The yellow has bloomed!
The far side of the river valley
Osprey with a fish
Osprey with a fish
Afternoon trip to the mountains
Two old churches in an almost-ghost-town
Very old grain elevator in the Badlands valley
Little old Catholic church in the Badlands
Little country church, Alberta
One of my favourite old barns
Long ago, someone's pride and joy
Osprey
Osprey
Wedge Pond, Kananaskis, Alberta
Kananaskis 'winter'
Barrier Lake, Kananaskis
Kananaskis
Swans in the sunlight
Old, red barn
Storm clouds in the direction of home
Storm clouds moving in
Frank Lake birding blind
Time to hurry home!
Osprey with fish
Osprey with fish
Osprey with fish
Osprey with fish
Bobolink / Dolichonyx oryzivorus, singing
Bobolink male / Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Bobolink male / Dolichonyx oryzivorus, on a windy…
Bobolink male / Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Storm Clouds near Ghost River
Cedar Waxwing / Bombycilla cedrorum
Osprey / Pandion haliaetus
Yellow Warbler / Setophaga petechia
Brown-headed Cowbird / Molothrus ater
Osprey
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
Osprey
Cedar Waxwing
Osprey pair harassed by Red-winged Blackbird
Frank Lake bird blind
Day 6, Purple Martin / Progne subis
Day 6, Purple Martin / Progne subis
Day 6, Purple Martin / Progne subis
Day 5, Bronzed Cowbirds / Molothrus aeneus
Day 4, Loggerhead Shrike / Lanius ludovicianus, Po…
Day 3, nesting Great Blue Herons, Rockport rookery
Day 2, sunrise 8
Short-eared Owl out on a tree limb
Farm with sheep and a donkey
Northern Hawk Owl juevnile - from the archives
Peace in the countryside
Snowy Owl 1st year male, Snowy Owl Prowl 2019
Snowy Owl male, Snowy Owl Prowl 2019
Snowy Owl 1st year male, Snowy Owl Prowl 2019
Day 12, SW of Port-au-Persil, Quebec
Prairie Falcon - Status: SENSITIVE, Species of Spe…
Male Snowy Owl
The beauty of hoar frost
Male Snowy Owl
Horse and hoar frost
Hoar frost tree and vanishing fields
Frosted chin whiskers
Disappearing into nothingness
A quick drive-by shot
Boldly red
A favourite old barn
Red barn, High River Christmas Bird Count
Day 7 afternoon, Prince Shoal Lighthouse, near Tad…
Day 7 afternoon, Prince Shoal Lighthouse
Day 7 afternoon, Prince Shoal Lighthouse, off Tado…
Beauty of winter (well, late fall)
Day 3, Delaurier Homestead and Trail, Pt Pelee, On…
Day 3, Orchard Oriole, Pt Pelee
A view from Chain Lakes
On the way to Chain Lakes
Into the sun at Pine Coulee Reservoir
Clouds over Chain Lakes
See also...
Trip to Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, 11 July 2019
Trip to Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, 11 July 2019
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Golden Eagle!
On 11 July 2019, it turned out to be such a great day, with some much-appreciated sightings. I must have spent about 9 hours driving and almost every inch of my body ached like crazy at the end of it. Total distance driven was 461 km, leaving home at 8:45 am and arriving back home 12 hours later, at 8:45 pm. Now, each summer, I try and do two or three longer (for me) drives, to make sure I don't lose the courage to do this.
Weather-wise, it was a beautiful, sunny day, with plenty of white clouds Unlike when I did this drive in August 2018, there was no smoke from any wildfires, thank goodness.
It was a good day for Hawks, seeing some on the way south and a few on the way home. I did spot one Ferruginous Hawk, but it was perched on a very distant fence post. I'm also wondering if one of the 'hawks' was actually an immature Golden Eagle - seen in photo #4 posted this morning. (Yes, it IS a Golden Eagle!) I saw it from a fair distance and I remember thinking what a large hawk it was. Stopping at an angle in the middle of the road, I managed to get one shot before it took off and a couple just as it was doing so.
