Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Agelaius

Yesterday afternoon, 19 July 2016, I really wanted to go and check on the family of Mountain Bluebird fledglings, SW of the city. It was also getting uncomfortably warm in my place and I needed to spend a bit of time in the air-conditioning of my car. I only felt like a short drive, after the very enjoyable full day of driving with my daughter the previous day. I discovered that the fledglings had grown up a lot in the three days since I had first seen them - constantly on the move and impossible to photograph. There were so few birds to be seen in my usual location - the road had been resurfaced in the three days I hadn't been there. Whether that was the reason for the lack of birds, who knows. I did catch a pair of Red-winged Blackbirds and saw this female with a beak full of bright green larvae for her babies. No sign of any WIlson's Snipes. The distant Black Tern baby was still being fed. "One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring. You can find Red-winged Blackbirds in the breeding season by visiting cattail marshes and other wetlands, or simply by watching telephone wires on a drive through the country. Where there’s standing water and vegetation, Red-winged Blackbirds are likely to be one of the most common birds you see and hear. Listen for the male’s conk-la-lee! song. In winter, search through mixed-species blackbird flocks and be careful not to overlook the streaky, brown females, which can sometimes resemble a sparrow." From AllAboutBIrds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird

The day before yesterday, on 20 June 2016, I went for a drive SW of the city again. This time, I was thrilled to bits to see two male Bobolinks and a female. I had driven backwards and forwards along the road where I had seen them a few days ago, with no luck. I gave up and, instead, spent some time photographing a beautiful pair of Mountain Bluebirds. After a while, I told myself it was time to leave the Bluebirds in peace and go and see if there was any sign of a Bobolink. I had literally climbed back into my car and pulled forward maybe six feet, when a bird flew to a fence post. It looked bigger than a Savannah Sparrow, so I was curious. Turned out to be a male Bobolink, who gave me the chance for a few quick shots before flying away. Unfortunately, the sun was not in a good direction. Time to go and photograph a Tree Swallow, female Red-winged Blackbird (with food in her beak for her babies) and a Snipe and then I returned to the pair of Bluebirds. This time, they had two brief visitors - a Brown-headed Cowbird and a tiny Savannah Sparrow, who insisted on trying to perch on the same fence post as the male Bluebird. It was kind of cute to see the two together. I always love to tsee the back view of a female Bluebird, with just little touches of blue showing in her feathers. After a while, I decided it really was time to head for home. While crossing the road to my car, I spotted a bird perched on top of a tree way down the road and discovered it was a Bobolink again. It spent a bit of time flying around with another male and a female, eventually flying to a fence post. I had never seen a female before, but recognized it from various photos I had seen online a few days ago. Females are a lot smaller than the males and very different colouring. Three quick photos and it was gone. One of the males stayed on a fence post for a little while, but I was looking into the sun and the light was horrible. All three birds took off across the field and stayed down in the grass and I knew this would be a good time to tear myself away and head happily for home. Normally, I don't get out this often, but I know that it won't be long before all the birds I saw today will have migrated. Also, this was the first day of summer, so I really wanted to spend a few hours outdoors. "One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring. You can find Red-winged Blackbirds in the breeding season by visiting cattail marshes and other wetlands, or simply by watching telephone wires on a drive through the country. Where there’s standing water and vegetation, Red-winged Blackbirds are likely to be one of the most common birds you see and hear. Listen for the male’s conk-la-lee! song. In winter, search through mixed-species blackbird flocks and be careful not to overlook the streaky, brown females, which can sometimes resemble a sparrow." From AllAboutBIrds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird

NOTE: 30 May 2016, people can't upload new photos this morning/today either by using the 'new' uploader of the old one. Lots of complaints on the Help Forum, but no word from any staff members yet - a public holiday in the US, unfortunately, though you would think that they would have at least one person available on standby to help. I guess, not Flickr! All three photos posted this morning were taken late afternoon/early evening yesterday, 28 May 2016, along the backroads SW of the city. This Red-winged Blackbird was such a "cooperative" guy for a few brief seconds, which I really appreciated. Usually, I find these Red-winged Blackbirds fly to the next fence post as soon as you pull up slowly beside them, and then do the same if you pull up beside that post. This was just a short drive, as I had been out for four hours in the morning, taking part in the May Species Count. The group I was with covered the Votier's Flats/Shaw Meadows area of Fish Creek Provincial Park. Fortunately, rain stayed away after quite a lot of rain recently. Hopefully, the same happens today, our second day of the count. "One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring." From Cornell's AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-winged_blackbird/id?utm_s... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird

