Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: plover

ALBERTA EMERGENCY ALERT, 27 May 2018: calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/emergency-alert-issued-... "An emergency alert has been issued for the Municipal District of Foothills due to a large wildfire in Kananaskis Country. The alert issued by the district indicates the blaze is about 16 kilometres southwest of Bragg Creek “and is moving in a northeasterly direction toward the extreme northwest corner of the MD of Foothills.” Voluntary evacuation is in effect for areas west of Highway 762, between Highway 22 and 178th Avenue W. Alberta Wildfire information officer Matt Bell said the wildfire is listed at 100 hectares and is considered out of control." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yesterday, Sunday 27 May 2018, was the second day of the annual May Species Count. On the Saturday, I had taken part in the Count at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park. We took three cars yesterday, but one car had to leave early. The Count started at 8:00 am and, when we arrived at the starting point and briefly got out of our cars, someone spotted this Killdeer nest right by the cars - I stood in the road and zoomed in. The adults were very near by, but we did not see them do the broken-wing action. Instead, they just kept walking down the road, no doubt hoping that we would be distracted. Later in the day, we had a great view of a different Killdeer performing the fancy broken-wing activity. This year, we finished our Count around 2:00 pm, which was earlier than usual. The number of species was quite a bit lower than the last two years. Usually, we see a great variety of birds at one of our stops (Barb Castell's), but things were very quiet yesterday. As Barb reminded us, there are more birds earlier in the day, and late afternoon to early evening. Thanks, as always, Barb, for letting us wander round your beautiful garden! We were very lucky with the weather for our Count. I think the temperature got up to about 22C, cooler than the last few days - today is forecast to have a high of 28C. After driving various back roads, we ended up at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, where we stopped to eat our lunch. The parking lot was absolutely packed. A short walk within the forest produced two or three past-their-prime Calypso Orchids. Each year, we do this walk to look for these gorgeous flowers, though Brown-Lowery is actually covered by a different group of people for the Count. Not a single owl of any kind was seen by our group yesterday, unlike last year, when we had a beautiful Great Gray Owl.

This Killdeer was seen on 25 August 2017, when I at last did a long-overdue drive east of the city. This is my least favourite direction in which to drive from the city and I have to say it stresses me out so much. Once I reach the back roads, I can relax a little, but I am always worried about getting lost. The best few minutes in the five and a half hours I was out were when I came across a beautiful Swainson's Hawk juvenile, perched on a fence post. Finally, a hawk perched along a back road, where I could stop. Amazingly, not one single vehicle came along while I was there. It felt so good to get a few photos of a hawk in the wild, unlike the ones I photographed recently at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre. I had really hoped I would see a perched hawk and, actually, I had seen another one earlier in my drive, though that one was more distant. That's all I needed, to make me feel happy and that the drive was worthwhile. For the first time ever, and after having driven past the location other times, I stopped at Weed Lake (south end). Quite a few birds, but most were really too far to photograph. Still, I was happy to see a Killdeer and a little Semipalmated Plover close enough to get a few shots. One disturbing thing I found on the path was a large dead, white bird with a long neck. There were two cylindrical canisters on top of the remains - looks like these were empty fireworks. No idea how long this body had been there, or if anyone else has seen it there. Added later: apparently, this dead Swan has been there since at least April of this year. Further update: the thinking is that there are wires overhead and that the bird probably hit them. "A shorebird you can see without going to the beach, Killdeer are graceful plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and parking lots. These tawny birds run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt every so often to check their progress, or to see if they’ve startled up any insect prey. Their voice, a far-carrying, excited kill-deer, is a common sound even after dark, often given in flight as the bird circles overhead on slender wings." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer/id

