Eared Grebe

Add to Album and Add to Groups has vanished on today's three photos! Flickr just amazes me how things are fine one day and then don't work or disappear the next! Ha, 20 minutes later, it seems to be working OK for two of the three images. Strange. And now all three are working.

A few weeks ago, on 4 May 2015, we finally had a day without strong winds. I decided that it might be a good day to drive SE of the city again to see what I could find. The last few times I had been there recently, the wind had been so strong, making it almost impossible to stand, let alone take photos.

The very first thing I saw when I reached the gravel road off 23 at Frank Lake, was a beautiful Western Meadowlark. I only see one very occasionally, though on this day I did see a second one later in the afternoon.

At, or near, the bird blind/hide, there were a few Eared Grebes, Coots, Canada Geese, numerous and noisy Franklin's Gulls, a Ruddy Duck, a few Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds, several Western Grebes (further away and not really within camera range) and American Avocets. White-faced Ibis were either down on the ground in the distance or flying around, mixed in with the Franklin's Gulls.

After visiting the blind, I drove around the lake, seeing the second Meadowlark and, to my delight, a pair of Long-billed Curlews that were extremely well-camouflaged against the stubble and dried grasses in a field. The Curlew is North America's largest shorebird. I'm sure I have seen one before, probably through someone's scope, but never really "seen" one properly. Managed to get a few shots, though the birds don't show up very clearly.

Along one of the roads, friend Greg passed me, going in the same direction. He stopped briefly and said he was on his way to help mutual friend, George. A few hours later, I saw a photo on Facebook of the predicament that George had found himself in. When I say his vehicle was stuck in deep mud, I really mean STUCK, lol! Not sure how he managed to find such wet, muddy ground, as everywhere else is bone dry. Well done, George! The things we birders/photographers sometimes go through to get photos!

At the end of the lake drive, I decided to drive north on the Blackie road, stopping at one of the sloughs there, where I was able to get photos of the American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. So, all in all, an enjoyable, quite rewarding afternoon, spent in one of my favourite areas.

A contrast to yesterday and today, 13 and 14 June 2015. Overcast, dreary and rainy, which means that I am at least getting a few things done, including backing up most of my photos (till my external hard drive ran out of space!).