00 am and 11:00 am, so it was an extremely early start, There were so many birders on the trails! Funny how so many birders are very tall people, so I often could not even see anything and missed a lot of the sightings. However, I was happy to see what I did see. After lunch, we made a second visit to the Hillman Marsh Conservation Area and this time, we went for a walk. This area is further north along the coast from Point Pelee. This is where we had seen a wonderfully creative barn with a Heron scene on the front of it, on a different day. Saw a few interesting things, including several Painted Turtles and a green frog. From there, we visited the DeLaurier Homestead & Trail. It feels good to get back to sorting through and editing a few more of my photos from a trip with friends to Pt Pelee in Ontario, and Tadoussac in Quebec, in May 2018. Will have to work on this in between an absolutely mammoth clearing-out of my home, partly because of the mouse/mice that have totally stressed out and drained me for the last seven or so months. Though I started off using mouse traps, nothing was caught, which is when I had to pay for a pest control guy to come - useless. Friends and I placed several simple, disposable traps recently and, hey presto, one mouse was caught (to my horror, ha). Since then, after my friends very kindly came and removed it, I have seen no sign or sound from any further mice, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I try to post in more or less the order in which my images were taken - this helps me remember things a little more clearly. I have a lot of images that I want to add to my albums for this holiday, many of poor quality or of little interest to others. I wil try and post a lot at night, when most people are probably off Flickr. Please bear with me. Four friends (four of the six friends with whom I went to Trinidad & Tobago in March 2017) and I left Calgary airport on 6 May 2018 and flew to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. There, we rented a van and did the long drive to Point Pelee for four whole days of birding. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel in Leamington, which is close to Point Pelee National Park. It fills up very quickly (with birders) and our rooms were booked months ahead of time. Our four days walking at Point Pelee and area were very interesting and I, for sure, saw various things I had never seen before, including my very first Raccoon : ) Various friends had told me that the Warblers at Pelee were fantastic - so many and numerous species, and so close. Have to disagree with the "closeness" when we were there! I don't have binoculars as cameras are enough for me to carry around, so I know I missed all sorts of birds. Though my Warbler count was lower than my friends' counts, I was happy to at least get a few distant photos of some species. So many of my shots are awful, but I will still post some of them, just for the record of seeing them. Some photos are so bad that I doubt anyone can ID them. We covered several different trails at Pelee, and also drove to a few places somewhat further afield, such as Hillman Marsh. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the magnificent barn at this Conservation Area! I was in so much pain that I wasn't sure if I would be able to walk across a grassy area to take a few photos. However, it was so unusual and beautiful, that I reckoned I could try and move forward inch by inch - or crawl (ha, ha) if necessary. Another place we enjoyed was Rondeau National Park. One amazing and totally unexpected sighting just outside Pelee was a very distant male Snowy Owl sitting in a fieldl!! We walked every single day that we were at Pelee and the areas mentioned above, seeing not just birds, but a frog/toad, snakes that we suspect were mating, several Painted turtles, a few plants (including both white and red Triliums, that I had never seen growing wild before, and a couple of Jack in the Pulpit plants). The Friends of Point Pelee have food available at lunch time that one can buy. They also have a shuttle bus that one can take from the Visitor Centre all the way to the southern tip of Pelee, which is the most southern part of Canada. They have birding walks with a guide each day (there is a charge), but we walked the trails on our own, except for one morning. On 9 May, we spent the morning from 6:00 am to 11:00 am on a birding walk at Pelee with guide, Tom Hince, whom we had contacted while we were still in Calgary. At the end of our stay at Point Pelee, we had to drive all the way back to Toronto, from where we flew to Quebec airport. From there, we had a four-hour drive to Tadoussac on the coast of the St. Lawrence Seaway. This is such a delightful, small place and in a beautiful setting. One of our friends, Anne B, and her husband have a summer cabin further along the cliff from the few stores and port. She had invited the four of us to go with her from Pelee to spend a week at her beautiful home. What an absolute treat this was! We were able to meet some of her relatives, too, who also have built cabins out there. We were looked after so well, and we were able to see and photograph all sorts of birds and other things. We made several trips to see different places, including the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, where we were able to see endless thousands of Snow Geese. Breathtaking! We also had two boat trips from Tadoussac - one was a whaling trip in a Zodiac, where we saw very, very distant Beluga and Minke Whales. The Belugas looked almost like the white wave crests - but they were Belugas. The other boat trip was to the Brandy Pot Islands, inhabited by thousands of Razorbills and Common Murres, which were new birds for us, and Double-crested Cormorants that were nesting in tree tops. That long boat trip (in a tiny boat named Juno) started off in the rain and dark clouds and it was soooo cold! Thermal underwear, layers of fleece and toque and gloves were needed. This day was arranged through a contact of Anne's and it was so much enjoyed! Of course, we anchored a distance away from the island and sat there and ate our sandwiches and took endless photos. It is forbidden to land on the island at nesting time. Anne B, I can't thank you enough for organizing this holiday for us all and for inviting us to spend a week at your cabin. You worked so hard and it was so much appreciated by each and every one of us. Thank you for doing all the many hours of driving, too! Janet and Anne, thank you so much for compiling the lists of birds seen each day at various locations, and posted to ebird. These entries will be a huge help while I try and sort out where we were and when, and what species we saw. Miss your cookies and muffins, Janet, that you kindly made for us in Tadoussac, to go along with the wonderful meals that Anne planned and made for us : )

