Alberta foothills in smoke haze
White-tailed Deer family
Mountain Bluebird female
Nemophila sp.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird female
Celosia sp.
Greenish-flowered Wintergreen / Pyrola chlorantha
White-tailed Deer
American Robin with food for his babies
Western Grebe
Once a home
Forever cute
Helmeted Guineafowl / Numida meleagris
Little country church
Here comes dessert!
Western Wood Lily
Cameron Falls, Waterton Lakes National Park
Nodding/Musk Thistle / Carduus nutans
Red-winged Blackbird juvenile
Bear Grass with Crab Spider and prey
Common Nighthawk
My new neighbour?
Common Tansy / Tanacetum vulgare
Indian Paintbrush
Purple/Water Avens seedhead / Geum rivale
Red-winged Blackbird
Marbled Godwit / Limosa fedoa
Old barn in a field of canola
Wolf's Milk slime mold, Rusty Bucket Ranch
A country scene
Smoke from the British Columbia wildfires reaches…
Blonde curls
Garden flowers at the Rusty Bucket Ranch
Watch dog : )
Sheep at the Rusty Bucket Ranch
Hearts at the Rusty Bucket Ranch
Artist's Conk (or Conch), Rusty Bucket Ranch bio-b…
Fungus, Rusty Bucket Ranch bio-blitz
Summer colour
Pure bliss when it's 32°C
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
A view from Red Rock Canyon, Waterton
Pinedrops
Bear Grass / Xerophyllum tenax
Bighorn Sheep, Waterton Lakes National Park
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Mountain Bluebird
Another smoky day here in Calgary, so it has to be another day at home with windows closed. The air quality today is expected to reach High Risk. I really hope that rain will arrive soon to help the firefighters in British Columbia and in Alberta, too! So much devastation.
In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays."
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id
www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...
What a great day our group of four people had on 28 May 2017, taking part in the annual May Species Count. We travelled in just one car, which worked out well. On the 2016 May Species Count, we had been unable to find a Great Gray Owl, but then I drove back to the area the next day, and found two of them. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken of them, each owl is just as exciting as the very first. So, it was a thrill on 28 May to see one of these spectacular owls.
This Count's owl was on a fence post when we first saw it. As is usually the case with these owls, it was focused on finding a Meadow Vole for a snack and in fact did catch one while I was watching. It moved to a few different fence posts in its search. Once it had caught its prey, it ate it there, down on the ground - with its back to us, of course. I was kind of hoping it would fly back up to the fence with it, but it didn't.
While I was taking photos, various people came along the road, a couple in cars, but most were cyclists out for a long ride on such a beautiful, sunny day. The owl basically ignored everyone, giving just a quick glance at us every once in a while. Their concentration never fails to leave me in awe.
My small group found 72 species of bird on this 2017 Count - amazing, really. Three pairs of great eyes - plus me : ) Part of our Count covers some of my favourite roads, so it is not surprising that I enjoy it so much. Once the Count had finished, I drove a few of the roads again on my way home, mainly focusing on two pairs of Mountain Bluebirds that I had enjoyed watching last year. The male in this photo has four different bands on its legs, more than one usually sees. Needless to say, I went home feeling very happy after a long day of birding, and oh, so tired!
In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays."
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id
www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...
What a great day our group of four people had on 28 May 2017, taking part in the annual May Species Count. We travelled in just one car, which worked out well. On the 2016 May Species Count, we had been unable to find a Great Gray Owl, but then I drove back to the area the next day, and found two of them. No matter how many times I see one of these owls and no matter how many hundreds/thousands of photos I've taken of them, each owl is just as exciting as the very first. So, it was a thrill on 28 May to see one of these spectacular owls.
This Count's owl was on a fence post when we first saw it. As is usually the case with these owls, it was focused on finding a Meadow Vole for a snack and in fact did catch one while I was watching. It moved to a few different fence posts in its search. Once it had caught its prey, it ate it there, down on the ground - with its back to us, of course. I was kind of hoping it would fly back up to the fence with it, but it didn't.
While I was taking photos, various people came along the road, a couple in cars, but most were cyclists out for a long ride on such a beautiful, sunny day. The owl basically ignored everyone, giving just a quick glance at us every once in a while. Their concentration never fails to leave me in awe.
My small group found 72 species of bird on this 2017 Count - amazing, really. Three pairs of great eyes - plus me : ) Part of our Count covers some of my favourite roads, so it is not surprising that I enjoy it so much. Once the Count had finished, I drove a few of the roads again on my way home, mainly focusing on two pairs of Mountain Bluebirds that I had enjoyed watching last year. The male in this photo has four different bands on its legs, more than one usually sees. Needless to say, I went home feeling very happy after a long day of birding, and oh, so tired!
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