Bighorn Sheep on Plateau Mountain, 2012
Periglacial feature, Plateau Mountain
Spruce Sawyer
Glorious colours of fall
Tenderness
Brightness on a cloudy day
Finn, a friend's dog
Autumn colours at the stormwater pond
Light-coloured Pika
Owl sculpture at Silver Springs Botanical Gardens
Larch in fall colour
The beauty of Kananaskis along Highway 40
Distant haze
Hiding between the rocks
Mid-squeak!
The difference a week makes
When sane people do crazy things
As fall colours come to an end
A vanishing world
Ice crystals on a mountain top
Passion Flowers
Almost above the clouds
Frosted grasses
Looking towards top of Plateau Mountain
Puffballs on Plateau Mountain
The long hike down the mountain
False Dandelion / Agoseris glauca
A fine network of cells - maybe Arcyria obvelata?
Spruce Grouse, adult female
Rusty Gilled Polypore / Gloeophyllum sepiarium
Chinook arch over Calgary
Merlin
Yesterday's find
Autumn berries
Three insect species on a single flower
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk / Buteo jamaicensis
Juvenile White-throated Sparrow / Zonotrichia albi…
Strap/Coral Club / Clavariadelphus ligula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Our beautiful foothills on an overcast day
The colours of fall
Push!
American Kestrel, Falco sparverius
Barn Owl / Tyto alba
Across the river
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195 visits
Merlin on the hunt
On 26 September 2016, I had planned to join a group of friends for a birding walk at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park. By the time I had had breakfast, I was feeling somewhat queasy and thought I had better not go on the walk after all. Felt a bit better later in the morning and decided to go to the Park after all, getting there about noon. Met a delightful young man standing on the bridge over the creek, pointing out to me a perched bird of prey. My first thought was Merlin, but it seemed to be too big to be a Merlin. It took a while to decide just what it was - helped by excellent birder, Nimali, who happened to come along the path. We decided it was a Cooper's Hawk ('C' for curved edge of tail tip and 'C' for Cooper's). Looking at my photos yesterday evening, I was still not sure that we had made the right decision.
This bird stayed around for ages and gave some nice opportunities for photos, including of it 'mantling' (spreading out its wings to form a cloak) when it captured a large dragonfly and returned to the same branch. When two of us were first standing on the bridge, this bird flew down right over our heads two or three times - maybe because we were attracting insects around us? We noticed a second similar bird, too, and we wondered if they were maybe juveniles, especially as the main one was very comfortable with us standing nearby. Made my day : ) Later: really appreciate everyone's help with identifying this bird as a Merlin!
"Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. Merlin populations have largely recovered from twentieth-century declines, thanks to a ban on the pesticide DDT and their ability to adapt to life around towns and cities." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Merlin/id
I even spotted several mushrooms earlier in my walk, which was a surprise. Can't believe I was out in the park for about five hours! A very enjoyable walk - glad to have your company, Nimali, and that of the very knowledgeable young man we had just met.
This bird stayed around for ages and gave some nice opportunities for photos, including of it 'mantling' (spreading out its wings to form a cloak) when it captured a large dragonfly and returned to the same branch. When two of us were first standing on the bridge, this bird flew down right over our heads two or three times - maybe because we were attracting insects around us? We noticed a second similar bird, too, and we wondered if they were maybe juveniles, especially as the main one was very comfortable with us standing nearby. Made my day : ) Later: really appreciate everyone's help with identifying this bird as a Merlin!
"Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. Merlin populations have largely recovered from twentieth-century declines, thanks to a ban on the pesticide DDT and their ability to adapt to life around towns and cities." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Merlin/id
I even spotted several mushrooms earlier in my walk, which was a surprise. Can't believe I was out in the park for about five hours! A very enjoyable walk - glad to have your company, Nimali, and that of the very knowledgeable young man we had just met.
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