One of five White-tailed Deer
Hoping for food
Sweet little poser
Red Squirrel
Moose cow looking for salt
Northern Pygmy-owl, one year ago
Little forest muncher
Feasting on cone seeds
'Hiding' in the grass
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Least Chipmunk
Munching on cone seeds
Least Chipmunk
Pika / Ochonta princeps
Bright-eyed little cutie
Such cute little hands and feet
Mom and her new baby
One mighty beast, Bison Paddock, Waterton N P
The youngest bear cub I have ever seen
The reward for getting up early
Columbian Ground Squirrel collecting nest material
They can't see me
Hiding in the Canola field
Now they can't see me
Don't call me 'Gopher'
Unexpected closeness
The cutest little furball
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Bighorn Sheep - she's a beauty
A gathering of female Bighorn Sheep
Looking beautiful
A brief moment's rest
Mom and her spotted twins
Chipmunk with a yummy snack
A brief moment of rest
Quite a typical view
Between a rock and a hard place
Push!
Bighorn Sheep on Plateau Mountain, 2012
Light-coloured Pika
Mid-squeak!
Coyote on the hunt
It's that little guy (gal) again
One of four Moose seen yesterday
02 Two young Moose
Eye contact with a very distant Moose
A brief close encounter
Hungry little Chipmunk
Muskrat ripples
Love those little Pika feet
Confused bunny
Bighorn Sheep, number 18
Curious Moose
Two's company
Pika pose
A sweet encounter
Moose from the archives
It's Pika time - again
Yellow-bellied Marmot
Guardian of the path
Moose in the mountains
Agouti, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad
Muskrat, SW Calgary
Licking the salt
Creature of the forest
Cute as always
Pronghorn
Soaking up the sun
Happy Thanksgiving!
Resting near the Cattails
Elegant innocence
Should I stay or should I go?
Time to rest awhile
Mule Deer buck
Resting in the meadow
Changing colour ready for the winter
Hungry little Muskrat
A rare sighting
Freeze!
Looking back with a smile
Happy little muncher
Busy little Muskrat
Yesterday's highlight : )
Three out of four ain't bad
Mule Deer, Mom and baby
I'm hiding - she can't see me
Grizzly Bear with last year's cub
Least Chipmunk / Tamias minimus
Very young Mule deer
Peace and late evening sun
Moose kneeling to lick salt from the road
Moose in the late evening sun
Having fun with its reflection
Coyote in a field of dandelions
Young Richardson's Ground Squirrel
Life in the cemetery
Pika, up close
Jack Rabbit turning from white to brown
Moose, with a bad case of ticks
Curious Mule Deer
Young bull Moose
Love a Pika's ears
Happy Easter!
Licking salt off its lips
Wild and cute
Enjoying seeds and sunshine
A young male Moose
Moose portrait
Mule Deer at dusk
Love those big ears and big feet
Such a cute little thing
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Going for a swim
Young Yellow-bellied Marmot
Gathering food for the winter
The sacrifice made by Meadow Voles
Columbian Ground Squirrel
Another car gets a licking
Black Bear from last spring
A moment of closeness
The face of innocence
Little nut and seed eater of the forest
Such a fun Moose
Mule Deer on the prairies
Mountain Sheep
See also...
Sheep River Christmas Bird Counts, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Sheep River Christmas Bird Counts, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
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At the end of the day
Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Let's hope that the coming year will be a much happier, healthier and definitely more peaceful year than this one has been. I find it hard to believe that 3 January 2016 will be the first anniversary since my daughter died. I found Christmas extremely difficult to get through, and I know the next few days will be very hard, too. Thankfully, I have another Bird Count with friends on 3 January, which will help me get though that day. Also, I have a half day count in the city tomorrow morning, followed by a get-together of birders for coffee/lunch. If you are out and drinking, please don't drive!
Yesterday, 30 December 2015, 7 of us took part in the annual Audubon Sheep River/Priddis/Turner Valley Christmas Bird Count. Judging by this photo, you might think that it was another day of not being able to see any birds close enough to photograph, but in fact it was a great day yesterday : ) Great, but COLD, starting off at -22C warming to a balmy -3C later in the day.
Our time was spent travelling by car, driving the backroads SW of the city and calling in at several farms. I wasn't sure just where this count covered, as I believe I have only ever done it once before, a few years ago, and that time I was with friends covering a different section of the count circle. I remember it as being very slow and extremely unrewarding, This time, our area was in the centre of the count circle and I'm so glad I decided to go again. I hadn't expected that many of the roads were familiar to me and a few were new.
Our day started and ended with a Moose, which was pretty amazing. Not the greatest views for photographs, but I did manage to get a couple of OK ones. The photo above is of the Moose seen at the end of the day.
Another find was a group of Wild Turkeys that were at a location where they had been seen before. This time, we drove down the hill to the farm buildings and were able to see these spectacular birds quite well. All were females, but the females are still stunning, with their iridescent plumage.
