Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Eurasian Collared-Dove

"With a flash of white tail feathers and a flurry of dark-tipped wings, the Eurasian Collared-Dove settles onto phone wires and fence posts to give its rhythmic three-parted coo. This chunky relative of the Mourning Dove gets its name from the black half-collar at the nape of the neck. A few Eurasian Collared-Doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s. They made their way to Florida by the 1980s and then rapidly colonized most of North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Collared-Dove/id Yesterday, 25 September 2017, I spent the day with a friend, travelling south of the city to the Pine Coulee Reservoir and area. I absolutely love the rolling hills scenery in this whole area. I have still never driven it myself, as I know I could very easily get myself totally lost in the middle of nowhere. Most of the birds we saw were far away, needing Tony's spotting scope or at least binoculars, except for a Eurasian Collared-Dove, a Belted Kingfisher and several small birds. Meanwhile, I was enjoying the scenery and anything else that caught my eye. We called in at the Pine Coulee campground and the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground and did a walk at each. Both were deserted and so peaceful. At the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground, the silence was broken by the call of a Belted Kingfisher. There was a bright yellow sign warning that there was a bear in the area, but it was nowhere to be seen. The weather was perfect all day, starting off chilly, but getting up to about 20C in the afternoon, and a sky full of clouds. Thanks so much for the invite, Tony - much appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed! Pure luxury, too, not having to drive. "Located 119kms south of Calgary. 9kms west of Stavely on road #527. Willow Creek Basin Southern Alberta. The campground is situated on the south west shore of Pine Coulee Reservoir and contains 25 campsites for both RV's and tents. Most of the sites are surrounded by willow bushes creating a wind break and some privacy. A few choice sites are located near the lake. Amenities include, group camping, fire pits but no firewood available, dry toilets, water, garbage bins, power, boat launch, and picnic tables. Pine Coulee Reservoir is excellent for water skiing, wind surfing and fishing. Due to the lack of lakes located near Calgary you can expect to see hordes of boaters here during the summer. Boaters should use caution near the southeast end, there are a several large rocks submerged just under the surface that have destroyed many props and claimed a life. The reservoir was created for irrigation and is approximately 18kms long. It holds strong Walleye and Northern Pike populations and there is a public dock located next to campground where you can sit and fish. You'll need a fishing license to try your luck. The well maintained grassy area in the center of the campground is a good spot for astronomers and star gazers." From AlbertaWow. www.albertawow.com/campgrounds/Pine_Coulee/Pine_Coulee_Ca...

