Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 2015

Yesterday, 29 February 2016 (Leap Year!), the weather reminded me of our annual Audubon High River Christmas Bird Count, back on 15 December 2015. Yesterday was foggy, frosty and with treacherous roads. Thankfully, I didn't have to go out anywhere. On 15 December 2015, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. Everywhere was covered in beautiful hoar frost, which lasted a good part of the day. Just the same weather as when we did this count in December 2014. As you can see from this photo, taken at the outlet at Frank Lake where there was a bit of open water, it was cold but beautiful. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count, though because the light was so bad, most of my photos are rather grainy or just too blurred to post. The sun came up when we were standing at this spot and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the bit of open water. So beautiful. After our very first stop here, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find a different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:30 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by the generous birding people down in High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. It was great when we saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Hway 2, on our way home. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

At home, waiting to hear that my car has been repaired and is ready to be picked up. I'm also running out of time (about 3 hours left) to go and pick up and pay for a bus ticket for a day trip to the mountains next weekend. Not sure what happens with this group, but hopefully my name won't be removed from the list if I can't make it today. I did e-mail two people, but haven't heard back from either of them. Wasn't expecting my vehicle to need two days for repairs, but can't be helped - and brakes that need repair are nothing to mess around with! Just hoping I can get it back in time to go and pay for my ticket. This morning, it is lightly snowing and temperature is -10C (windchill -13C). As for the above photo, this was taken at the start of a long day of birding, when 8 brave souls faced the elements in order to document the birds and other wildlife east of High River. After less than two hours' sleep (for me) and setting my alarm clocks for some unearthly hour, this was our reward. Just like a year ago (2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Or is this kind of frost called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. cathybell.org/2013/01/02/hoar-frost-and-rime-ice-whats-th... On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large, 15-mile diameter count circle around the town of High River, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. The sun came up when we were standing at this spot and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected (not seen in this photo) in the open water. So beautiful. After our very first stop here, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2, on our way home. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. LINK TO HIGH RIVER BIRD COUNT 2014 album, for comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157649826692885 I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

Three days after Christmas, on 28 December, I took part in the annual Audubon Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Christmas Bird Count. The area that my small group of seven people covered was N of Cochrane and E of Highway 22. Though the word 'Reserve' is in the name, this count was like most others, driving all the country backroads and calling in at several farms. The weather was bad, with poor light and gently falling snow pretty well all day long. Thanks so much, Stephen, for driving the four of us safely! At our previous stop before the farm seen in this photo, I had asked the owner if it was his farm where I had photographed a beautiful large red barn a couple of years ago. He had said it was over at his neighbour's farm. I was so happy that our next stop was at this neighbour's farmyard and I managed to get a few shots from inside the car as we drove in. I will add our leader's report for this day's count below. Not a huge number of species, with a Pileated Woodpecker being the highlight plus so many Snow Buntings. "The day was overcast, light snow most of day, calm, -09°C. 20 cm snow on ground. Most streams frozen over. Total Party kms by Car - 84; Total Party kms by foot – 2km. Total Party hours by Car – 3; Total Party hours by foot -2 hrs Total Party hours feeder watching – 1:40 min. Rough-legged Hawk-1 Rock Pigeon-4 Downy Woodpecker-10. Hairy Woodpecker-3 PILEATED WOODPECKER-1 Black-billed Magpie- 19 Common Raven- 18 Black-capped Chickadee- 41 Red-breasted Nuthatch- 3 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 American Tree Sparrow-7 Dark-eyed Junco-1 Snow Bunting-3550 Pine Grosbeak-25 White-winged Crossbill-15 Common Redpoll-1811 House Sparrow-106 Red Squirrel-2"

