Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: pebbles

Just a fairly large shell that had been placed for decoration at the Blue Waters Inn, on the island of Tobago, West Indies. Couldn't resist taking a shot or two, taken on 13 March 2017. A few decades ago, I used to love collecting shells in the Far East and Middle East. Now, I believe you are not allowed to take shells in certain places. Bear with me, everyone, as I think I am going to have to post 5 photos (I posted 6 the first two days) from my trip each day, otherwise it will take me many months (years?) to get them on to Flickr. Obviously, no comments expected, unless you happen to like one photo in particular. Actually, I am so disappointed with my photos - never have so many photos come out blurry, many totally blurry and no use at all. I'm not sure why, though the light was often really bad and maybe the humidity had some effect. For some species, I will be posting awful shots, just for the record. I might even post a pile of photos at a time some evenings, when far fewer people are on Flickr, and then post five better images the following morning. Won't even stop and add descriptions, etc., just so that I can get my photos added here. It will take me forever to do much of a write-up about this trip, but I hope to add an extra bit of information about each photo to the very simple, basic description. Right now, I'm not quite sure where I was and when, lol! We arrived back in Calgary in the evening of 21 March 2017, and I have to get myself somewhat organized and should be seeing to all sorts of important things. Instead, of course, I have been stuck in front of my computer all day, each day : ) Totally dead beat after such a busy time away, dealing with extremely early mornings and hot, humid weather. Those of you who know me well, know that I am a dreadful night-owl, so getting up around 5:15 am was an absolute killer. Also, heat and humidity don't agree with my body, so each trip out was quite exhausting - but a thrill, of course! In the morning of 21 March, we had to get up around 2:00 am, as we had such an early flight (5 and a half hours) from Trinidad to Toronto - followed by a four-hour flight back to Calgary. On our very first day, we had three flights in a row, as we flew from Calgary to Toronto, then Toronto to Port of Spain on Trinidad, from where we had a short flight to the island of Tobago. Still can't believe I've actually had this trip! This adventure was only the second holiday (or was it actually my third?) of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week holiday with my great friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going. Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together (from 12-21 March 2017), spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - flights (we were so very lucky to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off!), accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could chose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself! What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with quite a few of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on the much larger island of Trinidad, is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up a mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a van/small bus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was just enough room for two vehicles to squeeze past each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road took just over an hour each way. I'm already missing the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing.

This photo was taken two days ago, on Monday, 26 September 2016, and I wasn’t going to post it. However, I noticed an article on the weather network website and saw a few other photos taken of this rather spectacular Chinook arch, so thought I would add it to my photostream after all. I was walking down at Bebo Grove in Fish Creek Park, near the creek, and this solid band of cloud felt quite strange. “A 'Chinook arch' was widely photographed across Alberta on Monday as temperatures peaked in the mid to high 20s, even record breaking for some. The warming Chinook winds that descended over the mountain ranges helped to create a band of stationary stratus clouds. Chinook winds are those down sloping winds and when sinking air goes down to the mountain, that suppresses the cloud and you get this arch and line of beautiful clouds, explains The Weather Network's Chris Murphy. They can look kind of ominous if you're not familiar with Chinook winds, but they rarely produce any rain or snow." From the weather network. www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/stunning-chinook-... 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. In the end, we decided it was a Cooper's Hawk ('C' for curved edge of tail tip and 'C' for Cooper's). Looking at my photos later that evening, I was still not sure that we had made the right decision. Several Flickr people let me know that my photo was of a Merlin - much appreciated! 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 : ) I even spotted several mushrooms, including a colourful Rusty Gilled Polypore earlier in my walk. I had planned on just a short walk, but ended up in the park for about five hours (not all walking)! A very enjoyable walk - glad to have your company, Nimali, and that of the very knowledgeable young man we had just met.

This little White-crowned Sparrow landed on a rock at the bottom of Red Rock Canyon, on our last day in Waterton Lakes National Park, 10 July 2016. One rapid shot taken from the bridge, which didn't come out as sharp as I would have liked - it was a long way down. After this, we followed the path above the creek and continued as far as Blakiston Falls. I really enjoy this walk - just a comfortable distance for me, and we see some interesting things along it. At the Falls, we saw an American Dipper's nest with one baby Dipper visible and either one or both adults flying back to the nest with food. We could also see several patches of Yellow Monkeyflower growing on the rocky wall at the falls and then spotted a couple of Orange False Dandelion flowers as we walked away from the falls. Three great sightings. Six days ago, late afternoon, (I think around 5:15 pm), on 10 July 2015, I arrived back home from my holiday of the year - this two and a half day trip to Waterton National Park. It was wonderful to again be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few pleasantly slow walks/hikes with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds and animals. Lots of great company with (22) people, some of whom I already knew and lots of new faces, too. The trip was organized by Nature Calgary. Everyone was free to go wherever they wanted each day, but for the two nights, we stayed at the very basic Canyon Church Camp, off the Red Rock Parkway. Dorm-style cabins (about which I will say nothing, lol!), but they do have showers and even flush toilets at the camp. We were fed so well - lots of variety and good food. We were given two breakfasts and two suppers, plus a packed lunch for the two days. Our thanks go out to the lady (can't remember her name, sorry, but she was also there for us in July 2015) who cooked and prepared these meals for us! They were so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated! Thank you SO much, Janet, for driving your friend and me to and from Calgary and around the park some of the time, too. To say that I appreciated it is a huge understatement!! Our thanks, too, to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly, as usual! A great time was had by all. Andrew, I am SO happy and relieved that you were finally able to find a bear (and her cub) - yes, we came across the same ones shortly after you saw them. Not sure if they were two of the three I had seen at more or less the same location the previous morning, 9 July 2016. If it was the same female, then her second cub must have been really well hidden in the tangle of bushes and trees yesterday. We didn't get a good view, though I did take a handful of photos, including when the cub looked towards us for a split second. I had never seen such a young cub before, so I was thrilled to bits. Can't forget to add my huge thanks for finding me a Lazuli Bunting yesterday, too, at some unearthly hour (well, 7:30 am). No idea how on earth you managed to spot such a small bird from so far away - just a tiny speck in the far, far distance. Also was delighted that you found two Nighthawks flying high overhead at the Nature Conservancy area by the Waterton Springs Campground. So, I guess you and I both returned to Calgary feeling really happy : ) "Waterton Lakes National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is also an International Peace Park, and a Biosphere Reserve. No other park in the world has these three designations. Waterton Biosphere Reserve as it is officially called, was designated in 1979 under what is called the internationally recognized "Man and the Biosphere program" of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), that sure is a mouthful. Biosphere Reserves are designed to promote and demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature." www.wediscovercanadaandbeyond.ca/2010/11/red-rock-canyon-...

