Crested Wheatgrass / Agropyron cristatum

On 16 August 2015, I went with a group of friends to Carburn Park to look for Warblers, and several species were seen by at least some of the group. Group size was much too large even after splitting in half, but I think everyone was so thankful that it wasn't raining, unlike the previous day of heavy rain, that they came out to enjoy the sunshine. I enjoyed seeing a Merlin, a number of Double-crested Cormorants, and several Pelicans that flew overhead. Without binoculars, I didn't really see any of the Warblers, except for a quick glimpse of one Yellow-rumped Warbler.

As you can see from this photo, my eyes were not always looking upwards : ) On any birding walk, I'm always looking around me to see what else there is to photograph. We tend to walk on such uneven ground, that my eyes are mostly downwards anyway, making sure I don't catch my foot in a hole or go flying over a fallen branch or log.

'Introduced from Eurasia. Abundant. Each plant has thousands of fibrous roots extending to depths of 4m, totalling in excess of 5km, depriving native plants of moisture and ultimately nutrients; a serious threat to our native biodiversity. Stems, densely tufted, 3-4dm tall. Leaves, blades, 2-4mm wide. Flowers, spike oblong-oval; arranged in flattened comb-like cluster, 4-7cm long, 1.5-2.5cm broad; ......... Habitat: roadsides, disturbed areas." From talkaboutwildlife.ca.

"In Alberta, Crested wheatgrass is an extremely competitive grass species that has the ability to out compete many of our native grass species, and as such is threatening the biodiversity of our prairie ecosystem."

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