All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 28 December, during the annual Audubon Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Christmas Bird Count. The area that my small group of seven people covered was N of Cochrane and E of Highway 22. Though the word 'Reserve' is in the name, this count was like most others, driving all the country backroads and calling in at several farms. The weather was bad, with poor light and gently falling snow pretty well all day long. Thanks so much, Stephen, for driving the four of us safely! At our previous stop before the farm seen in this photo, I had asked the owner if it was his farm where I had photographed a beautiful large red barn a year ago. He had said it was over at his neighbour's farm. I was so happy that our next stop was at this neighbour's farmyard and I managed to get a few shots from inside the car as we drove in. I will add our leader's report for this day's count below. Not a huge number of species, with a Pileated Woodpecker being the highlight plus so many Snow Buntings. "The day was overcast, light snow most of day, calm, -09°C. 20 cm snow on ground. Most streams frozen over. Total Party kms by Car - 84; Total Party kms by foot – 2km. Total Party hours by Car – 3; Total Party hours by foot -2 hrs Total Party hours feeder watching – 1:40 min. Rough-legged Hawk-1 Rock Pigeon-4 Downy Woodpecker-10. Hairy Woodpecker-3 PILEATED WOODPECKER-1 Black-billed Magpie- 19 Common Raven- 18 Black-capped Chickadee- 41 Red-breasted Nuthatch- 3 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 American Tree Sparrow-7 Dark-eyed Junco-1 Snow Bunting-3550 Pine Grosbeak-25 White-winged Crossbill-15 Common Redpoll-1811 House Sparrow-106 Red Squirrel-2"

This is a fairly typical country road and scenery seen on our small area for the Christmas Bird Count for the town of High River. I always like this view and usually take a similar photo, looking westwards towards the distant Rocky Mountains. Five days ago, on 15 December 2015, 8 brave souls faced the elements in order to document the birds and other wildlife east of High River. After less than two hours' sleep (for me) and setting our alarm clocks for some unearthly hour, we were well rewarded. Just like a year ago (December 2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count this year started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Not sure if some of the frost is called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large, 15-mile diameter count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence, so a limit was put on the number of participants. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. After our very first stop at Frank Lake, we then drove the various backroads around and near the lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a huge number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious potluck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. LINK TO MY HIGH RIVER BIRD COUNT 2014 album, for comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157649826692885 I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

This is the same old Ford truck that I posted the other day, but the barn is a different one. Sometime during the past 12 months, this and various barns/sheds in the farmyard had been painted red, instead of the previous pink. This barn had also been given a new roof. This photo was taken near the end of a day of birding when 8 brave souls had faced the elements in order to document the birds and other wildlife east of High River. After less than two hours' sleep (for me) and setting our alarm clocks for some unearthly hour, we were rewarded with some nice sightings. Just like a year ago (December 2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Not sure if some of the frost is called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. By the time we got to this farm, the frost had pretty much gone. On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large, 15-mile diameter count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence, so a limit was put on the number of participants. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. After our very first stop at Frank Lake, we then drove the various backroads around and near the lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious potluck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. LINK TO MY HIGH RIVER BIRD COUNT 2014 album, for comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157649826692885 I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

We saw 8 Great Horned Owls on the High River Christmas Bird Count four days ago, plus a ninth one seen by the four of us riding in one of the cars at the end of the day. Thanks to 48x zoom, I was able to get photos of some of the owls - not the greatest shots, but nice for the record. This one was perched among the branches covered in hoar frost at one of the farms. Ha, my lens hood also had a slight coating of frost on it! This was the start of a long day of birding, when 8 brave souls faced the elements in order to document the birds and other wildlife east of High River. After less than two hours' sleep (for me) and setting our alarm clocks for some unearthly hour, this owl was just one of our rewards. Just like a year ago (2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Not sure if some of the frost is called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large, 15-mile diameter count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence, so a limit was put on the number of participants. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. After our very first stop at Frank Lake, we then drove the various backroads around and near the lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2, on our way to the Potluck supper. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious potluck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. LINK TO MY HIGH RIVER BIRD COUNT 2014 album, for comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157649826692885 I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