Friends and I were lucky enough to see two Killdeer nests two days ago, on 17 June 2017, when five of us went east of the city for the day, to visit our friend, Shirley, at her seasonal trailer. "A shorebird you can see without going to the beach, Killdeer are graceful plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and parking lots. These tawny birds run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt every so often to check their progress, or to see if they’ve startled up any insect prey. Their voice, a far-carrying, excited kill-deer, is a common sound even after dark, often given in flight as the bird circles overhead on slender wings. The male and female of a mated pair pick out a nesting site through a ritual known as a scrape ceremony. The male lowers his breast to the ground and scrapes a shallow depression with his feet. The female then approaches, head lowered, and takes his place. The male then stands with body tilted slightly forward, tail raised and spread, calling rapidly. Mating often follows. Killdeer lay their eggs into an empty nest but add other materials later on. Some of these items they pick up as they are leaving and toss over their shoulder into the nest. In one nest in Oklahoma, people found more than 1,500 pebbles had accumulated this way." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer/id Most of our birding was done at and near Shirley's trailer site, including seeing this wonderful owl family, two Killdeer and their nests, a Baltimore Oriole, and (finally!) a pair of Brown Thrashers. I had hoped for several years to see one of these birds, so it was a real treat to see a 'lifer'. It was far away and so high up, but I managed to get a couple of shots just for the record. As we were walking around the grounds, two ladies stopped us and showed us some baby birds that they had had to remove from the engine of their vehicle. They wondered if we knew what kind of birds they were, but we were unable to help. I posted a photo of them yesterday morning, just in case someone can ID them. The ladies had a bird house that they were going to put the babies into, hoping that the parents would hear them calling and be able to continue feeding them. Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you while you were there for the weekend! It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. Such a great variety of species! Wow, what a lunch we had, sitting at a table under the Tree Swallow tree, with a very vocal American Robin just a few feet away. How DO some birds manage to sing non-stop?! Hot chili made by Shirley, and a whole array of delicious salads and desserts left me feeling full till the early evening. Many thanks, Anne B, for picking up three of us and for driving us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated!

Friends and I were lucky enough to see two Killdeer nests two days ago, on 17 June 2017, when five of us went east of the city for the day, to visit our friend, Shirley, at her seasonal trailer. One nest only had one egg in it so far, and the other had four eggs. It is amazing where Killdeer nest - right out in the open where people walk or cars drive. I don't know how any of the eggs survive. "A shorebird you can see without going to the beach, Killdeer are graceful plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and parking lots. These tawny birds run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt every so often to check their progress, or to see if they’ve startled up any insect prey. Their voice, a far-carrying, excited kill-deer, is a common sound even after dark, often given in flight as the bird circles overhead on slender wings. The male and female of a mated pair pick out a nesting site through a ritual known as a scrape ceremony. The male lowers his breast to the ground and scrapes a shallow depression with his feet. The female then approaches, head lowered, and takes his place. The male then stands with body tilted slightly forward, tail raised and spread, calling rapidly. Mating often follows. Killdeer lay their eggs into an empty nest but add other materials later on. Some of these items they pick up as they are leaving and toss over their shoulder into the nest. In one nest in Oklahoma, people found more than 1,500 pebbles had accumulated this way." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer/id Most of our birding was done at and near Shirley's trailer site, including seeing this wonderful owl family, two Killdeer and their nests, a Baltimore Oriole, and (finally!) a pair of Brown Thrashers. I had hoped for several years to see one of these birds, so it was a real treat to see a 'lifer'. It was far away and so high up, but I managed to get a couple of shots just for the record. As we were walking around the grounds, two ladies stopped us and showed us some baby birds that they had had to remove from the engine of their vehicle. They wondered if we knew what kind of birds they were, but we were unable to help. I posted a photo of them yesterday morning, just in case someone can ID them. The ladies had a bird house that they were going to put the babies into, hoping that the parents would hear them calling and be able to continue feeding them. Thank you so much, Shirley, for inviting us all out to visit you while you were there for the weekend! It was such a pleasure to see some of "your" birds that you enjoy so much. Such a great variety of species! Wow, what a lunch we had, sitting at a table under the Tree Swallow tree, with a very vocal American Robin just a few feet away. How DO some birds manage to sing non-stop?! Hot chili made by Shirley, and a whole array of delicious salads and desserts left me feeling full till the early evening. Many thanks, Anne B, for picking up three of us and for driving us east across the prairies. Hugely appreciated!