Adult and juvenile Three-toed Woodpeckers
Lighting up the forest
Visiting the city
There's always a Chickadee
Mom at the nest
I spy with my little eye
Hiding in the moss
Harebell and tiny visitors
Early September snowfall : (
When the mountains turn pink
Three-toed Woodpecker
Sunny reflections
Irresistable
Juvenile Pied-billed Grebe
Jerusalem Artichoke
A change from Marmots
Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird
Menacing
Almost like art
Young Burrowing Owl
The fancy web work of a spider
Just a little mushroom
Coming in to land
Skiff Elevator, after the storm
Butter-&-eggs
Me and my shadow
Garlic
Three-toed Woodpecker
Backlit
Young Beavers at play
View over the Waterton Valley
Owl butterfly
Fall colours of Common Tansy
McDougall Church on a sunny day
Where I was, yesterday
Looking a lot like fall
Watching and waiting
Filling up on berries before winter
Splish, splash, I was taking a bath
Burrowing Owl
Fall colours
Forgetmenot Pond - one of my favourite places
Great dexterity
Supper time for a hungry young Beaver
Listening
A country road in fall colours
Beautiful Leafhoppers - Cuerna alpina
Eye-catching Fireweed
A moment to ponder
On golden pond
Curious, for a brief second
A sight for sore eyes
A youngster having fun
A mighty beast
Design by Mother Nature
Young Yellow-bellied Marmot
Lazy, lazy Hippo
Eye-catching Hibiscus
I'm really quite shy
Reflections in a church window
Prairie sentinels
Little Church, Drumheller
The Hoodoo Trail, near Drumheller
Yellow-bellied Marmot gathering grasses
Sea Holly
Dusky Grouse female
Bison Paddock, Waterton Lakes National Park
A closer look
Female Harlequin Duck
Those red, red rocks
Asters plus fly
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel hoping for food
Cameron Lake, Waterton
Cleaning the BBQ
A glance over the shoulder
Layers of blue
If it looks close, it's because it was!
Purple-flowering Raspberry / Rubus odoratus
Spruce Sawyer / Monochamus scutellatus
Pure joy
At the end of the rainbow
Time to relax
Yesterday's storm clouds near Skiff, Alberta
Yellow-bellied Marmots
Pale Enargia (Enargia decolor)
Red-tailed Hawk with tree bokeh
A touch of iridescence
Police Car Moth
The smoke breathing monster
I see a Sora
Yellow Penstemon
Pika, busily feeding
Cautious mother of twins
Embracing the sun
The Kent (Superman) Farmhouse
Edelweiss
A beautiful display of Fireweed
Oh, so cute
A quick, two-second rest
What could be cuter?
What big feet you have
Shades of brown
Broad-headed bug
Common Branded Skipper on Alfalfa
The twins' Mom
Cabbage White butterfly
Clouds over Frank Lake
One of two little fawns
Mourning Dove
Richness in nature
Female House Finch
Erosion in Dinosaur Provincial Park
Just before it jumped
Tiny Crab Spider
Now that's a whole lot of bull
Glad to see Gladioli
A fancy fungus
The Wilson's Snipe - such a fine bird
Chokecherry / Prunus virginiana
Juvenile Wilson's Phalarope
Police Car Moth and Skipper
The Avocet stretch
Deer in Foxtails
A look of intelligence
For a complete change of colour
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Burrowing Owl, after the storm
There are 37 images in my Burrowing Owl album, but this photo shows one of the two first and only Burrowing Owls that I have ever been fortunate enough to see in the wild. To say that it was a thrill is an understatement! These endangered owls are tiny and so difficult to see, especially when they are down in the grasses. They are a true delight when, or if, they are seen on a fence post, so that the whole of the bird can be seen, not just a bright yellow eye peering out between the blades of grass. We saw two different individuals, possibly three, and for a brief moment both were perched on very distant fence posts at the same time. Most of the time, though, they were mainly hidden in the grass, so most of my photos tend to be of "eyes". This photo came out so dark, so I had to brighten it. We had called in a second time to see these owls, once the dreadful storm had moved on, though it was still very windy - which is why the head feathers of this owl look wet and dishevelled. Such a great pity that this is an endangered species!
"As a result of its ENDANGERED Species status in 1995, the Burrowing Owl has the focus of a variety of conservation efforts. Operation Burrowing Owl and other projects involving habitat preservation with landowners have been created. Populations are monitored by Fish and Wildlife departments. They have been reintroduced into the British Columbia interior, where it was extirpated. Outlook would improve if larger areas of habitat were preserved and harmful pesticides were banned in all areas of their range. Numbers could increase if an increased tolerance to burrowing mammals develops (i.e. badgers) – provides homes for the Burrowing Owl. Outlook: perilous." From burrowingowl.com.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrowing_owl
Without the help of two friends (Ron and Joyce) who helped us know where we might find these birds, and friends Cathy and Terry who invited me to go with them on a wonderful three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, I would never have had this amazing sighting. For years, I had longed to see a wild Burrowing Owl, but never thought it would actually happen! Same for Cathy and Terry, so all three of us are SO grateful for the help we received! I'm still on a natural high and I know I will be for some time yet : )
During our three days away, we saw so many things, I hardly know where to start. This always happens when I go anywhere with Cathy and Terry - every day is a very long, fun-filled day, full of exciting finds.
