Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: 000 Flickr views

For those unfamiliar with this species, the pink parts are the bracts; the very small, narrow, green parts (only one can be seen in this photo) are the actual flowers Yesterday, 27 July 2019, was such an enjoyable day, with a few lovely surprises. We had been invited to do a bio-blitz (i.e. list every plant, tree, bird, insect, fungi, etc. species) of the property belonging to Dennis Apedaile and family. This forested area is NW of Cochrane, reached by a beautiful road that was new to us. The early morning started off with our first sighting - one of the neighbourhood Jackrabbits, seen when we were leaving our leader's house. The next sighting, and unfortunately only seen by me, came as a total surprise. We were driving along the highway when I spotted a black dog in a field. I was a bit surprised to see it wandering on its own. OMG, it's not a dog, it's a Black Bear!! We were going too fast and passed it before anyone else could see it. Wish I had thought about trying to get a photo - no time, anyway. Going to have to finish my description shortly, as it is 2:15 pm and I have not yet had breakfast or lunch! Thankfully, it was not hot last night and I was able to sleep for much of this morning. The night before the trip was SO hot indoors (no air-conditioning), I didn't get even one minute of sleep all night. Later .... Nine of us from Calgary took part in this bioblitz, along with three ladies from the Summer Village on Ghost Lake. We were also joined by about 12 members of Dennis & Charlotte’s family, their friends and neighbours. A fun, most enjoyable group of interesting people. Our group took our lunch with us, but we were encouraged to also help ourselves to the delicious food provided. The morning and part of the afternoon were spent on a slow walk along various forest trails on the Apedaile's acreage. We came across all sorts of wildflowers, the odd insect, and yes, we even found a few mushrooms, including Aspen Boletes. Birds were almost non-existent! I spotted a Hummingbird that flew to one of the feeders, a Black-capped Chickadee flitted about in the trees near the house, and someone noticed a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Everyone was thrilled to bits to suddenly notice something fairly small flying in all directions near a fire pit, that had a tangle of dead branches and a few pieces of wood piled up. It was a Little Brown Bat! After a few seconds, it flew into this pile, hid from view, and stayed there. When it was time to leave, we began walking towards our cars, when suddenly the wind became strong and it started to rain. It didn't last long, but unfortunately, we had to make a very hurried departure. Thank you so much, Dennis and Charlotte, for letting us come and explore your wonderful property! Having you all come along with us made the visit even more enjoyable. Thanks, too, to good friends, Dorothy and Stephen, for driving the four of us there and back. As always, so much appreciated.