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 16 April 2016, during a most enjoyable day trip east of Calgary, with five birding friends. The weather was gorgeous, with perfect clouds that were reflected in every pond/slough/wetland that we came across before the breeze disturbed the water. Our leader, Terry Korolyk, always writes such a detailed account of each trip, so there is no point in my repeating some of the information. Many thanks for another great day (including the write-up), Terry, and many thanks, Tony, for the ride! I think the main highlights for me were a Western Meadowlark that flew to a tall post within reasonable camera reach; a mixed pair of Red-tailed Hawks (one light and the other dark) perched together in a tree; and a beautiful LEUCISTIC Merlin (i.e. paler than it should be) that three of us were lucky enough to see after we split up to start our journey back to Calgary. It was enjoying a snack on top of a very tall utility pole. Also nice to see this Eurasian Collared-Dove perched on a fence post. Just managed to get this quick shot before it flew. "Leucism is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment, particularly melanin, from being properly deposited on a bird’s feathers. As a result, the birds do not have the normal, classic plumage colors listed in field guides, and instead the plumage have several color changes, including white patches where the bird should not have any; paler overall plumage that looks faint, diluted or bleached; or overall white plumage with little or no color discernable." From birding.about.com. birding.about.com/od/identifyingbirds/a/leucism.htm "With a flash of white tail feathers and a flurry of dark-tipped wings, the Eurasian Collared-Dove settles onto phone wires and fence posts to give its rhythmic three-parted coo. This chunky relative of the Mourning Dove gets its name from the black half-collar at the nape of the neck. A few Eurasian Collared-Doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s. They made their way to Florida by the 1980s and then rapidly colonized most of North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Collared-Dove/id Terry's account of the day: “Today's Nature Calgary Field Trip had beautiful weather for its trip east of Calgary. We met just west of the Rowing Club around 9:30 A.M., checking the Reservoir there firstly, then, heading east on Glenmore Trail. The only bird of note on the Reservoir was a Common Loon in the bay at the Yacht Club. We then headed east on Glenmore Trail turning south on Stoney Trail going as far as 114 Avenue where we turned left driving to 84 Street, then, going south to Ralph Klein Park. Birds of particular interest at the Park included American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt and, Lesser Yellowlegs, the latter of which we had the pleasure of observing a couple of flocks of significant size one of at least 70 birds fly in. This was a particularly good sign for the day as we saw many Yellowlegs totalling 227 birds in the final analysis. From Ralph Klein Park, we kept south on 84 Street to 146 Avenue where we turned east driving to Range Road 284 where we turned north checking sloughs along the way to Township Road 232 where we turned we turned east, then north on to Range Road 283. We followed Range Road 283 to Chestermere Lake stopping at the Dam; then Sunset Park on the east side of the Lake; then, the north end of the Lake north of Highway 1A. From there, we drove under the Trans-Canada Highway through the subdivision on the east side of the Highway to McElroy Slough. From McElroy Slough, we kept eastward on Inverlake Road driving to Highway 9, then, from Highway 9 south to Highway 560, turning east at the 4-way junction there driving to Weed Lake. From Weed Lake, we headed westward towards Calgary checking a slough at the Highway 560-Range Road 284 junction, then, from there we stayed westward to Stoney Trail turning north on Stoney Trail turning off at Peigan Trail, then westward on Peigan past the City of Calgary Landfill. We had many highlights; the most important of which was a mixed pair of Red-tailed Hawks. Of the pair, one adult was a RUFOUS MORPH bird; the other was a light-phase EASTERN RED-TAIL. The pair were together, but, I cannot divulge the location as this a sensitive pairing (rare). You can contact me if you wish more details. The birds have nested at this site previously. I did not see them there in 2015, but, saw them there previously 2 out of 3 years. I believe young were probably raised in at least one year; the year when the JAEGERS were at Weed Lake (POMARINE and PARASITIC). I believe it was 2013. At that time while going out to the Lake I noticed at least 3 rather unusual-looking Red-tails on the west side of Weed Lake and west of Weed Lake. Other highlights were an ALBINISTIC American Wigeon at a slough on Range Road 280 just south of Inverlake Road. The bird had 2 large white clear patches on each side; an incredible LEUCISTIC MERLIN photographed by Tony Timmons at the 4- way stop in Langdon (it looked like a miniature white-morph Gyrfalcon with a banded tail); five hybrid TUNDRA-TRUMPETER SWANS at McElroy Slough, and 50 AMERICAN PIPITS at a shallow wetland on 146 Avenue just east of 104 Street. Northern Pintail was the most numerous Duck of the day with 1621; American Wigeon came in at 1017; and, Northern Shoveler came in at 962. BLACK-NECKED STILTS and AMERICAN AVOCETS were a particularly wonderful sight at the south end of Weed Lake and at Langdon Corner Slough, which is at the Highways 1 and 9 junction. Two SWALLOWS were seen briefly at the Dam at Chestermere Lake, but, we were unable to identify them. One other DARK MORPH Red-tailed Hawk was seen, and 4 American Kestrels were seen. The City of Calgary Landfill had excellent numbers of Gulls; I would estimate their numbers at 1500 for anyone interested in doing some Gullwatching this coming week.”

"These Doves are becoming more common in the rural areas south and east of Calgary, and are being seen regularly in the city as well. They seem to occupy an ecological niche between that of the Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove. It remains to be seen if they will become a common backyard bird like the Rock Pigeon, or primarily a rural one like the Mourning Dove." By Bob Lefebvre, Calgary. "With a flash of white tail feathers and a flurry of dark-tipped wings, the Eurasian Collared-Dove settles onto phone wires and fence posts to give its rhythmic three-parted coo. This chunky relative of the Mourning Dove gets its name from the black half-collar at the nape of the neck. A few Eurasian Collared-Doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s. They made their way to Florida by the 1980s and then rapidly colonized most of North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Collared-Dove/id A week ago, on 20 December 2015, I had a really long day out with three friends, taking part in the annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count. We did SO much walking, starting at 8:00 am, getting home around 4:00 p.m., and then I was out in the evening at the potluck supper held for the many participants who covered various parts of the city. Our first stop was at a place with a great view looking out over downtown Calgary. The sunrise colours were beautiful and the whole day gave us good weather. From this location, we then spent the day driving short distances and then walking round the various residential streets. There were so many White-winged Crossbills and a pretty good number of these Eurasian Collared-Doves. The total overall number of species seen for the whole city this year was really good, though we haven't yet had the finalized number. The group of 4 of us that covered part of the NE had 24 species, which was also very good. Will add our small group's list below. Species 24: Canada Goose 200+ Mallard 100+ Raven 11 American Crow 4 Magpie 86 Rock Pigeon 38 Starling 2 Bald Eagle 1 Merlin 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 21 Blue Jay 2 American Robin 3 White-winged Crossbill 340 Red Crossbill 24 House Finch 134 Black-capped Chickadee 26 Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Common Redpoll 21 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 House Sparrow 750 Eurasian Collared Dove 63 Tony T. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHY THE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS MATTER news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141227-christmas...

