Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: nuts

This photo was taken yesterday morning, 20 January 2018, when I went on a walk in Carburn Park with birding friends. I always find that a walk along the Bow River gives very few photo opportunities, as the birds are too far away for photos, but it is a lovely park in which to spend time. They are also too far away for me to ID them, as I don't use binoculars. The always loyal Black-capped Chickadees flew in to see if anyone had any food. They were in luck, as this park, unlike Fish Creek Park, does not forbid the feeding of birds. Friend, Janet, was ready waiting, with a few seeds and nuts in her hand. As you can see, the sun was shining and actually it wasn't cold. Always good to spend time in great company, including going for coffee/lunch afterwards at the local Tim Horton's. Many thanks, Howard, for leading the group! "The Black-capped Chickadee is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand)." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/id "The chickadee's unerring spatial memory is remarkable enough, says Colin Saldanha, assistant professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University and an anatomist who has studied songbirds for six years. But it is what happens inside the tiny songbird's brain that Saldanha finds amazing. In the fall, as the chickadee is gathering and storing seeds, Saldanha says, its hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for spatial organization and memory in many vertebrates, expands in volume by approximately 30 percent by adding new nerve cells. In songbirds, the hippocampus is located on the dorsal surface of the forebrain right beneath the skull. In mammals, the hippocampus is located beneath the cortex. In the spring, when its feats of memory are needed less, the chickadee's hippocampus shrinks back to its normal size, Saldanha says." From article on ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030912072156.htm

Added later, in the evening, on 1 April 2016. I don't know how many of you make posters through fd's Scout program. I have just finished creating 166 posters (lol!!!) and 10 for my daughter today, thanks to fd's annual April 1st 'treat' for us. That is one disadvantage of having so many images on Flickr - too many posters to make. All ones photos are displayed in 'Order of Interestingness" just for today. I love these attractive posters, and they are a great way to keep a record of every photo that you have posted on Flickr. Something to keep in mind, given the various articles and comments about whether Flickr is likely to be closing down or not. I guess we will all find out, eventually. All three photos that I've uploaded today were taken yesterday morning, on a birding walk in North Glenmore Park and Weaselhead as far as the green, metal bridge. No sign of the sun until our walk was over. When I opened my front door, I realized just how gloomy it was outside, with dark grey clouds filling the sky. Temperature was 3C to 5C. Far from a good day to take photos, but we were still quite lucky with the bird and mammal species we saw. I had to brighten all three photos, but when I see them this morning, they all still look rather dark - and I think I'm too tired to brighten them more. We split into three groups, going in different directions, but still eventually covering the same locations. My group looked out over the Glenmore Reservoir and then drove through the park to the Crowchild Stormwater Ponds. After we returned to the main parking lot, we walked down into Weaselhead, crossing the green, metal bridge, and then walked back up the long hill. Everyone enjoyed watching this little Least Chipmunk stuffing his cheek pouches with nuts and seeds. He was so small, so fast, and SO cute. "A small rodent with a long, narrow but fairly bushy tail, the least chipmunk (Tamias minimus) is the smallest and most widely distributed chipmunk species in North America. The diet of the least chipmunk consists mainly of seeds, nuts and fruits, although it will also take other plant material, such as leaves and flowers, as well as fungi, insects and occasionally birds’ eggs. The least chipmunk may also sometimes feed on carrion. While foraging, the least chipmunk will often fill its cheek pouches with seeds and nuts, which it then hoards in various locations or carries to its burrow to store for the winter. This behaviour, typical of chipmunks, is reflected in the scientific name of the genus Tamias, which comes from the Greek for ‘storer’ or ‘distributor’." From the Arkive website. www.arkive.org/least-chipmunk/tamias-minimus/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_chipmunk I will add the list of species compiled by our leaders: Canada Goose-40 Trumpeter Swan-25 American Wigeon-3. Mallard-20 Green-winged Teal-1 m(ale). Bufflehead-1 Common Goldeneye-50 Common Merganser-80 Bald Eagle-1, imm(ature) unsuccessfully trying to capture a Common Goldeneye. Northern Goshawk-1 Ring-billed Gull-50 California Gull? - 4 Herring Gull-2+ Great Horned Owl-2 Downy Woodpecker-4 Northern Flicker-7+. 5 in Wslhd parking lot, landing on utility pole. Blue Jay-9, in one group at parking lot Black-billed Magpie-12 American Crow-8 Common Raven-2 Black-capped Chickadee-30 Red-breasted Nuthatch-7 White-breasted Nuthatch-2 American Robin-5+ American Tree Sparrow-3 Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco-3 House Finch-4 White-winged Crossbill-50+ Common Redpoll-1 Pine Siskin-30 American Goldfinch-1 heard. Coyote-1 Red Squirrel-2 Eastern Gray Squirrel-1, with lots of rufous on ears, neck and legs, suggestive of Fox Squirrel. Least Chipmunk-3 Snowshoe Hare-1 After the walk, friend Sandy and I went for lunch at a nearby cafe. A savoury crepe and welcome coffee really hit the spot. Great to get the chance to chat with you and catch up on news, Sandy!

