Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: top of tree

Yesterday afternoon, 9 July 2017, I arrived back home at 4:45 pm from a wonderful three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park. I had just been on a one-day bus trip to this beautiful park on 24 June 2017, so felt very lucky to be returning for a longer stay so soon. I travelled there and back with friend, Darlene, who had very kindly offered to take me, and we had a fun time, seeing so many interesting things. Thank you SO much, Darlene - I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciated being able to go on this trip with you! Three days of 32C temperatures, and then I arrived home to find that my thermostat read 29C inside my home. I am not good at dealing with the heat and then to walk and hike in such temperatures was exhausting. Back in Calgary, we had already been having a heatwave and now, the forecast is for more hot days. This morning, it rained for a while and temporarily cooled a little. It was wonderful to again be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few walks/hikes with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds and animals. Lots of good company with around 20 (?) people, some of whom I already knew and some 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 huge thanks go out to Jean Kennedy, the camp cook, who cooked and prepared these great meals for us! Jean was there in 2015 and 2016 when I attended this weekend, and it was really good news when I was told that she would be there again this time. The food was so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated! Not sure just where to begin, so I grabbed and edited these three photos this morning - a little Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel that was seen on our first day in Waterton, when Darlene and I stopped at Cameron Falls on the edge of town. Also a very distant shot of a gorgeous Lazuli Bunting, and a close shot of a Pink Monkeyflower that was growing along the Cameron Lake trail. The cooling mist that came from the waterfalls felt so good on such a hot day! As usual, this little animal was doing what these cute animals tend to do - approach people, look cute, and beg for food! A little girl was feeding this one - not sure what it's eating, but I prefer to think it is nibbling on raw carrot rather than some kind of fake-coloured chip. I saw a number of empty sunflower seed shells scattered on the ground, too. Of course, WILDLIFE SHOULD NEVER BE FED!! However, I hope the children feeding this little animal will develop a love for wildlife and grow up to help protect any kind of creature. On this weekend last year (2016), I saw my very first Lazuli Bunting. It was great to get more chances this July, though we were out of luck for any close views. According to the Waterton list of birds, Lazuli Buntings are "uncommon - seen each year but not necessarily during a single visit; numbers variable." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lazuli_Bunting/id "The male Lazuli Bunting lights up dry brushy hillsides, thickets, and gardens throughout the West, flashing the blue of a lapis gemstone mixed with splashes of orange. He belts out his squeaky and jumbling song from atop shrubs to defend his territory. The softly colored female is often nearby teetering on tiny stems in a balancing act to reach seeds and other fare. This stocky finchlike bird is related to cardinals and grosbeaks and often visits bird feeders, especially those filled with white proso millet." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lazuli_Bunting/id Our huge thanks to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly! He has been organizing these annual weekends for a number of years now. A great time was had by all.

On 22 February 2015, on my way out of Fish Creek Park, an enormous flock of Bohemian Waxwings swarmed around the tall trees along the edge of the road. Hundreds of them landed at the tops of these trees and then they would swoop down to the snow-covered ground and eat the snow for a few seconds before flying to the other side of the road and back again. "Waxwings often drink water or eat snow in winter, since the sugar in their fruit diet tends to dehydrate the birds through an osmotic effect. In the summer, the fruits are juicier and water is less of a problem" (from Wikipedia). These Bohemian Waxwings visit us in winter and then fly north for the summer, to breed. Here, in summer, we get the Cedar Waxwings instead. I pulled over to try and get a shot or two - quite the feeling to have so many of these beautiful, sleek birds flying around you when you are standing there. Earlier in the afternoon, this mass of birds landed in the parking lot trees. Interesting to hear the loud "whoosh" when they all took off so close to where we were standing. "The name "Bohemian" refers to the nomadic movements of winter flocks. It comes from the inhabitants of Bohemia, meaning those that live an unconventional lifestyle or like that of gypsies. The Bohemian Waxwing does not hold breeding territories, probably because the fruits it eats are abundant, but available only for short periods. One consequence of this non-territorial lifestyle is that it has no true song. It does not need one to defend a territory." From AllAboutBirds. "The Bohemian waxwing's call is a high trill sirrrr. It is less wavering and lower-pitched than that of the cedar waxwing. Other calls are just variants of the main vocalisation; a quieter version is used by chicks to call parents, and courtship calls, also given during nest construction, have a particularly large frequency range. Although not a call as such, when a flock takes off or lands, the wings make a distinctive rattling sound that can be heard 30 m (100 ft) away." From Wikipedia. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bohemian_waxwing/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_waxwing

The third photo I was going to post this morning looked blurrier than it did very late last night, lol! So, instead, I grabbed this quick shot of a Blue Jay that was seen in the Weaselhead area on 28 January 2014, when I went on a morning's walk with a group of friends. I rarely actually see Blue Jays - more often, I hear them. This one landed just briefly on the top of a tall tree, just long enough to get a quick shot, turning it's head away just as I clicked, and away it flew.

In some places, the Great Gray Owl is also known as the Great Gray Ghost. This photo, that I took on April 14th during a heavy snowstorm, always makes me think of that rather creepy name. A pity that the owl was facing in that direction, but I guess it shows you the fine feather detail on the back of the head. Also shows how focused it was on finding a rodent for a snack : ) Not sure if this is the adult Great Gray that I was lucky enough to hold on June 5th, or maybe it was its mate, when one of them was banded by licenced Owl Banders, "The Owl Guys", from near Edmonton.