Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: enjoying the sun

A number of years ago, I had seen Painted Turtles lined up on a log in a large pond at the Alberta Bird of Prey Centre in Coaldale, so I knew to look for them. Luckily, I spotted this one at the edge of the pond on my recent visit. "The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Four regionally based subspecies (the eastern, midland, southern, and western) evolved during the last ice age." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_turtle It had been a few years since my last visit there - I've been maybe three or four times - and I had been longing to go back. Much too far and all new driving territory for me to even think about driving there myself. However, five days ago, on 9 September 2016, that is exactly what I did. A friend had said she would come along, too, but she emailed me at 1:00 am that morning to say that she assumed the trip had been cancelled, as she hadn't heard back about the time to meet. In fact, I had sent two emails giving the time, so I don't know what happened there. Very unfortunate, as it would have been great to have had company on such a long drive, and I know she would have had fun with her camera. I knew it would be a long day and further than I would normally drive - and in a brand new car that I have yet to learn to drive! It doesn't look or feel quite as new now, after travelling 481 km! Only got lost twice, one minor and the other major. Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere down south and I ended up in the city of Lethbridge, that I had very carefully planned to avoid. After three and three-quarter hours, I finally arrived, to my huge relief. Despite getting there later than I had hoped, I still had more than enough time to wander round the grounds and photograph the various raptors. Some were tethered out in a grassy area and others were in large outdoor cages. Wonderful to get such a close look at the various majestic birds. I took a slightly different way home via #845 (?) making absolutely sure that I didn't accidentally find myself in Lethbridge again and it wasn't too long before I found myself in the area that I had driven a few weeks ago, when I went SW of Vulcan to look for Common NIghthawks (without any luck). Just so happy that I finally made myself do this drive. When I Googled the Centre's website a few days ago, I had discovered that they were closing two days later for the winter. So, it was either a case of going the next day or not at all till next May onwards. The very next day, 10 September 2016, I took my daughter on a long drive in Kananaskis. This was yet another place that I had longed to be able to drive for many years - and finally I did it! I had been lots of times with various friends, but this was the very first time I had ever driven myself.

This photo was taken yesterday morning, 10 March 2015, when I went on a birding walk with friends at Mallard Point in Fish Creek Park. Sad to see all the damage caused by the last devastating flood. This bridge over the river has been repaired and there was a short stop to check out the river for birds. It was sunny and calm during the almost three-hour walk, with a temperature of 2C to 11C. The list, compiled by leader Gus Yaki, is below - I turned back before the furthest destination, so missed some of the birds, such as the Pheasant and Northern Goshawk: 1. Canada Goose-150 2. AMERICAN WIGEON-6 3. Mallard-100 4. Bufflehead-70 5. Common Goldeneye-80 6. Common Merganser-1 m. 7. Ring-necked Pheasant-1 m. 8. Bald Eagle-2+ (1 ad/1 imm+, - 4 sightings). 9. Northern Goshawk-1 m. 10. RING-BILLED GULL? – 2 Sightings 11. Rock Pigeon-3 12. Belted Kingfisher-1 heard. 13. Downy Woodpecker-6+ 14. Hairy Woodpecker-2 15. Northern Flicker-25 16. Blue Jay-4 17. Black-billed Magpie-10 18. American Crow-1 19. Common Raven-10+ 20. Black-capped Chickadee-15 21. White-breasted Nuthatch-1 22. AMERICAN ROBIN-4 23. European Starling-30+ 24. House Finch-2+ 25. House Sparrow-20+ After the walk, I called in to see one of the owls at the east end of Fish Creek Park. Took me a little while, but, just before I was about to give up, I found her on her nest. All you can see is her head or part of it, if that.

I think the very first photos I took of a Coyote were taken on 27 December 2004, just over 10 years ago, and when I had just bought my very first digital camera. Since then, of course, I have been lucky enough to see many of these beautiful animals, but they are almost always way off in the distance and usually running in the opposite direction to the car. The Coyote in this photo was still distant, but a little easier to photograph, especially as it was lying in the snow, resting and enjoying the sunshine. On 26 January 2015, I spent a day in the mountains with friends, Cathy and Terry, exploring along the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail in Kananaskis Country (the closest area of the mountains west of the city). This gravel road, south of Canmore, travels through the heart of the scenic Smith-Dorrien Valley, which is one of the of the wildest areas in Kananaskis. For years, I had read about this road and how not to drive along it when the weather was poor or if it had been raining. However, usually when I have been there with friends, Cathy and Terry, we have found the road to be in good condition, unlike on 26th. The afternoon was spent along the Bow Valley Parkway. The three of us had a great day, even though we had to deal with ice almost everywhere. Parts of the road were bare, other parts wet and muddy and the rest was a solid sheet of ice. Each time we stopped to take photos or watch wildlife, we had to park on ice and were surrounded by a solid sheet of ice. Consequently, I took most of my photos either from inside the car (which usually doesn't work!) or else standing and holding on to the car, which resulted in heat distortion/blur from the car. Unfortunately, most of my shots need to be deleted : (( We were lucky to see a few signs of wildlife. A beautiful female Moose had crossed over the road in front of us and disappeared a little way into the forest. We pulled over and stopped and watched and waited. At first, she stood with just part of her back end visible through the trees and then she turned around to face us. She seemed a little curious and at ease, watching while Terry came up with a solution of how I could get out of the car. The pure ice made it treacherous and so two of the car mats were placed like stepping stones for me. Unfortunately, though, if I moved more than a few inches to either side, my view of the Moose was blocked by the trees. A beautiful Red Fox surprised us all - usually, you see them near the edge of woodlands or on the prairies. Don't remember seeing one in the mountain forest before. This animal was on the large side for a Red Fox (so maybe a male?), but it did have the black back of the ears and it had black on its legs, unlike a Coyote. Thanks so much, Cathy and Terry, for yet another great day in the mountains - always so much fun! I really needed this wonderful day spent with the healing power of nature! Interesting - I've just clicked on a link that I had added to the description for one of my other photos, expecting it to not work, as usual. Apparently, other people can click on it and it opens the wanted webpage, but it never worked if you clicked on your own link. Amazingly, this time it did work for me. If it has been fixed/changed permanently, that would be great!