My heart goes out to all those who are being affected, in one way or another, by the record-breaking, absolutely devastating wildfires in California. Impossible to imagine the horrific time so many people are having to deal with. Anyone who knows me well, will know how happy I was that we went on the Delaurier Homestead and Trail, at Point Pelee. I haven't gone through my photos taken there yet, but quickly grabbed a couple to post today. My intention was to not post any photos this morning, after really flooding my photostream last night, 14 November 2018, adding 22 extra photos. I have been trying to keep off my feet a lot the last couple of days, after getting my first two cortisone injections in my knees, so have been spending extra time editing. I think the shots have helped somewhat so far, but not as much as I had hoped for. Still, it has only been almost three days since I had them, so they could improve further. So, two shots done, four more to go (2 in hips and 2 in shoulders). I read that after 10-14 days, one can start gentle range-of-motion exercises and one can remain active as tolerated. The photos posted today were all taken after our morning birding tour with Tom Hince, followed by an early afternoon drive to the Hillman Marsh. This was Day 3 of our trip in May to Point Pelee in Ontario, and Tadoussac in Quebec. On Day 3, we had arranged for a guide, Tom Hince, to take us out between 6:00 am and 11:00 am, so it was an extremely early start, There were so many birders on the trails! Funny how so many birders are very tall people, so I often could not even see anything and missed a lot of the sightings. However, I was happy to see what I did see. After lunch, we made a second visit to the Hillman Marsh Conservation Area and this time, we went for a walk. This area is further north along the coast from Point Pelee. This is where we had seen a wonderfully creative barn with a Heron scene on the front of it, on a different day. Saw a few interesting things, including several Painted Turtles and a green frog. I will be glad to get as far as photos from later in the afternoon, when we walked the Homested Trail at Pt Pelee, thoroughly enjoying two or three beautiful old buildings as well as the nature along the way. It feels good to get back to sorting through and editing a few more of my photos from a trip with friends to Pt Pelee in Ontario, and Tadoussac in Quebec, in May 2018. Will have to work on this in between an absolutely mammoth clearing-out of my home, partly because of the mouse/mice that have totally stressed out and drained me for the last seven or so months. Though I started off using mouse traps, nothing was caught, which is when I had to pay for a pest control guy to come - useless. Friends and I placed several simple, disposable traps recently and, hey presto, one mouse was caught (to my horror, ha). Since then, after my friends very kindly came and removed it, I have seen no sign or sound from any further mice, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I try to post in more or less the order in which my images were taken - this helps me remember things a little more clearly. I have a lot of images that I want to add to my albums for this holiday, many of poor quality or of little interest to others. I wil try and post a lot at night, when most people are probably off Flickr. Please bear with me. Four friends (four of the six friends with whom I went to Trinidad & Tobago in March 2017) and I left Calgary airport on 6 May 2018 and flew to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. There, we rented a van and did the long drive to Point Pelee for four whole days of birding. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel in Leamington, which is close to Point Pelee National Park. It fills up very quickly (with birders) and our rooms were booked months ahead of time. Our four days walking at Point Pelee and area were very interesting and I, for sure, saw various things I had never seen before, including my very first Raccoon : ) Various friends had told me that the Warblers at Pelee were fantastic - so many and numerous species, and so close. Have to disagree with the "closeness" when we were there! I don't have binoculars as cameras are enough for me to carry around, so I know I missed all sorts of birds. Though my Warbler count was lower than my friends' counts, I was happy to at least get a few distant photos of some species. So many of my shots are awful, but I will still post some of them, just for the record of seeing them. Some photos are so bad that I doubt anyone can ID them. We covered several different trails at Pelee, and also drove to a few places somewhat further afield, such as Hillman Marsh. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the magnificent barn at this Conservation Area! I was in so much pain that I wasn't sure if I would be able to walk across a grassy area to take a few photos. However, it was so unusual and beautiful, that I reckoned I could try and move forward inch by inch - or crawl (ha, ha) if necessary. Another place we enjoyed was Rondeau National Park. One amazing and totally unexpected sighting just outside Pelee was a very distant male Snowy Owl sitting in a fieldl!! We walked every single day that we were at Pelee and the areas mentioned above, seeing not just birds, but a frog/toad, snakes that we suspect were mating, several Painted turtles, a few plants (including both white and red Triliums, that I had never seen growing wild before, and a couple of Jack in the Pulpit plants). The Friends of Point Pelee have food available at lunch time that one can buy. They also have a shuttle bus that one can take from the Visitor Centre all the way to the southern tip of Pelee, which is the most southern part of Canada. They have birding walks with a guide each day (there is a charge), but we walked the trails on our own, except for one morning. On 9 May, we spent the morning from 6:00 am to 11:00 am on a birding walk at Pelee with guide, Tom Hince, whom we had contacted while we were still in Calgary. At the end of our stay at Point Pelee, we had to drive all the way back to Toronto, from where we flew to Quebec airport. From there, we had a four-hour drive to Tadoussac on the coast of the St. Lawrence Seaway. This is such a delightful, small place and in a beautiful setting. One of our friends, Anne B, and her husband have a summer cabin further along the cliff from the few stores and port. She had invited the four of us to go with her from Pelee to spend a week at her beautiful home. What an absolute treat this was! We were able to meet some of her relatives, too, who also have built cabins out there. We were looked after so well, and we were able to see and photograph all sorts of birds and other things. We made several trips to see different places, including the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, where we were able to see endless thousands of Snow Geese. Breathtaking! We also had two boat trips from Tadoussac - one was a whaling trip in a Zodiac, where we saw very, very distant Beluga and Minke Whales. The Belugas looked almost like the white wave crests - but they were Belugas. The other boat trip was to the Brandy Pot Islands, inhabited by thousands of Razorbills and Common Murres, which were new birds for us, and Double-crested Cormorants that were nesting in tree tops. That long boat trip (in a tiny boat named Juno) started off in the rain and dark clouds and it was soooo cold! Thermal underwear, layers of fleece and toque and gloves were needed. This day was arranged through a contact of Anne's and it was so much enjoyed! Of course, we anchored a distance away from the island and sat there and ate our sandwiches and took endless photos. It is forbidden to land on the island at nesting time. Anne B, I can't thank you enough for organizing this holiday for us all and for inviting us to spend a week at your cabin. You worked so hard and it was so much appreciated by each and every one of us. Thank you for doing all the many hours of driving, too! Janet and Anne, thank you so much for compiling the lists of birds seen each day at various locations, and posted to ebird. These entries will be a huge help while I try and sort out where we were and when, and what species we saw. Miss your cookies and muffins, Janet, that you kindly made for us in Tadoussac, to go along with the wonderful meals that Anne planned and made for us : )