Yesterday, 25 April 2016, I was out for the day, SE of Calgary around Frank Lake. Finally, after so much glorious, summer-like spring weather, the weather changed for the worse and we had a cool (needed gloves), very overcast day with light drizzle some of the time. Not good at all for taking photos. We also had a fair bit of desperately needed rain last night. I was especially disappointed with the shots I took of a beautiful Western Meadowlark. Usually, they fly even when they see you in the far distance, but this beauty let me slowly walk quite close to get a number of photos. The quality of my previous photo is awful, but I don't get a chance to photograph Meadowlarks very often, so will post at least one or two grainy images. If you've never heard the song of a Meadowlark, it might be worth listening on AllAboutBirds website. Eight friends and I had a great day, despite the weather. This is one of my favourite areas amd I just haven't been getting time to drive there myself for quite a long time. We started off at the main gate and drove to the blind/hide area, stopping half way to search for very distant birds. While everyone else had their binoculars pointed over the water, I was slowly walking towards the Meadowlark, who was singing its beautiful song. You can hear them and they sound so close, but their song seems to carry a long way. It kept flying away but each time returned to the same post. I was amazed and delighted that this one let me get so close. If the sun had been shining, it would have been perfect! As usual when we go to Frank Lake, almost all the birds are very distant and pretty impossible to photograph. I did catch this male Red-winged Blackbird near the blind - the females have not yet returned here. The other amazing thing was when we had walked from the Frank Lake bird blind over to the water in the other direction, a flock of about 50 Tree Swallows were flying to and from a low tree/shrub, catching the many insects while in flight. Again, while everyone was searching over the water, I gradually made my way to within just a few feet of the bush. Quite a feeling to have so many Tree Swallows circling all the way around you. I have never ever seen so many of them acting like this, so it was a neat experience. From this main area, we called in at the usual three other places around the lake. Two were rough roads that led to Basin 2 from the east and the west, and the third was the Ducks Unlimited location at the far southern edge of the lake, at Basin 3. Thanks so much for a great day, Tony, and for the ride all day. I always look forward to the Frank Lake trips. "The buoyant, flutelike melody of the Western Meadowlark ringing out across a field can brighten anyone’s day. Meadowlarks are often more easily heard than seen, unless you spot a male singing from a fence post. This colorful member of the blackbird family flashes a vibrant yellow breast crossed by a distinctive, black, V-shaped band. Look and listen for these stout ground feeders in grasslands, meadows, pastures, and along marsh edges throughout the West and Midwest, where flocks strut and feed on seeds and insects." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Meadowlark/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_meadowlark I will add our leader, Tony Timmons' list of species seen, adding that only 6 people walked as far as the Hudsonian Godwits - I was not one of them. "Nine people were on the trip today to Frank Lake. Expected species were present in pretty fair numbers, with the best sighting being 15 Hudsonian Godwits at Basin 3. A flock of 50 Tree Swallows hacking insects and using a small bush for a perch, made for an interesting scene. We had 56 species for the trip Horned Grebe Eared Grebe Western Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron White-faced Ibis (1 seen by Dan P.) Canada Goose Trumpeter Swan Tundra Swan Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Blue-winged Teal Cinnamon Teal Green-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Ruddy Duck Northern Harrier Swainson's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Gray Partridge American Coot Killdeer Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Lesser Yellowlegs Willet Hudsonian Godwit Wilson's Snipe Franklin's Gull Bonaparte's Gull California Gull Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Great Horned Owl Black-billed Magpie American Crow Common Raven Tree Swallow Marsh Wren American Robin European Starling Song Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Yellow-headed Blackbird Western Meadowlark Brewer's Blackbird House Sparrow"

Needed my archives for my photos this morning. Glad I chose a warm, sunny shot to post this morning, as it is another overcast, dreary morning. Also, I haven't been out with my camera for about five days, thanks to whiplash and pain all over my body thanks to the car accident on Saturday, which was not caused by me, thank goodness. Really hoping this eases off quickly! Had an appointment with my doctor yesterday afternoon, mainly just so that I could report the accident and have it (and the whiplash, etc.) on record. Came out with two good test results, though - my cholesterol level had dropped from 4.2 to 3, which she told me is a huge drop, and also that I had lost 20 lb since July : )) This photo of a Red-winged Blackbird was taken SW of Calgary, on a short drive along familiar backroads, on 1 July 2014. "One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring." From Cornell's AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-winged_blackbird/id?utm_s... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird

In Canada, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. This happened to be on 10 May 2015 this year, and my daughter had asked if I wanted to spend the day out with our cameras, looking for birds and old barns and anything else that was interesting and/or beautiful. I couldn't imagine a nicer way to spend this special day : ) We started off locally, visiting a wetland in the SW of the city, where we had good or reasonable views of several different bird species, including Lesser Scaup, Redheads, a pair of Red-necked Grebe, a Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow, Wigeon, Common Grackle (which I love to see) and, of course, a few Mallards. From that location, we drove some of my familiar backroads SW of the city, where we saw a Snipe walking across a gravel road (it had such a cute way of walking), another pair of Red-necked Grebe, a quick glimpse of a Mountain Bluebird, and a pair of juvenile Swans (very distant, but I believe they were Trumpeters). Our drive then took us further south than I had ever driven before. We knew we wanted to see an old grain elevator at Azure (near Cayley) and we were able to find it. Drove a few of the country backroads in that whole area, eventually ending up at Silver Lake, where we watched some American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. I'd never even heard of this lake before. From there, we drove the backroads east of Highway 2, all the way north to Frank Lake, where we saw Eared Grebes, a Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds (including this female Red-winged), Coots, Canada Geese (of course!), and RAIN! A lot of the day, apart from when we first started the drive, was overcast and we did have a bit of rain on and off. There were some rather black clouds seen from Frank Lake. Managed to get a few photos of a couple of different Swainson's Hawks during the day. Twice, when we had a great opportunity to get photos, they were disturbed by a vehicle driving by. As occasionally happens, the driver of one car thought it would be fun to drive past as noisily as he could to make the hawks fly. We called in at the Saskatoon Farm on the way home, hoping to have a delicious meal there, or at least we drove as far as the entrance. The parking lots were full and overflowing and there was a constant stream of new arrivals. No idea if it was because it was Mother's Day, or perhaps there was a wedding being held there. Whatever the reason, we knew that there was no chance of ever getting a table in the restaurant. Thanks for the treat at Tim Horton's, Rachel : ) And thank you for spending the whole day with me - it made a lovely Mother's Day!

In Canada, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. This happened to be on 10 May 2015, and my daughter had asked if I wanted to spend the day out with our cameras, looking for birds and old barns and anything else that was interesting and/or beautiful. I couldn't imagine a nicer way to spend this special day : ) We started off locally, visiting a wetland in the SW of the city, where we had good or reasonable views of several different bird species, including Lesser Scaup, Redheads, a pair of Red-necked Grebe, a Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow, Wigeon, Common Grackle (which I love to see) and, of course, a few Mallards. From that location, we drove some of my familiar backroads SW of the city, where we saw a Snipe walking across a gravel road (it had such a cute way of walking), another pair of Red-necked Grebe, a quick glimpse of a Mountain Bluebird, and a pair of juvenile Swans (very distant, but I think they were Trumpeters). Our drive then took us further south than I had ever driven before. We knew we wanted to see an old grain elevator at Azure (near Cayley) and we were able to find it. Drove a few of the country backroads in that whole area, eventually ending up at Silver Lake, where we watched some American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. I'd never even heard of this lake before. From there, we drove the backroads east of Highway 2, all the way north to Frank Lake, where we saw Eared Grebes, a Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds (female Red-winged seen in this photo), Coots, Canada Geese (of course!), and RAIN! A lot of the day, apart from when we first started the drive, was overcast and we did have a bit of rain on and off. There were some rather black clouds seen from Frank Lake. Managed to get a few photos of a couple of different Swainson's Hawks during the day. Twice, when we had a great opportunity to get photos, they were disturbed by a vehicle driving by. The driver of one car thought it would be fun to drive past as noisily as he could, of course making the hawks fly. We called in at the Saskatoon Farm on the way home, hoping to have a delicious meal there, or at least we drove as far as the entrance. The parking lots were full and overflowing and there was a constant stream of new arrivals. No idea if it was because it was because it was Mother's Day, or perhaps there was a wedding being held there. Whatever the reason, we knew that there was no chance of ever getting a table in the restaurant. Thanks for the treat at Tim Horton's, Rachel : ) And thank you for spending the whole day with me - it made a lovely Mother's Day!

This photo was taken on 5 May 2015, when I went for a drive SW of Calgary. I wasn't able to meet botany friends as the afternoon walk was at a location across the city where I won't drive. So, instead, I decided to go for a more local drive outside the city. Not a whole lot to be seen - a pair of Mountain Bluebirds, a Red-winged Blackbird, three Swainson's Hawks (in flight), a pair of Red-necked Grebes that were swimming the far side of a huge pond, a Pied-billed Grebe, pair of Northern Shovelers, a Snipe that was heard but not seen, and a Moose that was suffering from a bad case of Tick infestation. I always feel so lucky to have such amazing places to drive through, more or less on my doorstep!