Ha, you will no doubt be very relieved to hear that I have no more photos of Common Murres and Razorbills standing on the rocks at Brandy Pot Islands! Have to admit that I suspect I am even more relieved than you are - that was almost a "chore" editing so many detailed images. Those are once-in-a-lifetime sightings for me, so I wanted to make sure I kept any remotely OK shots in my albums. Maybe another 25 or so photos to edit and then that will be Day 11 finished and I will be able to start on Day 12, our final day in Quebec, before flying back to Calgary early the next morning. Day 12 will have photos of some 50,000 Snow Geese seen along the drive back to Quebec City. We also got the chance to photograph a handful of barns, which was much enjoyed. I have a deadline for getting all these finished, and it looks like I am going to meet my deadline after all. "Offshore from Riviére-du-Loup and part of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, the Pot a l’Eau-de-Vie Archipelago consists of three small islands which link up at low tide: Gros Pot (Big Pot), Petit Pot (Small Pot), and Pot du Phare (Lighthouse Pot). The name of the archipelago came about during French rule when sailors likened the reddish-brown rainwater collected in pockets on the rocky islands to brandy, and the shape of those pockets to brandy pots. Legend also suggests that Prohibition bootleggers hid alcohol in an area on the north shore of Gros Pot, hidden from view, now called “le trou de la contrebande” (the contraband hole-in-the-wall). Roger Dubé was serving as keeper when the light was automated in 1964. In 1975, a light atop a forty-one-foot (12.5-metre) square steel skeletal tower took over the role of the lighthouse, and in 1978 the lens was removed from atop the lighthouse and its lantern room was removed as it blocked the light on the modern tower. The current yellow light flashes once every two seconds." lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1592 This was an exciting day for us, with a trip to the middle of the St. Lawrence River to see Razorbills and Common Murres on the Brandy Pot Islands. It was breeding season and people are not allowed to set foot on the islands, so we sat in our tiny boat, named Juno, ate our picnic lunch and watched in awe at the cliffs that were covered in these two bird species. To be honest, I don't think I had ever heard of either species - my friends are far more knowledgeable than I am. Our day started early and, unfortunately, the skies were black and it was raining. Not exactly the kind of weather one wants to be on a tiny boat in the middle of a huge body of water! Definitely not ideal photography weather, either. I think it was around half way through the trip that the sky brightened up. I think we were out for about six hours and travelled 50 km. When I say that we were all so cold on this boat ride, I mean we were absolutely FROZEN, despite several layers of jackets, toque, gloves, etc.. The sight of thousands and thousands of birds in the air, on the water, and covering Brandy Pot Island helped a bit to take our minds off the cold. We saw all these black and white birds, that looked remarkably like Penguins, and we assumed we were looking at Razorbills. That is what the pilot of this tiny boat had told us about and he offered to take us out to the islands to see them. It was only later that we began to realize that not all the black and white birds looked the same, ha! They are very similar, but take a look at their beaks/bills and you will see a big difference. Actually, there were a lot more Common Murres than Razorbills, but it was great to see both species. Along with these birds were Double-crested Cormorants, some of which were sitting in their nests high up in the trees. Another bird that was new to me was the Black-legged Kittiwake - nesting time for them on the rocks, too. Once we were back home, a bit later in the afternoon we went on a short, local walk to see what birds were out and about. In the evening, we had to pack our bags and make sure that the house was going to be left in good condition. By around 8:30 am the next morning, we were down at the ferry, to start out our long drive down the coast to Quebec City. It felt sad to leave Tadoussac. Our friend, Anne B, gave us an absolutely wonderful week, staying in her summer 'cabin', taking us to see so many places and things, leaving us with endless amazing memories. What a week it was!

HAPPY WINTER, everyone! Today, we are one day closer to spring. Two days ago, on 19 December 2017, it was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, a town to the south of Calgary. I am adding the report by Gus Yaki, the leader of our small group of 7, travelling in two cars. What Gus did not add, because he did not stay for the delicious Potluck supper after the Count, is that the forecast snow (Snowfall Warning in effect) arrived in full force in the evening and the drive back to Calgary was most unpleasant. Looks like there could be about 10" of the white stuff on top of my fence today. Thanks so much, Lorrie and John, for being so kind and picking me up in the early morning and driving me all day long, and then dropping me off for the Potluck and returning later to collect me ready for the three of us to return to Calgary. Appreciated more than I can say! Thanks, also, to Greg Wagner for organizing the Count - as usual, great job! Last, but not least, many thanks to those who organized and prepared such a wonderful feast for us all to thoroughly enjoy at the end of the day! I left home around 7:00 am and arrived home about 8:15 pm, finally getting to bed at 2:00 am and eventually waking up at noon yesterday, which is why I posted so late yesterday! Was I tired after a full day out, especially after only two hours sleep the previous night! I should also add my thanks to the various property owners who very kindly gave us permission to wander round their farmyards in search of any birds. Being allowed to do this adds so much more interest to our Count day, and we really appreciate it. This Great Horned Owl was one of six that we saw in the Count area, perched nicely out in the open. We saw a second owl in the same farmyard - that one had a very pale grey face. One exciting sighting was a beautiful female Moose, maybe two years old! This was the very first sighting ever of a Moose in our SE quadrant of the High River Count circle. From a distance, she was barely noticeable through the falling snow. Common Redpolls were enjoyed at some feeders. They gave me the first opportunity to take photos this season. Much as I prefer photos without feeders, I am very glad for this chance. They are such dainty little birds, and fast-moving. It always looks like a feeding frenzy when they are at the feeders. "High River CBC, SE Quadrant, including Frank Lake. 0800-1545, Tue, 19 Dec2017. Light overcast, light snow beginning at 1100. N Wind 10kph, -07 to -06°C. Ground bare initially, 3 cm at end. Little Bow River, mostly open. Mallard-500 Northern Shoveler-1 f. Northern Pintail-2 Common Goldeneye-3 Gray Partridge-8 Bald Eagle-1 ad, on Frank Lake Prairie Falcon-1 Rock Pigeon-56 Great Horned Owl-6 Snowy Owl-1 Blue Jay-4 Black-billed Magpie-17 Common Raven-4 Song Sparrow-1 Snow Bunting-150 Common Redpoll-790 House Sparrow-202 Ring-necked Pheasant tracks by observation blind. Gord Fraser, on W side of Little Bow, just N of 594 Av, had 40 Gray Partridges this a.m. Coyote-4 Skunk track by observation blind Meadow Vole-1 Mule Deer-6 Moose-1 f. Participants: Km by Car- 58 Km on foot -5 Total km - 63 Time by car – 2 hrs Time on foot-5 hrs Total party hours-7 hrs"