Our Christmas Bird Count three days ago started at Frank Lake. There was some open water closer to the outlet, but most of the lake was frozen. Three days ago, on 19 December 2017, it was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, a town to the south of Calgary. I am adding the report by Gus Yaki, the leader of our small group of 7, travelling in two cars. What Gus did not add, because he did not stay for the delicious Potluck supper after the Count, is that the forecast snow (Snowfall Warning in effect) arrived in full force in the evening and the drive back to Calgary was most unpleasant. Looked like there could be about 10" of the white stuff on top of my fence. Thanks so much, Lorrie and John, for being so kind and picking me up in the early morning and driving me all day long, and then dropping me off for the Potluck and returning later to collect me ready for the three of us to return to Calgary. Appreciated more than I can say! Thanks, also, to Greg Wagner for organizing the Count - as usual, great job! Last, but not least, many thanks to those who organized and prepared such a wonderful feast for us all to thoroughly enjoy at the end of the day! I left home around 7:00 am and arrived home about 8:15 pm, finally getting to bed at 2:00 am and eventually waking up at noon the next day! Was I tired after a full day out, especially after only two hours sleep the previous night! I should also add my thanks to the various property owners who very kindly gave us permission to wander round their farmyards in search of any birds. Being allowed to do this adds so much more interest to our Count day, and we really appreciate it. One exciting sighting was a beautiful female Moose, maybe two years old! This was the very first sighting ever of a Moose in our SE quadrant of the High River Count circle. From a distance, she was barely noticeable through the falling snow. Common Redpolls were enjoyed at some feeders. They gave me the first opportunity to take photos this season. Much as I prefer photos without feeders, I am very glad for this chance. They are such dainty little birds, and fast-moving. It always looks like a feeding frenzy when they are at the feeders. "High River CBC, SE Quadrant, including Frank Lake. 0800-1545, Tue, 19 Dec2017. Light overcast, light snow beginning at 1100. N Wind 10kph, -07 to -06°C. Ground bare initially, 3 cm at end. Little Bow River, mostly open. Mallard-500 Northern Shoveler-1 f. Northern Pintail-2 Common Goldeneye-3 Gray Partridge-8 Bald Eagle-1 ad, on Frank Lake Prairie Falcon-1 Rock Pigeon-56 Great Horned Owl-6 Snowy Owl-1 Blue Jay-4 Black-billed Magpie-17 Common Raven-4 Song Sparrow-1 Snow Bunting-150 Common Redpoll-790 House Sparrow-202 Ring-necked Pheasant tracks by observation blind. Gord Fraser, on W side of Little Bow, just N of 594 Av, had 40 Gray Partridges this a.m. Coyote-4 Skunk track by observation blind Meadow Vole-1 Mule Deer-6 Moose-1 f. Km by Car- 58 Km on foot -5 Total km - 63 Time by car – 2 hrs Time on foot-5 hrs Total party hours-7 hrs"

