Plants of Alberta 6

We don't have the glorious Maple leaves that some parts of Canada have, that turn a rich red in the fall. Our fall colours are mainly yellow with an occasional splash of orange. There are two species here that I sometimes see that remind me of what we are missing - wild Gooseberry and the plant/shrub that is in this photo. I'm not sure what it is, but perhaps some kind of currant bush? Just a quick shot, taken on 20 September 2014, when I was walking along the path to see the family of Beavers. I haven't been there for quite some time, so I hope all is well with them. I actually got out on a birding walk yesterday morning, a rare thing for me these days. We walked along the path in South Glenmore Park, overlooking the Glenmore Reservoir. We found only 20 species of bird, mainly the usual ones such as Chickadees, Crows, Ravens, Coots, Robins, and Nuthatches. However, we were lucky enough to see an immature Pacific Loon that was out in the middle of the reservoir. Then it disappeared and, for a brief couple of seconds, reappeared somewhat closer to us. I was able to get just one 48x zoomed shot, heavily cropped, that I might post sometime, as that was my first "proper" sighting of a Pacific Loon. So amazing to see how long these Loons can stay underwater and then reappear such a long distance away. We also were treated to two Common Loons that flew overhead. Though we saw so few birds and bird species, it was a beautiful, sunny morning, with temperatures of 10°C to 16°C.

Today (12 October 2014) is Thanksgiving Day for Canadians, so I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, no matter what part of the world you are living in or serving in. We have so much to be thankful for every day, in this country! A special thank you to those service people and their families, who make so many sacrifices for the rest of us, too often the ultimate sacrifice. I am very thankful for what you all do for the rest of us. Have a happy, safe time, everyone! Some people choose to celebrate on the Sunday (today) and others on the Monday (tomorrow). From my archives, this photo of Alfalfa was taken along one of the backroads SW of Calgary, on 21 July 2010. I love the way Alfalfa flowers come in various colours and different colour mixes on the same flower head. “Alfalfa, a plant of the pea family grown primarily for forage, especially as hay. It is one of the most useful and widely grown hay crops in the world. Because of its high protein content, alfalfa is used as a food for almost all farm animals as hay, as silage, or as a temporary pasture crop. Because of its nitrogen-fixing properties, it is used in crop rotation to improve soil for other crops. When planted in combination with grasses, it helps prevent soil erosion. Alfalfa is also grown commercially for seed in arid or semiarid regions. Dehydrated alfalfa is ground into meal and used in feeding poultry and livestock. Indirectly, alfalfa is a source of honey, because bees gather substantial quantities of nectar from alfalfa flowers.” www.alfalfaseedab.com/

Just a quick shot when I was out on a bird walk two days ago, 25 October 2014. I saw very little to photograph during the three hours, other than a rare American Three-toed Woodpecker and a very cute and cooperative Red Squirrel. The colour of these leaves caught my eye - we don't get the amazing, red Maple trees here that are seen in some other parts of Canada, so I love to see a shrub of any kind that has leaves that have turned red in the fall.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, to all those who celebrate! Remember that kids will be out this evening, so please drive carefully! I just haven't had a chance to take a Halloween photo to post for today. Thought these orange Sea Buckthorn berries were the closest thing to a pumpkin, lol. Taken at The Saskatoon Farm on 23 October 2014. "Once used extensively in shelterbelts, this plant is making a comeback due to its highly nutritious (and medicinal) bright orange berries. Silver foliage is also very attractive. Male and female plants are required for fruit production. Shrub-like in growth habit, Sea Buckthorn will require at least 3 square meters for its mature size. Sea buckthorn is a very hardy, drought tolerant plant that also “fixes” its own nitrogen in the soil through a complex interaction between its roots soil micro-organisms." www.theurbanfarmer.ca/plant_profiles.html "The fruits are rich in carbohydrates, protein, organic acids, amino acids and vitamins. The concentration of vitamin C in sea buckthorn fruit, ranged from 100–300 mg/100 g fruit, is higher than strawberry, kiwi, orange, tomato, carrot, and hawthorn. Sea buckthorn is also high in protein, especially globulins and albumins, and fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic acids. Vitamin E content in sea buckthorn (202.9 mg/100 g fruit) is higher than wheat embryo, safflower, maize, and soybean." www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-335.html