On 15 December 2015, everywhere was covered in glorious hoar frost. Can't, for the life of me, think what these plants are that line the path and boardwalk leading to the bird blind at Frank Lake. They looked so pretty in their coating of white. You can see the frozen lake in the distance. This was near the start of a long day of birding, when 8 brave souls faced the elements in order to document the birds and other wildlife east of High River. After less than two hours' sleep (for me) and setting our alarm clocks for some unearthly hour, we were rewarded with such beauty. Just like a year ago (December 2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Not sure if some of the frost is called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large, 15-mile diameter count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence, so a limit was put on the number of participants. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. After our very first stop at Frank Lake, we then drove the various backroads around and near the lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2, on our way to the Potluck supper. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious potluck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. LINK TO MY HIGH RIVER BIRD COUNT 2014 album, for comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157649826692885 I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

This is one of the barns that I saw when we were on the High River Christmas Bird Count, on 15 December 2015. Sometime during the past 12 months, this and various sheds in the farmyard had been painted red, instead of the previous pink. This barn had also been given a new roof - the previous wooden shingles had worn out. I have added a previously posted photo taken a year ago, in a comment box below. This photo was taken near the end of a day when 8 brave souls had faced the elements in order to document the birds and other wildlife east of High River. After less than two hours' sleep (for me) and setting our alarm clocks for some unearthly hour, we were rewarded with some nice sightings. Just like a year ago (December 2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Not sure if some of the frost is called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large, 15-mile diameter count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence, so a limit was put on the number of participants. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. After our very first stop at Frank Lake, we then drove the various backroads around and near the lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious potluck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. LINK TO MY HIGH RIVER BIRD COUNT 2014 album, for comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157649826692885 I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

R.I.P. Gary. Posting so late today, around 12:00 noon! This was the start of a long day of birding, when 8 brave souls faced the elements in order to document the birds and other wildlife east of High River. After less than two hours' sleep (for me) and setting our alarm clocks for some unearthly hour, this was our reward. Just like a year ago (2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Or is this kind of frost called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. cathybell.org/2013/01/02/hoar-frost-and-rime-ice-whats-th... On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large, 15-mile diameter count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. The sun came up when we were standing at this spot and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected (not seen in this photo) in the open water. So beautiful. After our very first stop here, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2, on our way home. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. LINK TO HIGH RIVER BIRD COUNT 2014 album, for comparison: www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/albums/72157649826692885 I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

Just like a year ago (2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Or is this kind of frost called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. cathybell.org/2013/01/02/hoar-frost-and-rime-ice-whats-th... On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. The sun came up when we were standing at the outlet and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the open water. So beautiful. This photo was taken when we walked to the blind, looking out over the frosty landscape. After our very first stop here, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2, on our way home. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

Just noticed that it is snowing again this morning, 18 December 2015. Temperature is -12C (windchill -20C) as I type. A poor quality photo, but I wanted to add it to my bird count album, for a record of this very distant Snowy Owl. A fully 48x zoomed and cropped image. I still haven't been out looking for Snowy Owls myself, but will be going soon, with my daughter. Just like a year ago (2014), on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. Everything was covered in delicate hoar frost. Or is this kind of frost called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. cathybell.org/2013/01/02/hoar-frost-and-rime-ice-whats-th... On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, just over half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. The sun came up when we were standing at the outlet at Frank Lake and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the open water. So beautiful. After our very first stop there, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Highway 2, on our way home. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

Just like a year ago, on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep - this one of tall Cattails growing near the outlet at Frank Lake, has a little bit of sharpness, and it still shows the amazing way everything, including these tall Cattails, was covered in delicate hoar frost. Or is this kind of frost called Rime Ice? There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in similar crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. cathybell.org/2013/01/02/hoar-frost-and-rime-ice-whats-th... On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. The sun came up when we were standing at this spot and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the open water. So beautiful. After our very first stop here, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find a different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Hway 2, on our way home. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