HAPPY WINTER, everyone! Today, we are one day closer to spring. Two days ago, on 19 December 2017, it was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, a town to the south of Calgary. I am adding the report by Gus Yaki, the leader of our small group of 7, travelling in two cars. What Gus did not add, because he did not stay for the delicious Potluck supper after the Count, is that the forecast snow (Snowfall Warning in effect) arrived in full force in the evening and the drive back to Calgary was most unpleasant. Looks like there could be about 10" of the white stuff on top of my fence today. Thanks so much, Lorrie and John, for being so kind and picking me up in the early morning and driving me all day long, and then dropping me off for the Potluck and returning later to collect me ready for the three of us to return to Calgary. Appreciated more than I can say! Thanks, also, to Greg Wagner for organizing the Count - as usual, great job! Last, but not least, many thanks to those who organized and prepared such a wonderful feast for us all to thoroughly enjoy at the end of the day! I left home around 7:00 am and arrived home about 8:15 pm, finally getting to bed at 2:00 am and eventually waking up at noon yesterday, which is why I posted so late yesterday! Was I tired after a full day out, especially after only two hours sleep the previous night! I should also add my thanks to the various property owners who very kindly gave us permission to wander round their farmyards in search of any birds. Being allowed to do this adds so much more interest to our Count day, and we really appreciate it. One exciting sighting was a beautiful female Moose, maybe two years old! This was the very first sighting ever of a Moose in our SE quadrant of the High River Count circle. From a distance, she was barely noticeable through the falling snow. Common Redpolls were enjoyed at some feeders. They gave me the first opportunity to take photos this season. Much as I prefer photos without feeders, I am very glad for this chance. They are such dainty little birds, and fast-moving. It always looks like a feeding frenzy when they are at the feeders. "High River CBC, SE Quadrant, including Frank Lake. 0800-1545, Tue, 19 Dec2017. Light overcast, light snow beginning at 1100. N Wind 10kph, -07 to -06°C. Ground bare initially, 3 cm at end. Little Bow River, mostly open. Mallard-500 Northern Shoveler-1 f. Northern Pintail-2 Common Goldeneye-3 Gray Partridge-8 Bald Eagle-1 ad, on Frank Lake Prairie Falcon-1 Rock Pigeon-56 Great Horned Owl-6 Snowy Owl-1 Blue Jay-4 Black-billed Magpie-17 Common Raven-4 Song Sparrow-1 Snow Bunting-150 Common Redpoll-790 House Sparrow-202 Ring-necked Pheasant tracks by observation blind. Gord Fraser, on W side of Little Bow, just N of 594 Av, had 40 Gray Partridges this a.m. Coyote-4 Skunk track by observation blind Meadow Vole-1 Mule Deer-6 Moose-1 f. Participants: Km by Car- 58 Km on foot -5 Total km - 63 Time by car – 2 hrs Time on foot-5 hrs Total party hours-7 hrs"

