A flower for Mother's Day
Glorious splash of colour
Red Rock Canyon, Waterton Lakes National Park
Wood Lily
Red Rock Canyon, Waterton Lakes National Park
Eye-catching splash of colour
Fungus in the forest
Before the final split
First the flower, then the bokeh, then the bee
Golden-breasted Starling / Lamprotornis regius
Taveta Golden Weaver / Ploceus castaneiceps
I said NO more photos!
Halloween colour
Lest we forget
Painted Daisy / Chrysanthemum coccineum
Sunset over Great Falls, US
Golden-breasted Starling
Vibrant colour to warm us all up
Painted Tongue / Salpiglosis
Vibrant
Matching colours
Embracing the sun
Golden-breasted Starling / Lamprotornis regius
Purple Rain
Larch in fall colour
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Taveta Golden Weaver
Splash of colour
Western Wood Lily
Baltimore Oriole, The Tip, Pt Pelee, Ontario
Western Wood Lily
A much-needed change of colour
Like the sun on a grey, gloomy, rainy day
Slime Mold
Taveta Golden Weaver
Taveta Golden Weaver
Taveta Golden Weaver
Taveta Golden Weaver
Eye-catching Hibiscus
Richness in nature
Before harvest time
Driving in a sea of gold
Almost as good as sunshine
Colour for a rainy day
To brighten my photostream
Colour for a dreary day
Vibrant rays
Dressed in gold
The classic Echinacea shot
Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone
Fiery Fireweed in its fall colours
Layers of colour
Orange Star
Vivid pink
Calgary was the 2nd coldest place on earth yesterd…
Glowing
Cardinal's Guard / Pachystachys coccinea
Two-coloured Tulip
Glorious rays
Spring versus yesterday's snow
Colour burst
Orange Star / Ornithogalum dubium
Beauty from below
A winter sunrise
The sky is on fire
Remembering the colours of summer
Creating my own sunshine - for me and for you : )
Sunset over Great Falls, Montana
Brightening up the forest
Colour for a rainy day
Orange Star / Ornithogalum dubium
Heliconia
Queen of the Lily Pad
Vibrant beauty
Gazing at a Gazania
Vibrant
Beauty on the tip of a petal
Fire and ice
Passionate pink - Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving colours
Illuminated
Glowing
Painted Tongue / Salpiglosis
Think pink
A splash of orange
Gorgeous splash of colour
Paintbrush / Castilleja miniata
A splash of colour
Sunny delight
Nooooo...!!!
Agate water
Need colour in your life?
Clash of colours
Colour
Keywords
Authorizations, license
-
Visible by: Everyone -
All rights reserved
-
125 visits
A splash of red
Yesterday, 17 May 2015, I finally got out with my camera for a few hours. The previous few days had been dreary and overcast, with rain the last couple of days. The sense of freedom felt so good, as I stopped in at a wetland in SW Calgary and then drove my usual loop along the backroads SW of the city.
At this first pond, I saw the usual Mallards, Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Common Grackle, Red-headed Blackbirds, and a quick glimpse of a distant pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the sunshine. I had intended walking around to where I had seen the Canada Geese nest in other years, but before I did so, I suddenly noticed a distant pair of Geese swimming in my direction. I didn't really think much about it, but as they got closer, I realized that they were escorting 10 little goslings. They swam right up to where I was standing, as if to show off their new little family. And then they were gone, swimming off in the direction from where I had seen them come. After taking a few more photos of the nearby ducks, I carefully looked at each pair of Geese on the pond and none of them had any goslings swimming with them. Maybe they had returned them to the edge of the wetland and hidden them well. These were my very first goslings this spring, so I was happy as can be to see them.
A week earlier, on 10 May, my daughter and I had great views of the pair of Red-necked Grebes, who seemed to be building a nest closer to shore than previous years. It was disappointing to see that the tiny "island" that they seemed to have chosen was now very low in the water, after all the rain we had had. Hopefully, they won't move to a higher mound that is further away, but that is what I am expecting. Makes me thankful to have seen the pair fairly close a week ago
From this pond, I continued on my drive, greatly appreciating the sunshine and fairly empty roads, despite this being the Victoria long weekend here. The Brewer's Blackbirds were perched on fence posts, and I always love to see these birds with their white eyes.
In one large pond, I watched two pairs of Blue-winged Teal, a Muskrat, a Pied-bill Grebe, and a pair of Red-necked Grebes. Most of these birds were very far away, but I just managed to get a few shots of the Teal. This is where I photographed this little group of hanging Rose hips. I also noticed when I got home that there is a very faint spider's web behind them.
At the next slough that I stopped at, I saw one solitary Swan, too far away to tell if it was a Trumpeter or Tundra. I also spotted a funny little Pied-billed Grebe swimming fairly close to the road, but by the time I had driven a bit further in order to turn my car around, the Grebe was already closer to the far shore. Further on, I stopped to see a pair of Mountain Bluebirds that came to their nesting box just once while I was there. Tree Swallows made a quick appearance at the nest box that was nearby.