A couple of Common Nighthawks also helped make my day. For several years, I had longed to see one of these unusual birds and, finally in 2017, I managed to find four of them. In 2018, I was able to find just one. These birds are 9½ inches from the tip of bill to the tip of tail. Very strange looking birds, and always a thrill to see one.
"On warm summer evenings, Common Nighthawks roam the skies over treetops, grasslands, and cities. Their sharp, electric peent call is often the first clue they’re overhead. In the dim half-light, these long-winged birds fly in graceful loops, flashing white patches out past the bend of each wing as they chase insects. These fairly common but declining birds make no nest. Their young are so well camouflaged that they’re hard to find, and even the adults seem to vanish as soon as they land." From AllABoutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Nighthawk/id
"North America has 13 nighthawk populations. All but one are in decline and the species is considered threatened in Canada and several U.S. states."
www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/little-backpacks-gps-used-to-trac...
My actual destination on 11 July 2019 was the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge. I know some people feel that photographing birds that are not out in the wild is cheating. I kind of agree, though I think it's fine as long as someone says where a photo was taken.
This Centre is a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures,and Golden Eagles. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, including educating the public away from the Centre. Sometimes, a bird is used as a foster parent, too.
I love the changing scenery as one drives south, and my drive was timed perfectly to catch the golden Canola fields. Maybe half way, I pulled over to take a few photos of an old barn and there was a truck just pulling away. I thought the guy might have been taking photos, too. We got talking and one of the things we both said was that we had never seen a blue field of Flax Later in my drive, guess what I found : ) Looked beautiful, with blue on one side of the road and a field of yellow Canola on the opposite side.
This was definitely a rewarding day, full of sightings of all kinds. My favourite kind of day!
Weather-wise, it was a beautiful, sunny day, with plenty of white clouds Unlike when I did this drive in August 2018, there was no smoke from any wildfires, thank goodness.
It was a good day for Hawks, seeing some on the way south and a few on the way home. I did spot one Ferruginous Hawk, but it was perched on a very distant fence post. I'm also wondering if one of the 'hawks' was actually an immature Golden Eagle - seen in photo #4 posted this morning. (Yes, it IS a Golden Eagle!) I saw it from a fair distance and I remember thinking what a large hawk it was. Stopping at an angle in the middle of the road, I managed to get one shot before it took off and a couple just as it was doing so.
A couple of Common Nighthawks also helped make my day. For several years, I had longed to see one of these unusual birds and, finally in 2017, I managed to find four of them. In 2018, I was able to find just one. These birds are 9½ inches from the tip of bill to the tip of tail. Very strange looking birds, and always a thrill to see one.
"On warm summer evenings, Common Nighthawks roam the skies over treetops, grasslands, and cities. Their sharp, electric peent call is often the first clue they’re overhead. In the dim half-light, these long-winged birds fly in graceful loops, flashing white patches out past the bend of each wing as they chase insects. These fairly common but declining birds make no nest. Their young are so well camouflaged that they’re hard to find, and even the adults seem to vanish as soon as they land." From AllABoutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Nighthawk/id
"North America has 13 nighthawk populations. All but one are in decline and the species is considered threatened in Canada and several U.S. states."
www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/little-backpacks-gps-used-to-trac...
My actual destination on 11 July 2019 was the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge. I know some people feel that photographing birds that are not out in the wild is cheating. I kind of agree, though I think it's fine as long as someone says where a photo was taken.
This Centre is a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures,and Golden Eagles. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, including educating the public away from the Centre. Sometimes, a bird is used as a foster parent, too.
I love the changing scenery as one drives south, and my drive was timed perfectly to catch the golden Canola fields. Maybe half way, I pulled over to take a few photos of an old barn and there was a truck just pulling away. I thought the guy might have been taking photos, too. We got talking and one of the things we both said was that we had never seen a blue field of Flax Later in my drive, guess what I found : ) Looked beautiful, with blue on one side of the road and a field of yellow Canola on the opposite side.
This was definitely a rewarding day, full of sightings of all kinds. My favourite kind of day!
Janet Brien has particularly liked this photo
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