"These Doves are becoming more common in the rural areas south and east of Calgary, and are being seen regularly in the city as well. They seem to occupy an ecological niche between that of the Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove. It remains to be seen if they will become a common backyard bird like the Rock Pigeon, or primarily a rural one like the Mourning Dove." By Bob Lefebvre, Calgary. "With a flash of white tail feathers and a flurry of dark-tipped wings, the Eurasian Collared-Dove settles onto phone wires and fence posts to give its rhythmic three-parted coo. This chunky relative of the Mourning Dove gets its name from the black half-collar at the nape of the neck. A few Eurasian Collared-Doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s. They made their way to Florida by the 1980s and then rapidly colonized most of North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Collared-Dove/id A week ago, on 20 December 2015, I had a really long day out with three friends, taking part in the annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count. We did SO much walking, starting at 8:00 am, getting home around 4:00 p.m., and then I was out in the evening at the potluck supper held for the many participants who covered various parts of the city. Our first stop was at a place with a great view looking out over downtown Calgary. The sunrise colours were beautiful and the whole day gave us good weather. The Calgary Tower, which used to be the tallest building downtown, is now dwarfed by others. At this time of the year, it has Christmas coloured lights around the top section. From this location, we then spent the day driving short distances and then walking round the various residential streets. There were so many White-winged Crossbills and a pretty good number of these Eurasian Collared-Doves. The total overall number of species seen for the whole city this year was really good, though we haven't yet had the finalized number. The group of 4 of us that covered part of the NE had 24 species, which was also very good. Will add our small group's list below. Species 24: Canada Goose 200+ Mallard 100+ Raven 11 American Crow 4 Magpie 86 Rock Pigeon 38 Starling 2 Bald Eagle 1 Merlin 3 Downy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 21 Blue Jay 2 American Robin 3 White-winged Crossbill 340 Red Crossbill 24 House Finch 134 Black-capped Chickadee 26 Red-breasted Nuthatch 18 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Common Redpoll 21 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 House Sparrow 750 Eurasian Collared Dove 63 Tony T. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHY THE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT MATTERS news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141227-christmas...

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! Hope you are feeling really good this morning, if you were celebrating into the wee hours! I want to wish my family and each and every one of my "local" friends, my long-time overseas friends, and my Flickr friends a very happy, healthy and safe New Year! It's hard to believe, isn't it, that 15 years have passed since all the fuss about the year 2000? Thank you all for your friendship and encouragement, and for letting me share my photos with you - SO much appreciated! I'm looking forward to another year of seeing where you have been and what beautiful things you have discovered! This photo was taken on 23 December 2014, when I was out on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for Drumheller, NE of Calgary. In the residential area, we spotted a couple of these Eurasian Collared Doves and then, when we were at Jim McCabe's house for a welcome lunch of home made soup and coffee, this one flew down to a tree at the far end of his garden. It's not a very inspiring photo, but I wanted to add it to my Drumheller Bird Count album. "These Doves are becoming more common in the rural areas south and east of Calgary, and are being seen regularly in the city as well. They seem to occupy an ecological niche between that of the Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove. It remains to be seen if they will become a common backyard bird like the Rock Pigeon, or primarily a rural one like the Mourning Dove." By Bob Lefebvre, Calgary. "With a flash of white tail feathers and a flurry of dark-tipped wings, the Eurasian Collared-Dove settles onto phone wires and fence posts to give its rhythmic three-parted coo. This chunky relative of the Mourning Dove gets its name from the black half-collar at the nape of the neck. A few Eurasian Collared-Doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s. They made their way to Florida by the 1980s and then rapidly colonized most of North America." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Collared-Dove/id ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHY THE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT MATTERS news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141227-christmas...