Just like a year ago, on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, our Count on 15 December 2015 started off while it was still dark, and it was foggy with a most wonderful hoar frost. Not the best conditions for taking photos, though, especially with a point-and-shoot camera. Many of my photos taken very early morning came out far too blurry to keep. There was no snow on the ground, but it was covered in hoar frost crystals, which crunched as we walked on them. On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our small group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. The sun came up when we were at our first stop and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the open water of the outlet at Frank Lake. So beautiful. After our very first stop there, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find a different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Hway 2, on our way home. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. These brightly coloured sheds/barns, along with numerous other run-down buildings, were at a location down by a creek. We were surprised to see that a gravel company had started work in this area, sometime during the past year. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

I was really hoping that we would call in at this particular farm, when we were SE of Calgary two days ago. In December 2014, we had called in and had a long chat with the lady who lives there. She had five (?) most beautiful kittens that were hanging around one of her old barns, and two days ago, we caught sight of a grey cat that we think was one of last year's kittens. All the old barns and sheds had been given a new coat of paint, so were now red instead of pink : ) I spotted this old Ford truck at rest along one of the hedgerows. On this day, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our small group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C or colder) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count. The sun came up when we were at our first stop and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the open water of the outlet at Frank Lake. So beautiful. After our very first stop there, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find a different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls (4 of them at one farm). It was great when those of us riding in the one car, saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Hway 2, on our way home. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by generous birding people who live in or near High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time year-round, searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw when we were at the Potluck and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. Definitely not just for people who have a garden and bird feeders. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

Yesterday, 15 December 2015, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. Everywhere was covered in beautiful hoar frost, which lasted a good part of the day. Just the same weather as when we did this count in December 2014. As you can see from this photo, taken at the outlet at Frank Lake where there was a bit of open water, it was cold but beautiful. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count, though because the light was so bad, most of my photos are rather grainy (or just too blurred to post). The sun came up when we were standing at this spot and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the open water. So beautiful. After our very first stop here, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find a different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:30 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by the generous birding people down in High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. It was great when we saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Hway 2, on our way home. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An... I now need to get myself ready for having to go out into a winter wonderland today, for a volunteer shift. It snowed last night, so I have a few inches of the white stuff to clear off my vehicle. If truth were known, I think I would prefer to grab my camera and go for a walk or a short drive, but that will have to wait till another day : ) Well, I'll still grab my camera. Temperature is -6C, windchill -8C, this morning.