This is a Red-winged Blackbird and I think I'm right in saying that it's a female, not a juvenile? Could be wrong, though, as I find it difficult to tell which is which. Amazing how different the females are from the jet black males with with their red wing patches. I always remember the very first time I saw a female, quite a few years ago, and I thought I was looking at some kind of Sparrow, ha. Photo was taken on 28 June 2014, when I went for a drive along some of the backroads SW of the city. "One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring. You can find Red-winged Blackbirds in the breeding season by visiting cattail marshes and other wetlands, or simply by watching telephone wires on a drive through the country. Where there’s standing water and vegetation, Red-winged Blackbirds are likely to be one of the most common birds you see and hear. Listen for the male’s conk-la-lee! song. In winter, search through mixed-species blackbird flocks and be careful not to overlook the streaky, brown females, which can sometimes resemble a sparrow." From AllAboutBIrds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thursday, 2 April 2015: after beautiful morning weather, it has just started snowing heavily! Sounds as if there might be a bit of rain or hail mixed in with the snow. I'm so glad I decided to sleep as long as possible this morning instead of going for a drive outside the city! So, back to winter once again.

HAPPY SPRING, everyone! Here, today is heavily overcast and the forecast is for showers this afternoon and tomorrow, and a few snow flurries for Sunday. The temperature is 0C (windchill -3C). Ha, almost noon, and I've just noticed that it's snowing. Good, it looks as if Flickr may be working OK this morning. All day yesterday, my photos were obviously not showing up on most people's Contacts' Photos page. I know some people were having the same problem. I'm digging into my archives for all three of my photos today. I haven't been getting out much with my camera, and on the days I have been out, there hasn't been much to photograph. Hopefully, that will change soon. It is so rare that I get a cold, but I know I have been run down the last while, and I came out in a cold a couple of days ago. This photo of a Red-winged Blackbird, caught in the middle of vocalizing loudly, was taken SW of Calgary, on a short drive along familiar backroads, on 1 July 2014. "One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring." From Cornell's AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-winged_blackbird/id?utm_s... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird

This is a Red-winged Blackbird and I think I'm right in saying that it's a juvenile, not an adult female? The back of the head seems to be much lighter than an adult female, and juveniles do look rather like an adult female, and not like an adult male. Amazing how different the females are from the jet black males with with their red patches. I always remember the very first time I saw a female, quite a few years ago, and I thought I was looking at some kind of Sparrow, ha. Photo was taken on 28 June 2014, when I went for a drive along some of the backroads SW of the city. Today, 1 July 2014, is Canada Day. Happy Canada Day to all fellow Canadians, whether here or living around the world! We live in such a great and free country, which is something to be remembered and thankful for, each and every day! A special wish and thank-you for all those Canadians who are serving our country, especially overseas! This is Canada's 147th birthday - we are so young! "Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada) is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act, 1867 (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. Originally called Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as among Canadians internationally." From Wikipedia.

This photo was taken along one of the backroads SW of the city, on 7 June 2014. Such a "cooperative" guy for a few brief seconds, which I really appreciated. Usually, I find these Red-winged Blackbirds fly to the next fence post as soon as you pull up slowly beside them, and then do the same if you pull up beside that post. "One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. In the North, their early arrival and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring." From Cornell's AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-winged_blackbird/id?utm_s... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird Looks like we are in for about a week of isolated showers, but the heavy rain seems to have come to an end, thank goodness. Hopefully, southern Alberta river levels will start to go down, avoiding any further flooding. Eerily strange coincidence that this is exactly the same time as Alberta's Flood of the Century last year, 20 June 2013.

tThe fact that this image came out OK amazed me, as it was taken on a heavily overcast, snowy morning with low visibility (26 April 2014). My camera kept focusing on the snowflakes, but I'm glad that at least one of the photos worked. We certainly had a mix of weather last weekend. On the day this photo was taken, a few of us had gathered to go on a birding drive south of the city, but weren't sure whether to cancel the trip. We drove to the edge of the city to check out a huge pond, but it was decided that the visibility was just not going to be good enough, so the trip was postponed. Two of us did drive some of the backroads just south of the city and the snow did stop for a while, but the light was not good. I really appreciated the drive, though, as we went on a few roads that I don't drive, but now will feel confident to do so. Thanks so much, Terry! We had a few nice sightings, including a Moose, a Snow Goose (possibly a Ross's Goose) that I didn't see, and a distant flock of about 60 Mountain Bluebirds which was a real treat. The Yellow-headed Blackbirds are now back, joining the Red-winged Blackbirds that I believe arrived first. Feels so good to have them back again! www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-winged_blackbird/id?utm_s... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_Blackbird The weather forecast for the next five days is mixed precipitation, light snow or snow-rain showers. Not quite the way one wants to welcome the month of May, but we can't complain. Compared to all those people who are suffering and continue to suffer the loss of loved ones and loss of homes and businesses, thanks to air or sea tragedies and the tremendous nightmare from tornado damage, we here in Alberta are very fortunate. My thoughts go out to all those who are going through such terrible times. If I suddenly disappear off Flickr, it will be because of anti-virus software problems that surfaced this morning. No part of McAfee worked - anything I clicked on did nothing. There was no McAfee to be seen! When I bought my computer, it already had this anti-virus software installed on it. I have to remove it so that I can install Norton (that I've always used before). Just hope I manage to remove all the bits and pieces from the present one, or the new one won't work. Later: dashed out immediately to buy the software I normally use, and thank goodness, it seems to have installed successfully. Relief! Which was short-lived, as I find that now my printer won't work after installing Norton Anti-virus. Aren't computers fun?

