Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: uncommon

This is just a small part of the large, condominium-style birdhouse that a family built and placed in their garden, east of the city. I was out south and east of the city with a friend for a good part of today and was thrilled to see some of these beautiful birds for the very first time. I had seen and heard reports of Purple Martins being seen, so it was a thrill to finally see some ourselves. The lady to whom this birdhouse belongs was so kind and welcoming to us, which we appreciated greatly. These birds are uncommon in Alberta (May to August). They live in colonies in these fancy birdhouses (will post a photo showing the whole birdhouse another time).

Not a very good shot, but it's the only one I have of a female Evening Grosbeak. Didn't manage to get it in the tree, so here it is, on a ledge outside a window. Seen on the property of the Castell family, south west of Calgary.

Sagebrush Buttercup, also known as Early Buttercup, is an uncommon wildflower. This plant was growing at Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Park.

So many kinds of Thistle have beautiful buds and this is just one of them, photographed during a hike on the Small Whaleback on July 10th. This native Thistle is uncommon and is similar to Flodman's Thistle, Cirsium flodmanii, but more robust. www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/wildflwr/species/cirsu...

Photographed on August 18th at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park. This member of the Asteraceae family is not a native plant in Alberta. Also called Common Thistle. It is uncommon in Alberta, growing in fields, roadside, other disturbed areas. Blooms July to September. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirsium_vulgare

This was one of the reasons I decided to go on the Picklejar Lakes hike two days ago. Though I had seen this flower once before (on a different mountain top!), I really hoped to see one again. My photos of it were disappointing, but I thought I would still post a macro shot as a reminder to myself of the thrill of seeing one (actually two) again. At a very quick glance, you might think you were looking at "just" another purple and yellow Fleabane. Another plant that I was really hoping to see was the Orange False-dandelion - and it was exciting to see a number of them, usually looking most unphotogenic, ha. We even saw a new wild orchid up there - the Bog Candle - which has a wonderful scent. Parry's Townsendia is an uncommon, native wildflower and belongs to the Asteraceae family. It blooms July-August on dry hillsides and grassy slopes. The flower head is 5-7 cms across. The achene (fruit) is a pappus of long, soft bristles, just as attractive (in my opinion) than the actual flower.

We rarely see these pretty little wildflowers, but were lucky enough to come across several while botanizing a wonderful bog north west of the city, near Cremona. Obvious where the name comes from : )

A small, uncommon fungus found growing on a small branch in Weaselhead and photographed on 17th June 2009. I really liked the fringing around the edge : ) Doug, I looked for a photo of this same mushroom in your photostream, but couldn't find one. Could have sworn you'd posted one ages ago : ) Later: ID, Polyporus arcularius, Spring Polypore - thanks, Doug! LOL, I'm paying the price for trying to cross a tiny creek yesterday morning. I just knew it was a tiny bit wider than I felt comfortable with. However, it was either jump or cross via several small rocks that could have been treacherously slippery. Either my jump was a bit too short or else the ice-grabbers on my winter boots caught the edge of the snowy bank, but I landed really heavily on my knees - which I always have problems with, so this was not a good thing! So, now I have two swollen, stiff and very painful knees - and I've been watching more TV than I ever normally do, avoiding climbing upstairs to my computer : ) Later: it has been bothering me ever since I typed the above. So, I feel I must add that I am thankful for the pain in my knees after my fall, because it means that I HAVE two legs - something that so many people in Haiti can't say, after their devastating earthquake. My heart is with them.

A very heavily cropped photo of this teeny male Calliope Hummingbird! This was the closest I had ever been to a Hummingbird, so it was a neat experience (down in Weaselhead, far away from anyone's bird feeder). I posted another shot of it ages ago. Look familiar, Phil, LOL?

A very heavily cropped image of this very tiny Calliope Hummingbird, seen down in Weaselhead two days ago. This was the closest I had ever been to a Hummingbird, so I was happy to get a photo in which you could actually see some colour and feathers, instead of just a dark, Hummingbird-shaped silhouette perched on some distant branch, LOL. When you think that a teeny Hummingbird could almost be mistaken for a large Bumblebee : )

Not the best angle, but it was sharper than the other handful of photos. I did remove (i.e. on the computer) a length of barbed-wire that ran across the image between the bird and its reflections. Very elegant shore birds : )

We had the privilege on Saturday of seeing very rare Whooping Cranes as well as Sandhill Cranes at the Calgary Zoo Ranch, known as the Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre, located about 10 kilometers south of Calgary near DeWinton. This particular bird pulled a downy feather from its body and kept putting its bill through the fence. Almost seemed like an offering - but not a wise thing to accept, as that beak is long and very pointed, LOL! I love the colour of their eyes! I dislike taking photos with wire fences included, but there was no way I was going to poke my lens through the fence, LOL! "The Zoo ranch is a 320-acre captive breeding facility, and is not open to the public. The ranch also serves as a Zoo quarantine and holding area for everything from elk to zebras.

This is also known as Arrow-grass, Common Bog Arrow-grass, Goose-tongue, Salt-grass, Saltmarsh Arrowgrass, and Spike-grass. It is an uncommon perennial, native to Alberta. Saw this specimen at Beaverdam Flats Natural Area.