HAPPY WINTER, everyone! Today, we are one day closer to spring - yay!. Two days ago, on 19 December 2017, it was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River, a town to the south of Calgary. I am adding the report by Gus Yaki, the leader of our small group of 7, travelling in two cars. What Gus did not add, because he did not stay for the delicious Potluck supper after the Count, is that the forecast snow (Snowfall Warning in effect) arrived in full force in the evening and the drive back to Calgary was most unpleasant. Looks like there could be about 10" of the white stuff on top of my fence today. Thanks so much, Lorrie and John, for being so kind and picking me up in the early morning and driving me all day long, and then dropping me off for the Potluck and returning later to collect me ready for the three of us to return to Calgary. Appreciated more than I can say! Thanks, also, to Greg Wagner for organizing the Count - as usual, great job! Last, but not least, many thanks to those who organized and prepared such a wonderful feast for us all to thoroughly enjoy at the end of the day! I left home around 7:00 am and arrived home about 8:15 pm, finally getting to bed at 2:00 am and eventually waking up at noon yesterday, which is why I posted so late yesterday! Was I tired after a full day out, especially after only two hours sleep the previous night! I should also add my thanks to the various property owners who very kindly gave us permission to wander round their farmyards in search of any birds. Being allowed to do this adds so much more interest to our Count day, and we really appreciate it. Some years, we have a beautiful hoarfrost and amazing sunrise at our first stop on this Count, at Frank Lake. This year, we had just a slight touch of hoarfrost and barely any colour in the sky at sunrise. One exciting sighting was a beautiful female Moose, maybe two years old! This was the very first sighting ever of a Moose in our SE quadrant of the High River Count circle. From a distance, she was barely noticeable through the falling snow. Common Redpolls were enjoyed at some feeders. They gave me the first opportunity to take photos this season. Much as I prefer photos without feeders, I am very glad for this chance. They are such dainty little birds, and fast-moving. It always looks like a feeding frenzy when they are at the feeders. "High River CBC, SE Quadrant, including Frank Lake. 0800-1545, Tue, 19 Dec2017. Light overcast, light snow beginning at 1100. N Wind 10kph, -07 to -06°C. Ground bare initially, 3 cm at end. Little Bow River, mostly open. Mallard-500 Northern Shoveler-1 f. Northern Pintail-2 Common Goldeneye-3 Gray Partridge-8 Bald Eagle-1 ad, on Frank Lake Prairie Falcon-1 Rock Pigeon-56 Great Horned Owl-6 Snowy Owl-1 Blue Jay-4 Black-billed Magpie-17 Common Raven-4 Song Sparrow-1 Snow Bunting-150 Common Redpoll-790 House Sparrow-202 Ring-necked Pheasant tracks by observation blind. Gord Fraser, on W side of Little Bow, just N of 594 Av, had 40 Gray Partridges this a.m. Coyote-4 Skunk track by observation blind Meadow Vole-1 Mule Deer-6 Moose-1 f. Participants: Km by Car- 58 Km on foot -5 Total km - 63 Time by car – 2 hrs Time on foot-5 hrs Total party hours-7 hrs"

Sometimes, a quick, close shot ends up missing a bit of the tail of a bird, but I still like the photo : ) The evening of 10 June 2015, was only what I would call a "magical"! Normally, I tend not to go out in the evening - usually just too tired and there are all sorts of things needing to be done on my computer. However, having driven SW of the city the previous day and noticing a baby Mountain Bluebird poking its head out of its nesting box, I knew that any time now, it and its siblings would be suddenly gone. I have been back more recently and found a Tree Swallow looking out from the Bluebirds' nesting box. It was early evening when I left home on 10 June, after a volunteer shift and a haircut. Really, I was just going to check on the Bluebirds and was not expecting to see all that much else. That's how the evening started, but as the evening progressed, the world seemed to come alive with bird song and activity. It has been a long, long time since I've experienced that, if ever. Though my trip was mainly just to check on the Bluebirds, I was also lucky to see an American Robin sitting on a barbed-wire fence just a couple of feet away from a brilliant blue male Bluebird. Talk about colour! They were way down the road, so I was only able to get a very distant shot. Also saw a number of Snipe that I love to photograph. When I reached the point where I was going to turn around and head for home, I saw yet another Snipe perched on a fence. Just a few feet from it, on the same fence rail, was a beautiful Swainson's Hawk! After posing for a while, both birds took off, with the Hawk in hot pursuit of the Snipe. I couldn't see how the chase ended, but hopefully the Snipe escaped. Closer to home, I suddenly spotted a beautiful female Moose at a small wetland, right before I turned on to the main highway. Not sure if it's because I took my first photos of her from inside the car, across the passenger seat, but most were blurry. Eventually, she left and started walking along the road away from the highway. I crawled along, watching her way in the distance. She kept walking from side to side of the road and then stopped to lick some salt off the road, bending her front legs to kneel in what looked a very awkward move : ) Driving back to the highway, I stopped to watch three or four young White-tailed Deer having fun at the wetland. One of them would occasionally stamp one of its front legs in the water and then bound away a few feet. Funny to watch and so good to see it playing so happily. So, it was quite the evening, to say the least! I drove all the way home with a big smile on my face. 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...