This is a photo from way back in my archives. I was lucky enough to be with birding friends at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary on 16 April 2013, when about 10 beautiful Mountain Bluebirds (male and female) were flying over the Bow River and landing on the rocks not too far from where we were standing. They repeated this a number of times. Normally, one has to drive out of the city to see these birds, so it's always a treat to see one within city limits. 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... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Bluebird

One of the beautiful mountain scenes from a two-day trip through the Rocky Mountains with friends, Cathy and Terry, on 14 and 15 May 2014. Everywhere was quiet, as we made sure we were back home before the long Victoria Day weekend began, when the roads would be a nightmare.

One of the beautiful mountain scenes from a two-day trip through the Rocky Mountains with friends, Cathy and Terry, on 14 and 15 May 2014. Everywhere was quiet, as we made sure we were back home before the long Victoria Day weekend began, when the roads would be a nightmare.

Another photo from a wonderful day along the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) west of Banff and Lake Louise, on 10 August 2013. Our destination was beautiful Bow Lake, so that friend Sandy could check on a Liverwort (non-vascular plant) that she had seen there recently. There were a few people out taking photos in this area, so it was a bit of a challenge to try and photograph in between them : ) We were so lucky to have this beautiful cloud formation that morning! The plant in the foreground is Shrubby Cinquefoil. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Lake_ (Alberta) www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9571598706

Usually, one has to drive out of the city in order to find the beautiful Mountain Bluebird. Each year, though, a handful might be seen in one location or another within the city. Around 10 of these startlingly blue birds were seen yesterday (16 April 2013) at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, when I was on a walk with friends. The birds, male and female, would fly off and then return to land on the pebbles along the edge of the Bow River. This would have been my "best" photo from the sighting, if only the bird had turned its head just once before it immediately flew off, lol. I think most people probably don't have more than one photo from their Contacts displayed on their Home Page, so thought I'd slip this one in, as a reminder to myself, and to show the beautiful feather colour and pattern of the back view. Most of the time, the birds were not this close! 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... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Bluebird

Ha, at least you can see the face of this little Mountain Bluebird, unlike the one I posted the other day. The previous one did show much better detail of the back and wing feathes, though. Taken at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary on 16 April 2013.

I was lucky enough to be with birding friends at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary on 16 April 2013, when about 10 gorgeous Mountain Bluebirds were flying over the Bow River and landing on the rocks not too far from where we were standing. They repeated this a number of times. Thank goodness for zoom, lol! I never realized how grumpy these birds look when you see them head on! Normally, one has to drive out of the city to see these birds, so it's always a treat to see one within city limits. No sign of the sun yet today. Yesterday was beautifully sunny, but, oh so windy! Now I'm regretting my drive SE of the city to Frank Lake yesterday afternoon. It tends to often be windy in that area and yesterday the wind was so strong that it was very difficult to even open my car door to get out, and it was impossible to take photos, though I did manage to take a row of metal silos. No birds to be seen on my drive around the lake, except for one Raven and maybe half a dozen tiny, black silhouettes on a slough. Today, I have no strength left in my painful hands and arms after having to grip the steering wheel for two or three hours, so will have to stay home. No choice anyway, as I still haven't finished my Taxes. Hope I can get an appointment before the deadline on Tuesday! Just loaded the Chrome browser to see if it would work faster, but I got the Flickr Hiccups message. Yesterday was a little better, but today I'm back to having to wait much too long for every tiny action to work. And now, I've got Flickr Hiccups on my usual browser. Time to get off Flickr, I think.

Came across this photo while I was trying to get a few of my endless images backed up yesterday. These pebbles were bought - you can't remove anything from any park, or at least only if you are breaking the rules. Having had to deal with three different computer problems the last 2-3 weeks, it has scared me enough to make me start on the long, monotonous chore of backing up more of them to my external hard drive. I do this one small folder at a time - I don't have things set up for a complete, automatic back-up of my hard drive.

I think I found the correct ID for this Tortoise - I know it is an African Tortoise of some kind. This is the pet belonging to Janel Butler's family, whose beautiful land near Millarville (south west of Calgary) we have botanized twice. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Spurred_Tortoise

I was lucky enough to be with birding friends at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary on 16 April 2013, when about 10 gorgeous Mountain Bluebirds were flying over the Bow River and landing on the rocks not too far from where we were standing. They repeated this a number of times. Thank goodness for zoom, lol! I never realized how grumpy these birds look when you see them head on! Normally, one has to drive out of the city to see these birds, so it's always a treat to see one within city limits.