This male Red-winged Blackbird and its mate gave me some much appreciated opportunities for photos back in July. This one was taken on 19 July 2013. Usually, these birds fly off as soon as I pull over somewhere, but this pair even flew to near where I was standing, on several days. I really enjoyed this year, driving some of the backroads SW of the city. A friend asked me to ask anyone who is a birder, and if they keep lists, do you also include birds that you hear but don't see, and also bird tracks without seeing the bird? I did make a list quite a few years ago, but never continued with it. For me, personally, I wouldn't include birds on my list that are heard but not seen and I also wouldn't include birds for which only tracks are seen. Was out for two and a quarter hours on a walk with birding friends in Weaselhead this afternoon. A beautiful, sunny winter's day that soared to 6C : ) We were reminded of the devastation cause by Alberta's Flood of the Century in June when we took the left trail after the wooden bridge. The fairly new, wooden boardwalk had been shattered and some of the fences had been pulled over by the power of the water. Only 11 species of bird were seen.

This beautiful Red-winged Blackbird female took me by surprise when she collected insects and then flew up to the fence fairly near to where I was standing (no cropping necessary). Usually, these birds fly in the opposite direction! The males of this species are flashy, but the females definitely have a beauty of their own. I love the little hint of orange that you see on some of them. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_Blackbird www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_blackbird/id Oh, my gosh, we are having torrential rain!!! It must have rained heavily during the night, as there were large puddles everywhere, but it has started to rain heavily just now. Oh, the thousands of poor people who have already suffered tremendous damage from the Flood of the Century during the last two weeks! I feel hesitant to check online or my TV to see if anywhere has new flooding. On Friday evening, one of our communities called Sunnyside had flash floods. Really, enough is enough! Not good weather for all the visitors who decided to go down to the Stampede Grounds today, either.

Usually, when I pull up slowly beside a Red-winged Blackbird perched on a fence post, it has already flown by the time I stop : ) I was lucky this time and managed to get a few quick shots. Taken along one of the backroads SW of Calgary, on 26 June 2013. FLOOD OF THE CENTURY update: Calgary will remain in a State of Emergency until about 4th July. The residents of High River, half an hour's drive south of us, is in a far worse condition. "Some evacuees forced out by flooding in the hardest-hit southern Alberta town (High River) will be walking through their doors Saturday for the first time in more than a week, but others could be waiting for another month or more. The province announced Friday that it would be allowing about 5,000 residents from the northwest corner of High River to return to their homes for the first time in 10 days, but even those in line for a close-up look were warned that not everybody would be able to stay. Shane Schreiber of Alberta Emergency Management cautioned that not all of the 1,000 homes in the neighbourhood would be livable because of flood damage. Schreiber also explained that the phased re-entry of evacuees could take as long as five weeks for people from the most heavily devastated part of the town of 13,000...."Sector 4 ... will take much longer ... because it's still under water," he said. In Calgary, which remains in a State of Emergency after the Elbow and Bow rivers swamped low-lying areas and much of the downtown, the emergency management director also had some bad news. Bruce Burrell said it's estimated between 8,000 and 10,000 of the 75,000 people forced out at the height of the flood waters would be out of their severely damaged homes for "a significant period of time." We do have a lot of people who this is going to take a very traumatic toll on,'' he said." From the Canadian Press on the Weather Network. See link below. Effective midnight (12 a.m., Sunday, June 30 2013), the City of Calgary lifted outdoor water use restrictions for all customers, including Airdrie, Chestermere and Strathmore. While restrictions have been lifted, Calgarians should, as always, continue to use water wisely. bcove.me/55ws5o1p www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9176189028