Tree Swallow

I think it has been a while since I posted a photo with a green background, so when I was trying to find my "daily three" for today, this image caught my eye. We have been thinking "spring" for some time already, because our weather has been so mild this winter. The temperature is supposed to get up to 15C this afternoon and 16C tomorrow! However, we all know that there is still plenty of time for more snow to arrive.

In the afternoon of 12 June 2014, I drove westwards to the mountains, along Elbow Falls Trail (Highway 66) as far as Maclean Pond. I did a very slow walk, and was happy when I noticed several tiny "mushrooms" growing on a fallen, rotting log. The tallest one may have been an inch tall, so you can imagine how small the smallest one was. They are some of my favourite ones to photograph. This plant is found in both books on Lichens and books on Mushrooms as Omphalina, as Lichenomphallia ericetorum is a lichen fungus that resembles a mushroom.

I had hoped to find lots of wildflowers in bloom, but the main plant was the Dandelion, so it was obviously too early after our late spring. Also a very few Shootingstars, one Blue-eyed Grass in bloom, several Valerian flowers, several clusters of Mouse-eared Chickweed, and not much else.

On the way home, I drove a few of the backroads SW of Calgary, where I photographed a pair of Mountain Bluebirds, a Snipe, a Tree Swallow, a Brewer's Blackbird, and a Black Tern that was perched on a fence post. Usually, when I see Terns, they are flying fast and my camera can't catch them.

"Handsome aerialists with deep-blue iridescent backs and clean white fronts, Tree Swallows are a familiar sight in summer fields and wetlands across northern North America. They chase after flying insects with acrobatic twists and turns, their steely blue-green feathers flashing in the sunlight. Tree Swallows nest in tree cavities; they also readily take up residence in nest boxes. This habit has allowed scientists to study their breeding biology in detail, and makes them a great addition to many a homeowner’s yard or field." From allaboutbirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/tree_swallow/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_Swallow