Pied-billed Grebe juvenile

This photo was taken two days ago, on 8 September 2015. In the morning, I joined a group of friends for a three-hour stroll at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 38 bird species were seen, though I didn't manage to see any of the tiny, fast-moving Warblers. It was good to see 28 Wood Ducks, but they were far, far away, in an area that is still closed due to devastating flood damage. The Sanctuary had been closed for about two years for this reason and only very recently re-opened just a part of the area. Two of these young Pied-billed Grebes were hanging about on the lagoon.

"Part bird, part submarine, the Pied-billed Grebe is common across much of North America. These small brown birds have unusually thick bills that turn silver and black in summer. These expert divers inhabit sluggish rivers, freshwater marshes, lakes, and estuaries. They use their chunky bills to kill and eat large crustaceans along with a great variety of fish, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates. Rarely seen in flight and often hidden amid vegetation, Pied-billed Grebes announce their presence with loud, far-reaching calls." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pied-billed_grebe/id

"Other names of this grebe include American dabchick, dabchick, Carolina grebe, devil-diver, dive-dapper, dipper, hell-diver, pied-billed dabchick, thick-billed grebe, and water witch." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied-billed_grebe

Bird list compiled by our leaders, added mainly to jog my own memory. As always, there were quite a few of these species that I didn't see, for one reason or another.

1. Canada Goose-52
2. Wood Duck-28
3. American Wigeon-6
4. Mallard-20
5. Pied-billed Grebe-2
6. Double-crested Cormorant-13
7. Great Blue Heron-3
8. Osprey-1+
9. Cooper-s Hawk-1
10. Swainson’s Hawk-1
11. Merlin-3+
12. Killdeer-4
13. Ring-billed Gull-12
14. Rock Pigeon-40
15. Belted Kingfisher-1
16. Downy Woodpecker-4
17. Hairy Woodpecker-1
18. Northern Flicker-15
19. Blue Jay-1 heard
20. Black-billed Magpie-4
21. American Crow-2
22. Common Raven-2+
23. Black-capped Chickadee-5
24. Red-breasted Nuthatch-2
25. White-breasted Nuthatch-1
26. Ruby-crowned Kinglet-2
27. House Wren-2
28. American Robin-25
29. European Starling 12
30. Cedar Waxwing-8
31. Yellow Warbler-3
32. Yellow-rumped Warbler-6
33. Wilson’s Warbler-8
34. White-throated Sparrow-1
35. White-crowned Sparrow-8 juv.
36. Red Crossbill-1
37. Pine Siskin-2
38. American Goldfinch-1 heard

The Calgary Zoo is very close to the Sanctuary, so after our morning walk, I decided to call in at the Zoo. I hadn't been for about a year and I really missed going there. Of course, many of the garden flowers were past their prime, but I did find a few that were fit to photograph.

I knew I wouldn't be able to walk far, having already been walking all morning, but I really wanted to get to the ENMAX Conservatory to see what was going on. I had been longing all summer to see the tropical butterflies and plants. The butterfly season is coming to an end for these tropical beauties, but there were still plenty of them to be seen. Also, this month, the parking lot that I use will close for the winter and I don't like the drive back home from the north parking area, using Deerfoot Trail, so tend not to go to the Zoo all winter.

There was so much activity going on at the Zoo two days ago. People everywhere, carrying large animals wrapped in white, protective coverings, preparing for the upcoming ILLUMINASIA, Lantern & Garden Festival. Each animal is an individual lantern and there are so many of them. I noticed several of the real animals in their enclosures were watching all the unaccustomed activity, which made me smile.

A good day, despite the overcast sky, and plenty of photo opportunities. Recently, I have been finding far fewer things to photograph, with fall on its way, so a day like this was more than welcome.