Continuing my drive, I passed a pair of Wigeon preening themselves at a tiny slough, along with a Green-winged Teal. Further yet, I stopped to take a few photos of Red-winged Blackbirds and - to my great delight - a Wilson's Snipe, one of my favourite birds to photograph. Last year seemed to be such a great year for Snipe, so I was hoping this spring might be the same. When I drove this road in one direction, I was happy to spot a distant Snipe down in the grasses, but still wished that it had been standing on a fence post. After turning my car around, I slowly drove along the edge of the wetland again and, this time, there it was! Absolutely made my day - anyone would think it was my very first sighting ever of a Snipe! It didn't stay for long, but gave me time to get three or four shots.
From here, it was time to return home along some of the backroads before eventually having to get back on to the highway. A dark phase Swainson's Hawk was where I had seen it (same one?) on a couple of other occasions. Took a photo or two through the windscreen, so not the best photos, but I thought it might fly if I got out of the car.
It was so good to get out and, though I saw no new or rare birds, I was as always happy to see the more usual ones, especially when they are close enough to photograph.
At this first pond, I saw the usual Mallards, Lesser Scaup, Redheads, Common Grackle, Red-headed Blackbirds, and a quick glimpse of a distant pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the sunshine. I had intended walking around to where I had seen the Canada Geese nest in other years, but before I did so, I suddenly noticed a distant pair of Geese swimming in my direction. I didn't really think much about it, but as they got closer, I realized that they were escorting 10 little goslings. They swam right up to where I was standing, as if to show off their new little family. And then they were gone, swimming off in the direction from where I had seen them come. After taking a few more photos of the nearby ducks, I carefully looked at each pair of Geese on the pond and none of them had any goslings swimming with them. Maybe they had returned them to the edge of the wetland and hidden them well. These were my very first goslings this spring, so I was happy as can be to see them.
A week earlier, on 10 May, my daughter and I had great views of the pair of Red-necked Grebes, who seemed to be building a nest closer to shore than previous years. It was disappointing to see that the tiny "island" that they seemed to have chosen was now very low in the water, after all the rain we had had. Hopefully, they won't move to a higher mound that is further away, but that is what I am expecting. Makes me thankful to have seen the pair fairly close a week ago
From this pond, I continued on my drive, greatly appreciating the sunshine and fairly empty roads, despite this being the Victoria long weekend here. The Brewer's Blackbirds were perched on fence posts, and I always love to see these birds with their white eyes.
In one large pond, I watched two pairs of Blue-winged Teal, a Muskrat, a Pied-bill Grebe, and a pair of Red-necked Grebes. Most of these birds were very far away, but I just managed to get a few shots of the Teal. This is where I photographed this little group of hanging Rose hips. I also noticed when I got home that there is a very faint spider's web behind them.
At the next slough that I stopped at, I saw one solitary Swan, too far away to tell if it was a Trumpeter or Tundra. I also spotted a funny little Pied-billed Grebe swimming fairly close to the road, but by the time I had driven a bit further in order to turn my car around, the Grebe was already closer to the far shore. Further on, I stopped to see a pair of Mountain Bluebirds that came to their nesting box just once while I was there. Tree Swallows made a quick appearance at the nest box that was nearby.
Continuing my drive, I passed a pair of Wigeon preening themselves at a tiny slough, along with a Green-winged Teal. Further yet, I stopped to take a few photos of Red-winged Blackbirds and - to my great delight - a Wilson's Snipe, one of my favourite birds to photograph. Last year seemed to be such a great year for Snipe, so I was hoping this spring might be the same. When I drove this road in one direction, I was happy to spot a distant Snipe down in the grasses, but still wished that it had been standing on a fence post. After turning my car around, I slowly drove along the edge of the wetland again and, this time, there it was! Absolutely made my day - anyone would think it was my very first sighting ever of a Snipe! It didn't stay for long, but gave me time to get three or four shots.
From here, it was time to return home along some of the backroads before eventually having to get back on to the highway. A dark phase Swainson's Hawk was where I had seen it (same one?) on a couple of other occasions. Took a photo or two through the windscreen, so not the best photos, but I thought it might fly if I got out of the car.
It was so good to get out and, though I saw no new or rare birds, I was as always happy to see the more usual ones, especially when they are close enough to photograph.
- Keyboard shortcuts:
Jump to top
RSS feed- Latest comments - Subscribe to the comment feeds of this photo
- ipernity © 2007-2024
- Help & Contact
|
Club news
|
About ipernity
|
History |
ipernity Club & Prices |
Guide of good conduct
Donate | Group guidelines | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Statutes | In memoria -
Facebook
Twitter
Sign-in to write a comment.