All three photos that I've uploaded today were taken yesterday morning, on a birding walk in North Glenmore Park and Weaselhead as far as the green, metal bridge. No sign of the sun until our walk was over. When I opened my front door, I realized just how gloomy it was outside, with dark grey clouds filling the sky. Temperature was 3C to 5C. Far from a good day to take photos, but we were still quite lucky with the bird and mammal species we saw. I had to brighten all three photos, but when I see them this morning, they all still look rather dark - and I think I'm too tired to brighten them more. We split into three groups, going in different directions, but still eventually covering the same locations. My group looked out over the Glenmore Reservoir and then drove through the park to the Crowchild Stormwater Ponds. After we returned to the main parking lot, we walked down into Weaselhead, crossing the green, metal bridge, and then walked back up the long hill. This little Downy Woodpecker male was feeding on the same log as the Least Chipmunk - along with an American Tree Sparrow, a Blue Jay that flew down just once, and a little Red Squirrel who had so much fun leaping backwards and forwards acoss an enormous puddle. I don't think we'd ever seen a Squirrel act quite that way before. I will add the list of species compiled by our leaders: Canada Goose-40 Trumpeter Swan-25 American Wigeon-3. Mallard-20 Green-winged Teal-1 m(ale). Bufflehead-1 Common Goldeneye-50 Common Merganser-80 Bald Eagle-1, imm(ature) unsuccessfully trying to capture a Common Goldeneye. Northern Goshawk-1 Ring-billed Gull-50 California Gull? - 4 Herring Gull-2+ Great Horned Owl-2 Downy Woodpecker-4 Northern Flicker-7+. 5 in Wslhd parking lot, landing on utility pole. Blue Jay-9, in one group at parking lot Black-billed Magpie-12 American Crow-8 Common Raven-2 Black-capped Chickadee-30 Red-breasted Nuthatch-7 White-breasted Nuthatch-2 American Robin-5+ American Tree Sparrow-3 Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco-3 House Finch-4 White-winged Crossbill-50+ Common Redpoll-1 Pine Siskin-30 American Goldfinch-1 heard. Coyote-1 Red Squirrel-2 Eastern Gray Squirrel-1, with lots of rufous on ears, neck and legs, suggestive of Fox Squirrel. Least Chipmunk-3 Snowshoe Hare-1 After the walk, friend Sandy and I went for lunch at a nearby cafe. A savoury crepe and welcome coffee really hit the spot. Great to get the chance to chat with you and catch up on news, Sandy!

HAPPY EASTER weekend, everyone! Thank heavens for Black-capped Chickadees!! They are there to greet us, no matter what! Such tough little guys, though they are always only 24 hours away from death if they can't get enough fat stored in their body to last overnight. This was a quick shot, taken at Bebo Grove in Fish Creek Park, on 29 October 2013. We were seeing so few birds this time last year and so few species when we went on our birding walks. There were no cones on many of the coniferous trees, meaning that there was no food for birds such as Crossbills last winter, and birds such as Common Redpolls and Crossbills were non-existent. That's why I say "Thank heavens for Chickadees"!! "The Black-capped Chickadee is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand)." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/id