In Canada, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. This happened to be five days ago, on 10 May 2015, and my daughter had asked if I wanted to spend the day out with our cameras, looking for birds and old barns and anything else that was interesting and/or beautiful. I couldn't imagine a nicer way to spend this special day : ) We started off locally, visiting a wetland in the SW of the city, where we had good or reasonable views of several different bird species, including Lesser Scaup, Redheads, a pair of Red-necked Grebe, a Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow, Wigeon, Common Grackle (which I love to see) and, of course, a few Mallards including this female. From that location, we drove some of my familiar backroads SW of the city, where we saw a Snipe walking across a gravel road (it had such a cute way of walking), another pair of Red-necked Grebe, a quick glimpse of a Mountain Bluebird, and a pair of juvenile Swans (very distant, but I think they were Trumpeters). Our drive then took us further south than I had ever driven before. We knew we wanted to see an old grain elevator at Azure (near Cayley) and we were able to find it. Drove a few of the country backroads in that whole area, eventually ending up at Silver Lake, where we watched some American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. I'd never even heard of this lake before. From there, we drove the backroads east of Highway 2, all the way north to Frank Lake, where we saw Eared Grebes, a Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds, Coots, Canada Geese (of course!), and RAIN! A lot of the day, apart from when we first started the drive, was overcast and we did have a bit of rain on and off. There were some rather black clouds seen from Frank Lake. Managed to get a few photos of a couple of different Swainson's Hawks during the day. Twice, when we had a great opportunity to get photos, they were disturbed by a vehicle driving by. The driver of one car thought it would be fun to drive past as noisily as he could, of course making the hawks fly. We called in at the Saskatoon Farm on the way home, hoping to have a delicious meal there, or at least we drove as far as the entrance. The parking lots were full and overflowing and there was a constant stream of new arrivals. No idea if it was because it was because it was Mother's Day, or perhaps there was a wedding being held there. Whatever the reason, we knew that there was no chance of ever getting a table in the restaurant. Thanks for the treat at Tim Horton's, Rachel : ) And thank you for spending the whole day with me - it made a lovely Mother's Day!

This photo was taken at the Reader Rock Garden a couple of days ago, on 13 May 2015, when I called in after a volunteer shift. Though the flowers look like Forget-me-nots, I knew it was not the usual plant. Thanks to Google and the Reader Rock Garden website, I found out that it is Siberian Bugloss. Also called Great forget-me-not, and Heartleaf. I was happy (also a little sad) just to see so many tiny blue flowers, as Forget-me-nots were my oldest daughter's favourite flowers (she died on 3 January 2015). "Brunnera, or Siberian Bugloss, are from western Siberia. These plants are perennial forget-me-nots, named in honor of Swiss botanist Samuel Brunner. Some catalogs still call this species Anchusa myosotidiflora, its previous name. Showy blue flowers about 1/4-inch across bloom in clusters during spring. The leaves are large and heart-shaped on slightly hairy stems. Plants can reach 2 feet in height but usually grow about 18 inches tall. Where summers are cool, leaves grow larger." From Howstuffworks. home.howstuffworks.com/define-brunnera-siberian-bugloss.htm

On 21 January 2015, just 18 days after my oldest daughter died, my youngest daughter and I spent the day together, out in nature. I knew I needed to get out myself and the fact that my daughter asked if we could do that, told me that she, too, desperately needed to get a break from all the sadness and reminders of her big sister for a few hours. Friends had been telling me how important it was to be outdoors with my camera, especially at a time like this, and I knew they were right. Much as it would have been great to have gone looking for Snowy Owls, I just didn't feel up to that long of a drive. Instead, I drove to a much more familiar, closer area, SE of the city. The day was a mix of sun and cloudiness, and though the sun was in the wrong position for some of our shots, we did OK. As for birds, we saw a couple of Great Horned Owls, a very distant Snowy Owl, a raptor of some kind (either a Prairie Falcon or a Gyrfalcon), several Gray Partridge and what I think must have been Horned Larks. The rest of the day, my daughter and I drove mostly roads that we had driven before, except for one short stretch where we found two old, red barns. This day was as much a barn day as a bird day. The large barn in this photo is one that I had been looking forward to finding and seeing for the first time. I would love to have been able to get photos from both sides of it, but it was in a farmer's field that was, of course, private property. There is an old, round, wooden grain bin and a smaller barn just to the right of this photo. A second old barn that I have already posted photos of, was on someone else's property, just up the road and round the corner from this larger barn. I think being out with our cameras, driving the backroads, was therapeutic - certainly for me, as I could enjoy my daughter's company, and hopefully for her, too.