This is another photo from my archives, found last night, taken on 21 July 2013 at Bow Valley Provincial Park. This is a flower that catches the eye, both by its size and its vibrant colour. Five of us had such a great day on 21 July 2013. It was a birding outing at Bow Valley Provincial Park, west of Calgary, at the foot of the very eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. I knew that I would be looking for wildflowers, insects and so on, as well : ) This gorgeous Gaillardia flower caught my eye and I couldn’t resist taking a photo. When we got to the meeting place in the city, the leader pulled out a poster for the Parks Day event that also happened to be going on at the park at the same time. To my absolute delight, it mentioned a Bird of Prey exhibit! After our first walk, which was the Flowing Waters trail, we returned to where everyone had parked and we had an hour in which to wander round the various exhibits. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a row of owls of different sizes - a tiny Burrowing Owl, a Short-eared Owl, a Barn Owl (which we don't get in Alberta), a young Great Horned Owl with enormous eyes, a Turkey Vulture and a Golden Eagle! They were tethered along the edge of the trees and needless to say, there were plenty of other people taking photos, but despite the mix of shade and harsh sunlight, I got the chance to click to my heart's content : ) Thanks so much to the people down at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre (near Lethbridge, down towards the Canada/US border) for bringing your gorgeous birds of prey for us to see! I have been south to the Centre three times I think, and always long to go back again, but it's not somewhere I can drive to, so this was such a treat! Seeing these bird Ambassadors gives people such a wonderful chance to really see what they look like. “Gaillardia /ɡeɪˈlɑrdiə/, the blanket flowers, is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, native to North and South America. It was named after an M. Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate who was a patron of botany. The common name may refer to the resemblance of the inflorescence to the brightly patterned blankets made by Native Americans, or to the ability of wild taxa to blanket the ground with colonies. Many cultivars have been bred for ornamental use.” From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaillardia

This photo was taken on 23 December 2014, when a few of us were taking part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Drumheller area. My small group covered the NE and E quadrants of the established 15-mile wide diameter circle. Part of our area included a walk along the edge of the Red Deer River. I'd forgotten that we would be doing this walk - too far for me, so I had to turn back just before the far end. This is when I noticed these Wild Licorice seedpods at the edge of the path. They always fascinate me and they add a splash of colour in winter. We also saw a Snowshoe Hare in its winter white coat along this path, hiding amongst the tangle of shrubs and plants. "Glycyrrhiza lepidota (American Licorice) is a species of Glycyrrhiza (a genus in the pea/bean family, Fabaceae) native to most of North America, from central Canada south through the United States to California, Texas and Virginia, but absent from the southeastern states. It is also sometimes known in the United States as "wild licorice", to distinguish it from the related European Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) which is occasionally cultivated. The plant grows in moist soils; although it will grow in heavy soil it prefers sandy soil. It grows to 40–100 cm (16–40 in) tall, and has long tough brown roots which are said to be sweet and were used as food and for medicinal purposes by Native Americans. American Licorice is not sweet from sugar but from glycyrrhizin. Glycyrrhizin may increase blood pressure (aka hypertension) by interfering with cortisol conversion. The Zuni people chew the root to keep the mouth sweet and moist. American Licorice is grazed by cattle, but not preferred and will increase under grazing as competing plants are grazed off. It has light green to white flowers in the spring which ripen in the fall to clusters of burs which contain pods of small bean like seeds. It can be used as a pioneer species to revegetate bare or disturbed ground and is often the first species to invade a receding alkali flat. There is a market for American Licorice root both for medicinal uses and flavoring; also the sweetening of tobacco products." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycyrrhiza_lepidota

