Impressive old barn

Took this photo from the car when we called in at one of several farms during the annual Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Christmas Bird Count (NW of Calgary), on 28 December 2012. Needless to say, a beautiful Great Horned Owl sitting in one of the windows would have been a real bonus, lol.

I think I've done five 2012 Christmas Counts now - feels like a lot more, ha! - with just another two to do. The killer for me is having to set my alarm clocks for around 4:00 a.m. and ending up getting maybe a couple of hours sleep the night before each one. However, I really enjoy taking part in these annual Audubon Counts, and we have been so lucky with the weather this year. Of course, I now have hundreds of photos to go through, edit, and get passed on to a pile of birding people. I'm also almost out of space on my computer, so I really need to start backing-up more old files so they can be deleted. By the way, this is the 113th Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, so it has been going on for more than a century!

Yesterday's Count was in and around Nanton, SW of Calgary. I was picked up at 6:45 a.m. and eventually got home around 8:15 p.m.. Three of us covered the SW quadrant of the huge circle that centred on the town of Nanton. The scenery is breathtaking, different around every corner. I absolutely love this area of Alberta! The day ended with a wonderfully welcoming evening, hosted by the Truch family! So much work had gone into preparing a delicious supper, that was thoroughly enjoyed - and most definitely appreciated!! - by everyone from several small groups that covered different quadrants of the Count circle. There really is nothing like getting together to chat and eat a wonderful meal at the end of a long day of birding : ) In case anyone is interested, the birds that the three of us saw are (thanks, Tony, for e-mailing the final total!):

Rough-legged Hawk 5
Golden Eagle 2
Great Horned Owl 2
Sharp-tailed Grouse 77
Pigeon 80
Northern Flicker 2
Northern Shrike 1
Magpie 74
Raven 31
Black-capped Chickadee 8
American Tree Sparrow 2
Pine Grosbeak 8
Common Redpoll 175
House Sparrow 134

For information on the history, locations, numbers of counts and particpants, etc. in North America:

birds.audubon.org/history-christmas-bird-count