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. This photo of the bird blind at Frank Lake was taken in the evening of 27 May 2017, when a group of us (13?) got together at Frank Lake for a celebration of spring. The water level was quite high. Great company and great picnic food. Even a few birds to photograph : ) Sunshine, too, until it was time to go home, when the heavens opened and down came the rain, accompanied by streaks of lightning. Thanks, Brenda, for organizing this event that went so smoothly and was most enjoyable! "Frank Lake, found 50 km southeast of Calgary near High River, Alberta, is a productive wetland important to hundreds of bird species. Once completely dry, this wetland has been saved from drainage and drought through a progressive partnership between industry, government and Ducks Unlimited. It is now listed as one of 597 Important Bird Areas in Canada." www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake

Just like a year ago (2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Or is this kind of frost called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. cathybell.org/2013/01/02/hoar-frost-and-rime-ice-whats-th... On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. The sun came up when we were standing at the outlet and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the open water. So beautiful. This photo was taken when we walked to the blind, looking out over the frosty landscape. After our very first stop here, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2, on our way home. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

Two of these Spur-winged Lapwings followed me down the boardwalk in the Tropical building at the Calgary Zoo, when I spent a few hours there on 6 October 2014. This one was looking a little ruffled. “The spur-winged lapwing or spur-winged plover (Vanellus spinosus) is a lapwing species, one of a group of waders in the family Charadriidae. It breeds around the eastern Mediterranean, and in a wide band from sub-Saharan west Africa to Arabia. The Greek and Turkish breeders are migratory, but other populations are resident. These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are medium-large waders with black crown, chest, foreneck stripe and tail. The face, the rest of the neck and belly are white and the wings and back are light brown. The bill and legs are black. Its striking appearance is supplemented by its noisy nature, with a loud did-he-do-it call. The bird got its name because of a spur (a small claw) hidden in each of its wings. This species has a preference for marshes and similar freshwater wetland habitats.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur-winged_lapwing