From 6:00 am till 5:00 pm on 23 December 2014, I was taking part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Horseshoe Canyon/Drumheller area. The group of friends I was with, travelling in three cars, covered the NE quadrant of the Count circle plus an extra bit of land S of Highway 9. There were 10 of us in total, including three people from Drumheller. Part of our area included a walk along the edge of the Red Deer River. I'd forgotten that we would be doing this walk - too far for me, so I had to turn back just before the far end. I had time to walk back slowly and take a few photos, including these frosted Rose Hips. They always add such a welcome splash of colour in winter. We also saw a Snowshoe Hare in its winter white coat along this path, hiding amongst the tangle of shrubs and plants. At lunch time, we were all treated to home made hot beef and barley soup and tea/coffee at the home of Jim McCabe, who lives in Drumheller and joined us for the Count, along with two others. Jim works at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and is the senior preparation technician and lab supervisor there. "The Royal Tyrrell Museum is a Canadian tourist attraction and a centre of palaeontological research noted for its collection of more than 130,000 fossils." (Wikipedia), Located in the Badlands of Alberta, it is known for it's amazing dinosaur finds. I will add the final report of our group's leader (Gus Yaki) below. As far as Snowy Owls are concerned, the driver of the vehicle in which I spent the whole day (another Anne!) and I saw a total of 8 Snowy Owls, including owls seen on the drive to and from the Count area. That makes 18-20 Snowy Owls that I have been lucky enough to see within the last 4 days (10-12 of them seen when my daughter and I searched E and NE of Calgary on 20 December)! Thanks so much for picking me up and driving the whole day, Anne! I appreciated it so much! Gus Yaki's report: "HORSESHOE Canyon/Drumheller CBC, N side of Red Deer River, 0830-1315; 23Dec2014. Sunny, becoming overcast, calm, -8 to -3 to -10°C. Ring-necked Pheasant-1 m. (at Murrays). Eurasian Collared Dove-2+ Snowy Owl-1 juv. Downy Woodpecker-5 Hairy Woodpecker-2 Northern Flicker-1+ Blue Jay-4 Black-billed Magpie-9 Common Raven-4 Black-capped Chickadee-20 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 White-breasted Nuthatch-2 House Sparrow-75. Mammals: Coyote-2, Eastern Gray Squirrel-black morph-2 Meadow Vole-1 Snowshoe Hare-1 Mule Deer-1. Feeder Birds at Jim McCabe’s Place, Nacmine, not on our territory. 1315-1400, 23Dec2014. Eurasian Collared-Dove-1 Downy Woodpecker-2 Black-billed Magpie-1 Black-capped Chickadee-5 Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 Also noted 9 Mule Deer on the Nacmine slope from our territory on the N. side of the Red Deer River. Birds on East Side of Count Circle, Terr #4. 1400-1530, 23Dec2014. Snowy Owl-1 ad m just N of #9, on RR 20.4, just after Jim McC. left us. May have seen it in the morning as well. Black-billed Magpie-12 Common Raven-8 Unidentified small passerine, possible Horned Lark-1, seen flying away. Mammals: Coyote-4 Two people reported Gray Jay-1. Because this is unlikely in the prairie, they have filed a Rare Bird Documentation Form. Gus Yaki"

Yesterday morning, 7 March 2015, my plan was to go with a group of friends on a bird walk at Votiers Flats, in Fish Creek Park. Sounded as though the paths were pretty good, though still some ice, so I left my ice grabbers in my car. A short distance into the park, someone slipped on the ice and fell heavily, at which point I said I was going back for my ice grabbers and would probably see everyone later. Instead, I ended up going for a walk on my own, rather than wait for everyone else. The main path was pretty clear, but the other paths were treacherously icy. Eight or so beautiful White-tailed Deer were the first encounter of the morning, followed by a couple of Pine Grosbeaks. Heard several Blue Jays and had a gorgeous male Ring-necked pheasant fly across the path ahead of me. Couldn’t take my eyes off it till it disappeared into distant trees, and never even thought about trying to get a photo. Saw or heard all the usual birds including Black-capped Chickadee, Nuthatch and a Downy Woodpecker. The weather is amazing at the moment and will be even better for the next week, climbing into double digits around 14C to 16C. March tends to be our snowiest month, but so far, has been great. Not unusual, though, for us to get a heavy snowstorm in May, so we’ll see. There are lots of these whitish Wolf Willow berries in many places and I always like to see them against a blue sky. These shrubs or small trees have such a powerful smell and some people love it and others dislike it intensely. I happen to be one of those who likes it. I also love the tiny, rather unusual, yellow flowers that this species has. "Wolf willow berries were used by Blackfoot Natives to make seed necklaces. The berries were boiled to remove the flesh and the pointed nutlets strung onto necklaces or used to decorate the fringes on clothing. Each seed is dark brown with yellow stripes. When the first settlers arrived, the women quickly learned the art from the natives, and wolf willow seed necklaces became a popular gift to send home. Wolf willow fruit is mealy and dry, but was still eaten by some First Nations. Blackfoot Indians peeled and ate the berries or mixed them with grease and stored them in a cool place. This was eaten as a confection or added to soups and broths. The berries were sometimes mixed with blood or sugar and cooked for food. Children suffering from frostbite were treated with a strong solution made from the bark. The essential oil is in demand for aromatherapy. Though commonly called wolf willow, this plant species is not a willow at all. Instead, it belongs to the Elaeagnaceae (Oleaster) family and is related to thorny and Canada buffaloberry (Shepherdia)." plantwatch.fanweb.ca/plant-information/wolf-willow

It's now after 1:45 in the morning on 14 March 2015 and I have just finished my work on a couple of photo request projects. My plan is for a day out with a group of friends, IF I wake up in time. Still have to get all my things ready before I can fall into bed. Decided to upload my "daily three" at this unearthly hour instead of just before I leave. Caragana is an invasive species that is doing a lot of damage in this city, preventing native species of plants from growing. Also known as Siberian Peashrub. This hardy shrub is a native of Siberia, as the name implies. "Useful for shelterbelts, but should be kept out of natural areas, where it may spread. Dense groves of Caragana exclude almost all other vegetation." www.anpc.ab.ca/wiki/index.php/Caragana_arborescens en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caragana_arborescens