Perhaps I will simply mention some of the things and then add more detail to each photo as I add them to my photostream. Of course, we couldn't have had a more beautiful area to explore! Waterton Lakes National Park has amazing scenery and wildlife. The weather forecast that I saw before we left Calgary said that we were in for three beautiful days of sunshine - too often, it can be rainy weather. So, luck was on our side, giving us warm, sunny days - until the BIG STORM hit, lol! We had driven eastwards from the park, hoping to see Yellow-bellied Marmots and, if we were really lucky, a Burrowing Owl. A few days ago, I posted a photo of the storm that was approaching very fast, around 5:00 p.m. on our third day, just before we started our return trip to Calgary. It was like nothing I had ever seen before - a menacing shelf (?) cloud that was travelling fast and furious. Despite trying our best to get away from it, it eventually engulfed our car, surrounding us with more or less zero visibility, pounding hail, thunder and lightning and extremely strong winds. There was nothing to do but stop the car and sit tight, hoping that the hail would not break the car windows and that this severe thunderstorm would not develop into a tornado! This storm was very scary, but at the same time, exciting (only because all turned out OK in the end!). Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Someone from the Alberta Tornado Watch told me that this particular storm was a Mesocyclone. Thankfully, we were not right in the very centre of it, but it was still a very scary experience.
So, a few of the things we saw on our trip - fantastic scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including the Burrowing Owls, a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me!), a few different insect species, and a family of Dusky Grouse (uncommon in Waterton Lakes National Park). I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators.
Cathy and Terry, thanks so much for yet another wonderful trip with you! Can't thank you enough for inviting me along. You always do such a great job of finding so many interesting things for us to see and enjoy. Lots of fun!
flic.kr/p/p69jQ6
"As a result of its ENDANGERED Species status in 1995, the Burrowing Owl has the focus of a variety of conservation efforts. Operation Burrowing Owl and other projects involving habitat preservation with landowners have been created. Populations are monitored by Fish and Wildlife departments. They have been reintroduced into the British Columbia interior, where it was extirpated. Outlook would improve if larger areas of habitat were preserved and harmful pesticides were banned in all areas of their range. Numbers could increase if an increased tolerance to burrowing mammals develops (i.e. badgers) – provides homes for the Burrowing Owl. Outlook: perilous." From burrowingowl.com.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrowing_owl
Without the help of two friends (Ron and Joyce) who helped us know where we might find these birds, and friends Cathy and Terry who invited me to go with them on a wonderful three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, I would never have had this amazing sighting. For years, I had longed to see a wild Burrowing Owl, but never thought it would actually happen! Same for Cathy and Terry, so all three of us are SO grateful for the help we received! I'm still on a natural high and I know I will be for some time yet : )
During our three days away, we saw so many things, I hardly know where to start. This always happens when I go anywhere with Cathy and Terry - every day is a very long, fun-filled day, full of exciting finds.
Perhaps I will simply mention some of the things and then add more detail to each photo as I add them to my photostream. Of course, we couldn't have had a more beautiful area to explore! Waterton Lakes National Park has amazing scenery and wildlife. The weather forecast that I saw before we left Calgary said that we were in for three beautiful days of sunshine - too often, it can be rainy weather. So, luck was on our side, giving us warm, sunny days - until the BIG STORM hit, lol! We had driven eastwards from the park, hoping to see Yellow-bellied Marmots and, if we were really lucky, a Burrowing Owl. A few days ago, I posted a photo of the storm that was approaching very fast, around 5:00 p.m. on our third day, just before we started our return trip to Calgary. It was like nothing I had ever seen before - a menacing shelf (?) cloud that was travelling fast and furious. Despite trying our best to get away from it, it eventually engulfed our car, surrounding us with more or less zero visibility, pounding hail, thunder and lightning and extremely strong winds. There was nothing to do but stop the car and sit tight, hoping that the hail would not break the car windows and that this severe thunderstorm would not develop into a tornado! This storm was very scary, but at the same time, exciting (only because all turned out OK in the end!). Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Someone from the Alberta Tornado Watch told me that this particular storm was a Mesocyclone. Thankfully, we were not right in the very centre of it, but it was still a very scary experience.
So, a few of the things we saw on our trip - fantastic scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including the Burrowing Owls, a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me!), a few different insect species, and a family of Dusky Grouse (uncommon in Waterton Lakes National Park). I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators.
Cathy and Terry, thanks so much for yet another wonderful trip with you! Can't thank you enough for inviting me along. You always do such a great job of finding so many interesting things for us to see and enjoy. Lots of fun!
flic.kr/p/p69jQ6
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