Grumpy

I always have to smile when I'm looking at a Yellow-headed Blackbird male head-on. They seem to have a rather bad-tempered expression - it must be those eyes, ha. This one was photographed on a local pond within the city on May 13th. I was just so lucky that one day, with several of these birds flying back and forth across the water and then landing on the boardwalk fairly close by.

We were so lucky with the weather yesterday, for our long day trip to Rosedale, Alberta (near Drumheller) to botanize a beautiful Nature Conservancy of Canada area. Rosedale is a community in southern Alberta, located on Highway 56, 107 kilometres (66 mi) northeast of Calgary, at the confluence of Rosebud River and Red Deer River. It is 8 km southeast of Drumheller and this whole area is part of the Canadian Badlands - home of the dinosaurs. The owners of a very beautiful home perched at the top of one of the hills generously allowed us to wander the area, recording all species of plants, birds, flowers, insects, etc. that we came across. Part of this family's land is under The Nature Conservancy of Canada. How we appreciate those who do everything they can to help preserve beautiful land, protecting it from development, keeping it safe for all of us and for future generations. Thank you to the Browns for welcoming us and letting us botanize here, and for making coffee for us before we returned to Calgary. It tasted so good, especially after our long day! I've got to go through my photos and get some of them ready to pass on, which will keep me busy.

Overnight, it was back to rain and today is just another grey, overcast day.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-headed_Blackbird/id