A great stop was at Rod Handfield's place. Some of us used to go there on botany trips and he always had the best mushrooms and other fungi growing in his forest. Hadn't been back there the last two or three years and I really missed our old botany outings. Rod and his wife have such a beautiful cabin there, and he invited us in for coffee and pastries. This was so much appreciated on a day of birding! Rod is always so delightfully hospitable!!
Thanks so much, Anne B, for driving two of us - without you, I would not have been able to go! Our time spent in a snow-filled ditch simply added to the adventurous feeling of the day, lol! Just shows how easy it is to get stuck when there is snow on the ground. The road had been snow-ploughed, but the edge looked like it was solid ground, not part of a ditch. Thankfully, a shovel was available and with the help of the rest of the group pushing from the front of the car, we made it back on to firm ground!
I will add our leader's final species list for the day:
SHEEP RIVER CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT, 0850-1500, Tue,30Dec2015. Centre of Circle, SW of Millarville,AB. Clear, sunny, calm, -22 to -03°C. 30 cm snow on ground. Most waterbodies frozen over.
Total Party kms by Car - 80; Total Party kms by foot – 1km.
Total Party hours by Car – 3; Total Party hours by foot -2 hrs
Total Party hours feeder watching – 1:10 min.
Wild Turkey-9, all f.
Downy Woodpecker-6.
Hairy Woodpecker-4
Gray Jay-3
Blue Jay-6
Black-billed Magpie-14
Common Raven-33
Black-capped Chickadee- 118
Mountain Chickadee-32
Boreal Chickadee-4
Red-breasted Nuthatch-14
White-breasted Nuthatch-5
Dark-eyed Junco-2
Pine Grosbeak-22
White-winged Crossbill-36
Common Redpoll-14
Pine Siskin-1
RedSquirrel-2
vole sp.-1
Mule Deer-3
White-tailed Deer-7
Deer sp.-2
Moose-2
Yesterday, 30 December 2015, 7 of us took part in the annual Audubon Sheep River/Priddis/Turner Valley Christmas Bird Count. Judging by this photo, you might think that it was another day of not being able to see any birds close enough to photograph, but in fact it was a great day yesterday : ) Great, but COLD, starting off at -22C warming to a balmy -3C later in the day.
Our time was spent travelling by car, driving the backroads SW of the city and calling in at several farms. I wasn't sure just where this count covered, as I believe I have only ever done it once before, a few years ago, and that time I was with friends covering a different section of the count circle. I remember it as being very slow and extremely unrewarding, This time, our area was in the centre of the count circle and I'm so glad I decided to go again. I hadn't expected that many of the roads were familiar to me and a few were new.
Our day started and ended with a Moose, which was pretty amazing. Not the greatest views for photographs, but I did manage to get a couple of OK ones. The photo above is of the Moose seen at the end of the day.
Another find was a group of Wild Turkeys that were at a location where they had been seen before. This time, we drove down the hill to the farm buildings and were able to see these spectacular birds quite well. All were females, but the females are still stunning, with their iridescent plumage.
A great stop was at Rod Handfield's place. Some of us used to go there on botany trips and he always had the best mushrooms and other fungi growing in his forest. Hadn't been back there the last two or three years and I really missed our old botany outings. Rod and his wife have such a beautiful cabin there, and he invited us in for coffee and pastries. This was so much appreciated on a day of birding! Rod is always so delightfully hospitable!!
Thanks so much, Anne B, for driving two of us - without you, I would not have been able to go! Our time spent in a snow-filled ditch simply added to the adventurous feeling of the day, lol! Just shows how easy it is to get stuck when there is snow on the ground. The road had been snow-ploughed, but the edge looked like it was solid ground, not part of a ditch. Thankfully, a shovel was available and with the help of the rest of the group pushing from the front of the car, we made it back on to firm ground!
I will add our leader's final species list for the day:
SHEEP RIVER CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT, 0850-1500, Tue,30Dec2015. Centre of Circle, SW of Millarville,AB. Clear, sunny, calm, -22 to -03°C. 30 cm snow on ground. Most waterbodies frozen over.
Total Party kms by Car - 80; Total Party kms by foot – 1km.
Total Party hours by Car – 3; Total Party hours by foot -2 hrs
Total Party hours feeder watching – 1:10 min.
Wild Turkey-9, all f.
Downy Woodpecker-6.
Hairy Woodpecker-4
Gray Jay-3
Blue Jay-6
Black-billed Magpie-14
Common Raven-33
Black-capped Chickadee- 118
Mountain Chickadee-32
Boreal Chickadee-4
Red-breasted Nuthatch-14
White-breasted Nuthatch-5
Dark-eyed Junco-2
Pine Grosbeak-22
White-winged Crossbill-36
Common Redpoll-14
Pine Siskin-1
RedSquirrel-2
vole sp.-1
Mule Deer-3
White-tailed Deer-7
Deer sp.-2
Moose-2
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