I'm still returning to my recent archives to find "new" photos to post of this tiny Northern Pygmy-owl. I think I've posted most of my better shots of him/her, but still have various others that I want to add to my album. I haven't been down to the park for maybe three weeks, and I haven't heard any reports of the owls being seen in that time, or seen any very recent photos, so I suspect the owls have left the park and flown to higher elevations to nest. This photo was taken on 11 January 2015 (8 days after my oldest daughter passed away), when I called in at Fish Creek Park for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two for much-needed company. I was lucky with both. It was a Sunday and a lot of photographers had gathered to watch and photograph this tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl. There had been a segment on the TV NEWS about this owl, which brought out a lot of people. I was impressed that all the photographers were very respectful of this tiny owl. Mind you, that day, apart from a couple of very brief, low landings in bushes (seen in this photo), the tiny owl stayed perched extremely high in very tall trees. Thankfully, it was still within my camera reach and we were all lucky enough to see it perched in a variety of places. Bright blue sky completed the picture that day. "The Northern Pygmy-Owl may be tiny, but it’s a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads, and piercing yellow eyes. They hunt during the day by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, songbirds often gather to mob sitting owls until they fly away. Mobbing songbirds can help you find these unobtrusive owls, as can listening for their call, a high-pitched series of toots." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_pygmy_owl

On 16 November 2014, I joined a few friends for a most enjoyable day of birding SE of the city, in the Frank Lake area. I love this whole area, so usually jump at the chance to go there, especially with friends who are great birders. I stayed behind (painful back) while the others walked almost to the blind, but I was happy photographing scenery, bright orange lichens, and anything else that caught my eye : ) This meant that I didn’t see all of the birds on Andrew’s careful list and report, but I was happy to see the Great Horned Owl especially. Felt so good to get my “owl” fix! It was also good to know that there are at least a few Common Redpolls around so far, this winter. The long winter months seem kind of “empty” when these dainty little birds don’t visit us. I think the only birds I was able to photograph were the owl and the pheasants. This photo, by the way, is a zoomed photo - the mountains look much closer than they actually are. I will use Andrew’s account of the day – I never keep a list myself. Thought that one or two of you might just be interested to know what’s around so far this “winter”, SE of the city. Many thanks, as always, Andrew, for a most enjoyable and rewarding day out of the city. Thanks, too, for your detailed report. “We had eight participants. A nice break from recent weather. The temperature stayed right around -3 deg C all day, with mostly clear sunny skies. There was an occasional biting wind. We basically circled the lake area and walked down to the outfall near the blind. There were still a few pheasant hunters around. Apparently the final release was delayed to this weekend because the province is averse to releasing birds when the temperature is below -10 deg C. Number of Checklists: 4 Number of Species: 20 Checklists included in this summary: (1): Sutherland's Shelterbelt (and immediate area) Date: Nov 16, 2014, 9:00 AM (2): Frank Lake--NW lookout/blind Date: Nov 16, 2014, 10:10 AM (3): Frank Lake--Basin 2 (Southeast Corner) Date: Nov 16, 2014, 11:30 AM (4): Frank Lake Basin 3 Date: Nov 16, 2014, 12:00 PM 47 Canada Goose -- (1) 1 Tundra Swan -- (2) 6 Mallard -- (2) 1 Northern Shoveler -- (2) 9 Redhead -- (2) 4 Ring-necked Pheasant -- (3) 1 Prairie Falcon (3) 2 Bald Eagle -- (2),(4) 1 Rough-legged Hawk -- (1) 3 Killdeer -- (2) 10 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) -- (1) 3 Great Horned Owl -- (1),(4) 5 Black-billed Magpie -- (1),(2),(3),(4) 16 Common Raven -- (1),(2),(3),(4) 48 Horned Lark -- (3),(4) 8 Black-capped Chickadee -- (1) 8 Snow Bunting -- (4) 4 American Tree Sparrow -- (1),(3) 40 Common Redpoll -- (1) 8 House Sparrow -- (1) The few Snow Buntings we saw were all mixed in with larger flocks of Horned Larks. The Prairie Falcon appeared suddenly and spooked the group of Pheasants before flying off into a nearby tree. Andrew Hart”