This shot was taken four days ago, on 6 December 2015, when I went on a two and a half hour walk in Fish Creek Park with three friends. The weather was beautiful and sunny and I think it actually got up to 9C in the city, Crazy weather for December, but I love it! Not a whole lot of bird life to be seen, but we did see a juvenile Bald Eagle, which is always a pleasure to see. Will add our leader's list of species below. My friend also had a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches and a little Downy Woodpecker fly down to her hand. Always amuses me how different the individual birds can be. Some are so quick and grab the first thing, others take a second or two to try the different pieces before making up their mind. Some land very gently on your hand, others less so. "A common feeder bird with clean black, gray, and white markings, White-breasted Nuthatches are active, agile little birds with an appetite for insects and large, meaty seeds. They get their common name from their habit of jamming large nuts and acorns into tree bark, then whacking them with their sharp bill to “hatch” out the seed from the inside. White-breasted Nuthatches may be small but their voices are loud, and often their insistent nasal yammering will lead you right to them." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-breasted_Nuthatch/id "Due to a lack of water fowl and a number of fisherman in the waters north of the boat launch it was decided to go south under the 22X bridge to the edge of Lafarge Meadows. Winds were calm, skies a sun/cloud mix, temps +4 to +6C. 1. Canada Goose - 36 2. Mallard - 110+ 3. American Wigeon - 1 4. Common Goldeneye - 19 5. Bufflehead - 3 6. Common Merganser - 3 7. Bald Eagle - 1 juv. 8. Killdeer - 2 9. Feral Pigeon - 5 10. Northern Flicker - 1 11. Downy Woodpecker - 2 12. Black-billed Magpie - 5 13. Common Raven - 2 14. Black-capped Chickadee - 10 15. White-breasted Nuthatch - 4 White-tailed Deer - 3 Leader: Janet Gill"

Just a quick shot taken yesterday afternoon, 6 December 2015, when I went on a two and a half hour walk in Fish Creek Park with three friends. The weather was beautiful and sunny and I think it actually got up to 9C in the city, Crazy weather for December, but I love it! "The Black-capped Chickadee is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand)." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/id Not a whole lot of bird life to be seen, but we did see a juvenile Bald Eagle, which is always a pleasure to see. Will add our leader's list of species below. My friend also had a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches and a little Downy Woodpecker fly down to her hand. Always amuses me how different the individual birds can be. Some are so quick and grab the first thing, others take a second or two to try the different pieces before making up their mind. Some land very gently on your hand, others less so. "Due to a lack of water fowl and a number of fisherman in the waters north of the boat launch it was decided to go south under the 22X bridge to the edge of Lafarge Meadows. Winds were calm, skies a sun/cloud mix, temps +4 to +6C. 1. Canada Goose - 36 2. Mallard - 110+ 3. American Wigeon - 1 4. Common Goldeneye - 19 5. Bufflehead - 3 6. Common Merganser - 3 7. Bald Eagle - 1 juv. 8. Killdeer - 2 9. Feral Pigeon - 5 10. Northern Flicker - 1 11. Downy Woodpecker - 2 12. Black-billed Magpie - 5 13. Common Raven - 2 14. Black-capped Chickadee - 10 15. White-breasted Nuthatch - 4 White-tailed Deer - 3 Leader: Janet Gill"

On 8 February 2015, I decided that I would join a group of friends for a morning birding walk in Fish Creek Park. I tend to miss most of the walks, so felt it was OK to go a second time this week. We started at Shannon Terrace, covering a good part of the area, and then the group started heading eastwards, towards Bebo Grove. At that point, my body was telling me that I had done enough walking, so I left my friends and made my way back to the parking lot. We had seen a beautiful Pileated Woodpecker, which was perhaps the highlight of the walk. The light was not good as the Woodpecker was quite deep within the trees. I timed my return walk well, as I saw a pair of these spectacular birds out in the open. I also stopped to take a few photos of this little Red Squirrel, busily feeding on some seeds that someone had obviously left for the birds in this cold weather. On the way home, I called in at the area of the park where the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl had been seen on many days for the last few weeks. However, when I was at that location yesterday, no one there had seen the owl at all, apparently making it the fifth day in a row that it had not been seen. Shortly after I arrived there, a friend drove into the parking lot and we got chatting about the extremely confusing system of the way roads outside the city limits are numbered. Roads can have two different numbers - a Range Rd/Township Rd number plus a street or avenue number. All the maps that I have seen give the RR/TWP number only, so it's very difficult to find a location given in St. or Ave. numbers. The reason for this chat was that some of us were unable to find on a map the locations for Wild Turkeys and Northern Hawk Owls that have been reported recently. My friend told me to hop in and we'd go looking for turkeys : )! He already knew this whole area SW of the city, but I had never driven that part. Even though we were unlucky with finding any of the birds, it was extremely helpful to me to just see what the area looked like - more hilly than I had imagined. An area where I know I could very easily get totally lost, especially given the confusing mess of road numbering! Many thanks, Phil, for this unexpected and very helpful trip!! I really appreciated it! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel www.arkive.org/american-red-squirrel/tamiasciurus-hudsoni...