Great choice of fence post
One less Grasshopper in the world
Yes, yes, YES!
An over the shoulder look
Black Tern on fence post
Throat-tickling supper
A Snipe from last year
Thoughts of anything cold
I saw a Sora
White-faced Ibis - very rare in Alberta
Eared Grebe with young one
Wilson's Snipe - what a beauty
Some like wood, others like metal
Mating Spotted Asparagus Beetles
Mama Ruffed Grouse
Gorgeous iridescent feathers
Thankfully, not Mosquitoes
Two of a kind!
The Wilson's Snipe - such a fine bird
The twins' Mom
What big feet you have
Cautious mother of twins
I see a Sora
A touch of iridescence
Time to relax
Yellow-bellied Marmot gathering grasses
Adult and juvenile Three-toed Woodpeckers
Yesterday's treat
Quick march
Me and my shadow
Listening
On golden pond
Curious, for a brief second
Yellow-bellied Marmot
Tree Swallow in April
Through the branches
Always love an owl
Just for the record
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Yesterday's treat
Sitting so pretty
Memories of last summer
Sora
Almost impossible to find
Tree Swallow
Tiny, bright-eyed Northern Pygmy-owl
Red-winged Blackbird displaying
The Poser - Spotted Sandiper
Love those legs
A different Great Horned Owl
A backwards glance
Safe with Mom
Dad on guard duty
"Two (owlets) out of three ain't bad"
Northern Pygmy-owl from 2011
Spotted Sandpiper with bokeh
Tired out Mom
How sweet is this?
The exotic White-faced Ibis
Time for nest building
A close look at a Coot
Preening her feathers
Deep inside a dark barn
A good poser
Blue-green iridescence
Eared Grebe
A two-legged Wilson's Snipe : )
Feeling blue
Sharing her catch
Time to catch supper
Coyote on the prowl
Wilson's Snipe
Eared Grebe
A highlight of our May Species Count
A different kind of perch
Little Bluebird on a snowy day
Dad, awake for a few minutes
Keeping an eye on those pesky Tree Swallows
Wind-ruffled feathers
A different kind of perch
A matching stripe
A cooperative Coot
A welcome sight
An element of trust
Mom at the nest
Building her nest
Beautiful catch
Growing older by the minute
Wood Duck pair
Peekaboo
Juicy snack for his babies
Snuggling up to Mom
Northern Shoveler / Anas clypeata
Mountain Bluebird from my archives
Keeping her young ones warm
Redhead
Elephants from the archives
King Penguin
Watching us closely
Goodbye, elephants : (
I think I hear something
Golden Eagle
Long-eared Owl
The long and the short of it : )
Northern Shrike - Butcher Bird
Why they are hard to find : )
Hiding in the grasses
Columbian Ground Squirrel
Follow the leader
Patiently watching
Suppertime catch
Little beauty
Power of the Golden Eagle
The stern look
Killdeer
Red button eyes
Pied-billed Grebe and babies
Taking a break
The demise of a Meadow Vole
Looking for lunch
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Northern Pygmy-owl
Partial compression
Great Gray Owl with prey
Burrowing Owl
See also...
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196 visits
Distant Lark Sparrow
This little Lark Sparrow was so far away, but I wanted to post this 48x zoomed and cropped image to my Birds of Alberta 9 album, as I had never seen a Lark Sparrow before. This was one of two new bird species that I was lucky enough to see yesterday, on a long day trip with friends to Dinosaur Provincial Park. I had only ever once been there before, that I can remember, and it must have been 30+ years ago, so yesterday's bus trip was an absolute treat.
46 people went on this annual outing and when we arrived, we split into two groups. One half went on a mini bus tour in the morning to an area of the park that is kept closed to people in order to protect the landscape. The other half took this tour in the afternoon. The rest of the day, we could go on a walk along one of the trails in the park that are open to the public.
I was in the group that walked in the morning. We went on the Cottonwoods Trail, that eventually led to the river - a long walk that was much further than I expected! We saw very few birds, the main one being a Yellow Warbler that had its beak full of soft, white "down" from a Cottonwood tree. When we were almost back at the starting point, a Nighthawk was spotted lying on a very high branch. Well done, Shirley, for spotting this bird (and the Lark Sparrow) that was very difficult to see! A real thrill for me, as I had always wanted to see a perched Nighthawk! I saw three of them flying over the Bow River and over our heads in Bow Valley Provincial Park just a few years ago, but no chance for a photo. While back at the parking lot, we had a few minutes to "explore" and I was so happy to spot this little Scarlet Mallow plant just a few feet away. We had great weather, which was very lucky, as we had had rain for quite a few days before. When wet, the Bentonite clay becomes treacherously slippery, so we did not have to experience that, though in a few places we could feel our feet slipping.
Our mini bus tour in one of the Park's buses in the afternoon took us through some spectacular scenery. Will be posting a few different views in the next little while.
I got back home around 6:30 p.m., barely able to move an inch, but it was definitely worth it. Thanks so much, Lynn, for organizing such an enjoyable trip to this fascinating area! A lot of work goes into organizing an event like this and it was much appreciated! Thanks, too, to friends Val and Wendy who took turns to sit with me for the long 2 1/2 hour journey out there and back! Great to catch up with both of you!
"A courting male Lark Sparrow crouches on the ground, holds his tail up at a 45 degree angle from the ground, spreads the tail feathers to show off the white tips, and then struts with its wings drooping so that the wingtips nearly touch the ground. When the female is receptive, the male gives her a small twig just before copulation." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/lark_sparrow/id
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lark_sparrow
46 people went on this annual outing and when we arrived, we split into two groups. One half went on a mini bus tour in the morning to an area of the park that is kept closed to people in order to protect the landscape. The other half took this tour in the afternoon. The rest of the day, we could go on a walk along one of the trails in the park that are open to the public.
I was in the group that walked in the morning. We went on the Cottonwoods Trail, that eventually led to the river - a long walk that was much further than I expected! We saw very few birds, the main one being a Yellow Warbler that had its beak full of soft, white "down" from a Cottonwood tree. When we were almost back at the starting point, a Nighthawk was spotted lying on a very high branch. Well done, Shirley, for spotting this bird (and the Lark Sparrow) that was very difficult to see! A real thrill for me, as I had always wanted to see a perched Nighthawk! I saw three of them flying over the Bow River and over our heads in Bow Valley Provincial Park just a few years ago, but no chance for a photo. While back at the parking lot, we had a few minutes to "explore" and I was so happy to spot this little Scarlet Mallow plant just a few feet away. We had great weather, which was very lucky, as we had had rain for quite a few days before. When wet, the Bentonite clay becomes treacherously slippery, so we did not have to experience that, though in a few places we could feel our feet slipping.
Our mini bus tour in one of the Park's buses in the afternoon took us through some spectacular scenery. Will be posting a few different views in the next little while.
I got back home around 6:30 p.m., barely able to move an inch, but it was definitely worth it. Thanks so much, Lynn, for organizing such an enjoyable trip to this fascinating area! A lot of work goes into organizing an event like this and it was much appreciated! Thanks, too, to friends Val and Wendy who took turns to sit with me for the long 2 1/2 hour journey out there and back! Great to catch up with both of you!
"A courting male Lark Sparrow crouches on the ground, holds his tail up at a 45 degree angle from the ground, spreads the tail feathers to show off the white tips, and then struts with its wings drooping so that the wingtips nearly touch the ground. When the female is receptive, the male gives her a small twig just before copulation." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/lark_sparrow/id
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lark_sparrow
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