This was an absolutely amazing week away with my friends, Linda and Tony, from England. I had known Linda since she was a baby and I was four or five years old, and our parents were best friends. Believe it or not, this was only my second holiday in about 30 years! Some of you may just remember that when my Brother in England died, several of my long-time friends who lived in the same city all stepped forward and helped me deal with everything long distance, from my Brother's funeral to finding everything possible in the house a good home (sold or donated). All my parents' belongings were there, too, so it was a mammoth task to go through everything and put aside every single personal item or document, which were then shipped to me here. When Linda and Tony were planning their trip to Canada, they persuaded me to join them for this wonderful week in Yellowstone National Park. I didn't know we were also going to Grand Teton National Park and then coming home via Glacier/Waterton National Parks, too! A wonderful treat! It's not easy to remember what all the different hot springs and geysers are in Yellowstone National Park, so hopefully I am identifying them correctly. I believe this hot spring is Abyss Pool, which is near the Black Pool, at the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Amazing how similar some of them look - especially once you are back home after your trip and a year and a half has gone by! In the distance is Yellowstone Lake. "Temperature 172°F. Dimensions 30x57 feet. Depth 53 feet. Abyss Pool is a colorful and interesting pool in the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Abyss is the deepest pool known in Yellowstone and received its name for its abyss-like depth. The dark green-colored water gives the illusion of a bottomless pool. Vandalism may have changed this pool's temperature. Coins and other debris thrown in have caused the vent to plug. The reduced spring flow also reduced the pool temperature, allowing abundant algae growth along the edge and run-off channels. The extensive microbial mats now support ephydrid flies, spiders and killdeers. An unusual eruption in 1987 caused the pool to surge and temporarily destroyed the microbial mats." www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/westthumb.htm

This photo was taken yesterday, 6 April 2014, when I went with a group of 10 friends to Frank Lake for several hours. Posting this image to show how the area near the bird blind (hide) is flooded and frozen over. The wooden boardwalk leading to the blind was pure ice and I didn't bother going, knowing that most of the lake was still frozen over, so there would be no, or very few, birds to be seen. On 15 March 2014, the area looked completely different - see photo in comment box below. Will add Tony Timmons' report for today's Frank Lake trip - thanks, Tony, both for writing up the list and for taking us down to one of my favourite areas outside the city: "Eleven people were on the trip today, birding Frank Lake and area. We tallied 35 species. Most of the lake is still covered in ice. As many as 10,000 Northern Pintails were seen in the fields,sloughs and flying overhead. Two hundred swans were feeding in the fields. Of note were two Eurasian Wigeons spotted in the shallow sloughs. Canada Goose Tundra Swan Trumpeter Swan Gadwall American Wigeon Eurasian Wigeon Mallard Cinnamon Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Common Merganser Ruddy Duck Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Rough-legged Hawk Coot Killdeer Ring-billed Gull California Gull Great Horned Owl Horned Lark Robin Rock Pigeon,Magpie,Crow,Raven,Starling,House Sparrow" As you can see from the list, birds are returning after being elsewhere all winter. Only very distant views of them all, except for one Great Horned Owl on her nest - impossible to get a proper shot because she is hidden by a tangle of branches.

The sun was shining when I left the city. Half an hour later, this is the weather that was at my destination. Better, though, than the previous time I went recently, when everywhere was coated in freezing fog. This is the bird blind at Frank Lake, half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary, taken on 19 April 2013. It's still snowing here this morning, after snow all day yesterday. Will have to clear the snow and ice off my car and see what the roads are like. I'm planning on going on a trip east of the city with friends, to visit a place I've been longing to see, so hopefully the roads will be OK. Lovely spring weather, ha.

Another shot of a Police Car Moth, taken on a small boardwalk near the parking lot at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, on 4 August 2012. "This is a fairly large moth with a wingspan of up to 50 mm. The wings are jet black with large white patches between the black scaled veins. As well, there are two orange patches of hairs on either side of the thorax, right behind the head. It is this colour combination, that of an old style police car, that gives it its name. Larvae are hairy and black with yellow and blue markings. The Police Car Moth is found throughout the province in or near forested areas. Adults fly throughout July and early August." From www.royalalbertamuseum.ca .

The sun was shining when I left the city. Half an hour later, this is the weather that was at my destination. Better, though, than the previous time I went recently, when everywhere was coated in freezing fog. This is the bird blind at Frank Lake, half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary, taken on 19 April 2013. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/8667347343