Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#279

This insect was spotted on a blade of grass in Carburn Park a few mornings ago, 16 August 2014. I looked on Google last night, but was unable to find the ID. It's the time of year when the various tiny Warblers are passing through the city again. Various ones were seen, but without binoculars, I couldn't really see them. For me, the highlight of the three-hour stroll was seeing a female White-tailed Deer and her twins. They were hidden deep in the bushes and trees, making it difficult to get photos. Such a treat to see these gorgeous wild animals. I ended up being out all day as Flickr/birder/photographer friend, Pam, asked if I wanted to go SE of the city to the Frank Lake area, straight after the morning's walk. We had a fun afternoon, with a few reasonable bird sightings. The clouds were amazing, though somehow I didn't manage to get any good photos of them. Seeing them reflected in the lake was perhaps the best place. Thanks, Pam, for suggesting a drive to one of my favourite areas!

I was thrilled to finally get a decent photo or two of a COLD Bohemian Waxwing when I was on a day bus trip to Lake Louise yesterday. We stopped for lunch at an old railway station that has been turned into a restaurant, by Lake Louise. There were three Waxwings near the building. Usually, my photos are of a flock of Bohemians that have flown to the top of a very tall Spruce tree!

I'm just not finding much "stuff" to photograph these days, so will post a different photo I took back in November of this beautiful Red Panda at the Calgary Zoo. These animals are so hard to photograph, as they are constantly on the move in their enclosure, LOL. "Every time a red panda is born, and particularly every time the cub is raised by its mother, it's an important achievement, because the mortality rate for red panda cubs is as high as 74 per cent. Since 1994, nine red cub pandas have been born at the Calgary Zoo. "It is important to continue to support conservation and protection of red pandas so that some day we see a natural increase in their populations," said Tim Sinclair-Smith, curator of the zoo's Eurasia section. "There is still a long way to go to this end, but this new birth will have a positive impact on captive population growth and genetic diversity of the species." It's estimated there are fewer than 10,000 mature red pandas in the world. They're classified as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List." From CBC News, Calgary.

These common wildflowers, Tall Lungwort/Languid Ladies/Bluebell - and Dangling Damsels, according to one of my friends! - seem to grow everywhere, and I occasionally stop to shoot a little hanging cluster of the blue flowers and pink buds. This time, however, I was lucky enough to spot a Ladybug (pardon the pun, LOL)! Seen on someone's property near Millarville, south west of Calgary, when we went to botanize the area.

I look forward to seeing Hepatica in bloom early spring time - such a gorgeous blue. Seen in a friend's garden.

Or maybe I should have titled this "Mixed seasons". At least this wasn't seen in Calgary! Three of us went westwards yesterday to Kananaskis, with Mount Lorette as our destination. This area is where the Golden Eagles always fly over during their twice-yearly migration. In between straining my eyes to find the tiniest dark speck against the deep blue sky, I wandered around the area finding autumn leaves covered in snow, a couple of Ruffed Grouse, and so on. Though the day started off chilly, it was a beautiful, crisp, fall day.