Food for his babies

R.I.P. Prince - a sad loss to the world of music and philanthropy.

This morning, 21 April 2016, I needed a bright, cheery photo, not because the sun isn't shining, but for a totally different reason. My daughter was out with her Dad (in his car) yesterday, when they were rear-ended by a large truck. Insurance has said that the car is a write-off. Both seem to be OK - the blown-out back window and crumpling of the whole of the back of the car maybe acted as a shock-absorber. This is the last thing my daughter needed, as she has been through a lot the last 15 months, ever since her sister died. She has been in a lot of pain, twice in hospital (the second time for surgery), now waiting for major surgery. She and I haven't been outside Calgary together for a few months because she has to avoid any bumpy roads. She also had to move to a new place the other week. And now this! Apparently, they were stopped at a pedestrian crosswalk to allow an elderly man to cross the road. The truck driver said he was ON HIS BLUETOOTH and had looked down for TWO SECONDS!! People, DON'T use your cellphone or GPS or whatever when you are DRIVING! Makes me so mad.

Distracted Driving Law in Effect - NEW

Effective January 1, 2016 the penalty for distracted driving in Alberta will be a $287 fine and three demerit points. Any charges or convictions laid before January 1, 2016 will result in a $287 fine but no demerit points (regardless of whether the ticket is paid before or after January 1).

The law applies to all motor vehicles as defined by the Traffic Safety Act. It restricts drivers from:

using hand-held cell phones
texting or e-mailing (even when stopped at red lights)
using electronic devices like laptop computers, video games, cameras, video entertainment displays and programming portable audio players (e.g., MP3 players)
entering information on GPS units
reading printed materials in the vehicle
writing, printing or sketching
personal grooming (brushing and flossing teeth, putting on makeup, curling hair, clipping nails or shaving)
The law applies to all roads in Alberta.

Needless to say, many people are completely ignoring the above - and getting away with it!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A photo from my archives - 6 June 2015. On that day, my place was beginning to get uncomfortably warm inside. That meant I needed air-conditioning and the only place to find it was in my car. So, off I went along the backroads SW of the city. I wasn't expecting to see anything different, but there were certain birds that I was certain I would see - birds that I really enjoy photographing. This drive is just a fairly short drive and fits nicely into an afternoon or early evening. So far, this year, I have only seen a handful of Bluebirds and they have all been a long way off.

The "usual" included Mountain Bluebirds, and this male obliged, bringing food for his babies. It seemed that Dad would bring the larger, heavier insects, especially Grasshoppers, while Mom tended to choose lighter, more delicate ones. Funny how the nearby Tree Swallows would sometimes "tease" their Bluebird neighbours by flying and landing very near the Bluebird nesting box. Out of nowhere, the brilliant flash of blue of the male flew at top speed to chase the Tree Swallows away. On this particular day, I noticed the female Bluebird landed just a couple of feet from the Tree Swallow nesting box and just sat there with a Swallow on either side of her. No idea why she did this, as it annoyed the Swallows, and of course she was chased away.

In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays."

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id

www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...

Other sightings on my drive included the usual Tree Swallows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Black Terns, a pair of Cinnamon Teal glowing in the bright sunlight, a distant Coot feeding her little ones, a Pied-billed Grebe who was annoying an adult Coot who kept racing across the top of the water to chase the Grebe further away. My final sighting was a Coyote in a field of Dandelions. By the time I had pulled over and raised my camera, it was already heading off in the opposite direction, stopping once to look back, as Coyotes tend to do.

I almost forgot to mention the highlight of my drive! Not far from home, I noticed a Canada Goose in the distance, standing in the grasses right at the edge of the road. I thought it might just step out in front of me, so I stopped in my lane and turned on my hazard flashers. Sure enough, it did exactly what I was suspecting - and it was followed by its family of half a dozen or so goslings walking in a very disciplined single file, with Mom/Dad bringing up the rear. Fortunately, the cars coming behind me in the other lane also slowed down and stopped till everyone was safely to the other side. May sound silly, but I find it such an amazing, humbling experience when this happens : )