Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Nodwell Sanctuary

This very small moth landed for a moment on a plant at Nodwell Sanctuary, during a full-day botanizing outing, late July. Thanks for the ID, Doug! It was the first time I had seen, and photographed, one of these.

This little Wood Frog was on the sandy bank of a small inlet yesterday at Nodwell Sanctuary (now called the Western Sky Land Trust Wheatland #1 Property), near Carseland. Often when you see them, they tend to be hiding amongst the grass and leaves, but this little one was quite visible.

This highly cropped image is from way back on 23rd July 2009. I was thrilled to bits to have spotted this beautiful Viceroy butterfly while we were botanizing the Nodwell Sanctuary, SE of the city. This is the only time I have ever seen this species - in fact, I had never even heard of it before. In Alberta, it is an uncommon species. I will add a previously posted image, showing the topside. Rather similar to a Monarch butterfly, but much smaller. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroy_butterfly

I can never resist photographing a beautiful display of lichens when I see one : ) They are such beautiful growths, in their colour and their patterns. This display was found at the Nodwell Sanctuary, south east of the city. "Lichens are amazing living entities, in that they are not a single organism like plants, animals or fungi. Instead every single lichen is the result of two or more separate organisms living permanently together. All lichens are made up of a fungal partner and either/or an algal partner or a cyanobacterium partner, or both. Lichens first appeared about 400 million years ago so they have been around for a long time. Some individual species such as Hypogymnia physodes have been around for at least 25 million years and maybe for as long as 70 million years. Obviously the lichen symbiosis is a successful strategy." www.earthlife.net/lichens/intro.html

This is a common early flowering, low plant with an umbel of bright yellow flowers. Seen at the Nodwell Sanctuary, south east of Calgary.

I'd never seen these regular, very tiny Cladonia growing on soil on a dry, open hillside before (photo is macro, of course. Most people would never notice them). I always thought they were to be found in the forest. Fascinating little things - Shrek Ears, Golf Tees, Pixie Cups ..... LOL. (This sample was being collected to be examined further at home by one of our botany members.) Found on a botanizing trip yesterday to the Western Sky Land Trust's Wheatland #1, formerly Jack Nodwell’s Property, 59 acres of land near Carseland, Alberta.

Blue gramma/Blue grama is such an attractive grass, growing wild here in Alberta. Photographed this dry Blue Gramma grass at Nodwell Sanctuary a few days ago. Pretty the way it curls. This is a zoomed photo and cropped, so the original grass is only small. "This grass resembles a small blue toothbrush! As unlikely as it sounds, that is what Blue Grama grass looks like.This perennial grass can be distinguished by its dense, curved inflorescence (brush-like) with 20-80 spikelets per branch. These purplish spikelets are located in two rows on one side of the stem. Each spikelet is approximately 5-6 mm long." www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca/cbasin/bluegram/bluegrama.html

Moss Phlox (Phlox hoodii) is a native, semi-woody plant that grows on dry, eroded slopes and prairie grasslands. These tiny wildflowers, which are white to pale blue, are only 8-14 mm across, and bloom May-June. Very easy to miss them when out on a walk. This one was photographed last week at the Nodwell Sanctuary, south east of Calgary.

We were privileged this afternoon to come across this Northern Harrier's nest and eggs. It was built on a grassy hillside in a natural area south of the city. I have an 18x zoom, so was able to get a couple of very quick shots without going any nearer to the nest. Hopefully, all three eggs will hatch successfully and three more beautiful raptors will be able to grace our skies! The temperature was somewhere around a warm 22C, so there was no fear of the eggs not keeping warm while Mom was cruising the skyways nearby: )

This photo is more distant than I usually take photos of flowers. Almost always, I am in there, close and personal, but this image shows how this plant grows in quite a dense cluster surrounded by grasses. We spent a couple of hours this afternoon at Nodwell Sanctuary, near Carseland, south of the city. This area of eroded hillsides has been bought and preserved and is home to some interesting plants and wildlife.

I was on a trip this afternoon south of the city, walking some interesting hills at a place called Nodwell Sanctuary. We saw this small butterfly, but I'm not sure what its ID is.

I was on a trip this afternoon south of the city, walking some interesting hills at a place called Nodwell Sanctuary. A first, distant glimpse made us think we had come across some Ladybugs, but we quickly realized we had something else. The Red Turnip Beetle is a native North American insect. Adult beetles are bright red with black patches on their heads and three distinct black bands running down their backs. Crop injury in canola, rapeseed, or mustard fields usually occurs along field margins when beetles move in after cruciferous plants in adjacent fields are either consumed or controlled. Adult beetles normally walk to the new food source. Invading beetles are usually concentrated in a moving front only a few metres wide.

I was on a trip this afternoon south of the city, walking some interesting hills at a place called Nodwell Sanctuary. I noticed this rather beautiful insect on a wild rose, but have never seen an insect like this before and I don't know what it is. Just love that shiny green.

As usual, I'm not sure of the ID for this butterfly, seen yesterday afternoon at Nodwell Sanctuary, outside Calgary.

When we were out on an afternoon trip south of the city yesterday, we came across several masses of these Tent caterpillars on bushes. Really nicer to see from a good distance rather than close to! "If you’ve ever witnessed a huge outbreak of tent caterpillars, then you are probably not overly fond of these insects. In some areas, cyclical outbreaks of these large caterpillars can defoliate everything in sight, and coat walls and roads. It’s just plain icky. It is however a natural process and healthy plants recover the loss of leaves readily. In Alberta, such outbreaks are relatively uncommon, and not of mythical proportions. The moths are also fairly large, stout and hairy. The forewings are an even yellow, brown or grey with lines of colour across the wings. The wings are held rooflike over the body. The feathery antennae are held apart, framing the head. Adults do not feed, but are readily attracted to lights. There are perhaps half a dozen species of these moths in Alberta, the best-known being the Forest Tent Caterpillar. Both the related tent-building Eastern and Western Tent Caterpillars might also be found." Information by Nora Bryan at www.weaselhead.org .