It snowed last night, so I had a few inches of the white stuff to clear off my vehicle today, 16 December 2015, before going to a volunteer shift. If truth were known, I think I would have preferred to grab my camera and go for a walk or a short drive, but that will have to wait till another day : ) Temperature was -6C, windchill -8C, this morning. Yesterday, 15 December 2015, I went with a group of 7 friends to take part in the first annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count of the season. This is one of my favourite counts, mainly because our small group covers one of my favourite areas, SE of the city. Other birders covered the rest of the large count circle around the town of High River, SE of Calgary, roughly half an hour's drive from the southern edge of Calgary. Our group was limited to just two carloads of people. When there is a convoy of vehicles, everything takes much longer, and on an important count day, time is of the essence. We met in the city at 7:15 am and drove southwards into fog - dense fog! This is not what people hope for when out looking for birds, ha. The temperature was around -12C (so I'm guessing the windchill was somewhere around -18C) when we set out, warming to 1C later on. Everywhere was covered in beautiful hoar frost, which lasted a good part of the day. Just the same weather as when we did this count in December 2014. At the outlet at Frank Lake, there was a bit of open water. I always hope for a hoar frost for this count, though because the light was so bad, most of my morning photos are rather grainy (or just too blurred to post). The sun came up when we were standing at the outlet and for just a few brief seconds, it was reflected in the open water. So beautiful. After our very first stop here, we then drove the various backroads around and near Frank Lake, calling in at several farms to ask permission to look around their farmyards, hoping to find a different species to add to our list. I will add our leader's final list below - not a great number of species, but a few nice ones, including two very, very distant Snowy Owls and 8 Great Horned Owls. "Frank Lake CBC, SE quadrant, S of Hwy 23, E of Hwy 2. 0800-1645, Tue, 15 Dec. 2015. Clear sky, but heavy ground fog obscured viewing of open water at Frank Lake, and coated vegetation with hoarfrost, which lasted most of the day. W. wind, up to 15kph. -12 to 01°C. No snow on ground (just hoarfrost), streams partly open. Km by Car-110:, Km on foot; 3; Time by car – 7 hr; Time on foot -1:45 min. Totals are all in IBA (in bird area), unless specified Off IBA. IBA territory was East of 152 St, S to 594 Av; then E to 168 St, then S to 626 Av. Canada Goose-80 Gadwall-1 m Green-winged Teal-1 f. Lesser Scaup-1 m. Bald Eagle-1 ad, flying S at 1445 over Davey Jones’ place.. Killdeer -3 Rock Pigeon-9 on N. side #23 // 30 on IBA terr. // 3 Off IBA Great Horned Owl-8 (4 in Harley Sutherland’s yard). Snowy Owl-2 Black-billed Magpie-17 // 31 Off IBA. Common Raven-13 // 8 Off IBA Horned Lark?? – 10, seen flying low, by Jim St. L European Starling-1 on N side #23 // 26. American Tree Sparrow- 12 Song Sparrow?? – 1 (seen three times near outfall, but in heavy fog). Common Redpoll- 155 // 87 Off IBA House Sparrow- 128 // 77 Off IBA Reported seen by Mr/Mrs Gordon Fraser, Off IBA, in Little Bow River valley, today: Ring-necked Pheasant-1; Northern Flicker-1. (Also photographed Long-tailed Weasel-1). Coyote- 1 on ice of Frank Lake Deer sp.-3 Mule Deer -7, off S. Side of CBC Terr." Of course, as always happens on any trip, I just had to take photos of anything else that caught my eye, including barns, scenery, and so on. We had finished our count by around 4:45 pm, by which time it was completely dark. Some of us stayed for the delicious pot luck supper, mainly provided by the generous birding people down in High River. Thanks to everyone who got this ready for us - delicious and hugely appreciated! A special thanks to Greg Wagner who always organizes this count. He is a truly dedicated birder, who puts in so much time searching for and recording what birds are being seen in that whole area. Thanks, too, to Lorrie and John who drove two of us for the whole day. Can't thank you enough for making it possible for me to do this count. A lot of driving for you and it was greatly appreciated. It was great when we saw our 9th Great Horned Owl along H'way 23, just E of Hway 2, on our way home. I was lucky enough to get my name called in a draw and was given a copy of Myrna Pearman's beautiful new book: "Backyard Bird Feeding: an Alberta Guide". This complete guide to year-round bird feeding in Alberta is beautifully laid out with so many great photos and masses of information. A delightful book! Thank you, Russ Amy, for donating this copy specially for the draw! I also bought a copy to give to friends when I next see them. www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/store/p1/BACKYARD_BIRD_FEEDING%3A_An...

Most of us have so much to be thankful for, even in difficult times, and it is so important to remember the reason we can be thankful. So many men and women have died (or suffered major injury, both mental and physical) in so many wars, so that the rest of us can live in peace, in freedom. So many people will continue to lose their life, fighting for this freedom. I thank them, and their families, who willingly pay the price in all sorts of ways. They deserve our thanks, not just on November 11th each year, but each and every day. "Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918, as the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. The day was specifically dedicated by King George V, on 7 November 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I. The red poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem In Flanders Fields. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilt in the war." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields Photo taken at the Reader Rock Garden on 24 June 2015.