Today, 10 September 2014, I am doing what Marmots like to do - stay in their burrow. The late summer SNOWSTORM continues today and is doing tremendous damage to all the trees in the city. Yesterday, they said that 5,000 trees in the city had been damaged, and today is far, far worse. I have a short length of hedge that grows against a fence. Yesterday, the hedge was overgrown by about three feet above the top of the fence. When I peered through my blinds when I got up, my hedge had almost disappeared, bent down so that it's now about three feet lower than the fence. I so hope it stays like that once the snow has melted, but most likely not! I suspect there are going to be quite a few people without power today, like yesterday. The little guy/gal in this photo was the cutest thing. It's a young Yellow-bellied Marmot that was peering out of a hole by some metal pipes. Friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had been watching these animals for some time, through the car windows. Eventually, we got out and took a slow walk down the road and back. Almost back at the car, I noticed that this youngster was still half way out and when I approached a little way, very slowly, he was quite curious and stayed right where he was. Young Marmots are born in May and we saw this one on 28 August 2014. The Yellow-bellied Marmot is classified as Secure in the current General Status of Alberta Wild Species report. "Yellow-bellied marmots usually weigh from 1.6 to 5.2 kilograms (3.5 to 11.5 lb) when fully grown, though males typically weigh more than females. Adult males typically weigh between 3 to 5 kilograms (6.6 to 11.0 lb); females typically weigh between 1.6 to 4 kilograms (3.5 to 8.8 lb). They get fatter in the autumn just before hibernating. Their territory is about 4 to 7 acres (2 to 3 ha) around a number of summer burrows. Marmots choose to dig burrows under rocks because predators are less likely to see their burrow. Predators include wolves, foxes, coyotes, dogs and eagles. Yellow-bellied marmots spend about 80% of their life in their burrow, 60% of which is spent hibernating. They often spend mid-day and night in a burrow as well. These burrows are usually constructed on a slope, such as a hill, mountain, or cliff. The hibernation burrows can be up to 5 to 7 metres (16 to 23 ft) deep, but the burrows constructed for daily use are usually only 1 metre (3.3 ft) deep. Their hibernation period varies on elevation, but it is typically from September to May. Yellow-bellied marmots are diurnal. The marmot is also an omnivore, eating grass, grains, leaves, flowers, legumes, fruit, grasshoppers, and bird eggs." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-bellied_marmot During three days away (26, 27 and 28 August 2014) with these friends, we saw so many things, including breathtaking scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer (including several that we saw in the town of Waterton, where we stayed for two nights at the clean and friendly Bear Mountain Motel), Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including the endangered Burrowing Owls (way east of Waterton, on our last day), a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me!), a few different insect species, and a family of Dusky Grouse that are uncommon in the park. I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators. Oh, and we got caught in a storm like nothing we'd ever seen before - a mesocyclone, apparently.

A few days ago, on 13 August 2014, I had a volunteer shift and afterwards, as I sometimes do, drove to the Reader Rock Garden. Thought I'd better see what flowers were in bloom, as summer is slipping away so fast and I haven't taken all that many colourful images of flowers, garden or wild. They come in so handy during the seven long months of winter that are not all that far away now, breaking the monotony of "white" photos. Some of the flowers were well past their prime, but can still make an interesting shot. As usual when I go there, the wind was blowing the whole time, making it a real challenge to keep the flowers in the viewfinder just long enough to get a shot. Echinacea flowers are beautiful at all stages. Caught this one that was just beginning to open in pretty, late afternoon light, at the Reader Rock Garden on 14 August 2013. "Echinacea /ˌɛkɨˈneɪʃⁱə/ is a genus, or group of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The nine species it contains are commonly called coneflowers. They are endemic to eastern and central North America, where they are found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming from early to late summer. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἐχῖνος (echino), meaning "sea urchin," due to the spiny central disk. Some species are used in herbal medicines and some are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. A few species are of conservation concern." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinacea