Willet / Tringa semipalmata

My thoughts continue to be with all the people of Fort McMurray, Alberta, who are being devastated by a massive wildfire at the moment. All 88,000 people were forced to flee the city, many leaving everything behind. Now, much-needed rain and cooler temperatures are helping somewhat. It is still out of control, but slowly moving eastward.

"Monday, May 9, 2016, 7:28 AM - After a week of fighting a devastating wildfire that sent thousands of Fort McMurray residents fleeing, it seems firefighters have been holding the line -- and the weather has actually been cooperative." From The Weather Network.

www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/weather-factoring...
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My plan yesterday, 8 May 2016, was to join friends for an afternoon walk at Carburn Park. Closer to the time, I knew I was going to be late and decided at the last minute that I would instead go for a short drive SE of the city. I knew that I was far more likely to see a few closer birds and get some photo opportunities if I went SE.

I stayed around Frank Lake for most of the time. When I checked the weather forecast before I left, I knew that there was a possibity of rain later on. I totally forgot to check how windy it was going to be, and ended up barely being able to hold my camera steady enough to try and get a few shots. The strong wind was causing mini waves both on the lake itself and also on the very small slough I stopped at, creating a few neat water patterns.

Shorebirds included the always beautiful American Avocet and Black-necked Stilts and a couple of different birds including the one in this photo. I don't see shorebirds very often and I am not good at IDs for them. I'm hoping someone might just see this shot and be able to let me know what species it is. A pair of Killdeer were making a lot of noise, as usual. Saw several kinds of ducks, but they were too far to get any photos worth keeping. I was happy to see a pair of Canvasbacks.

"Piercing calls and distinctive wing markings make the otherwise subdued Willet one of our most conspicuous large shorebirds. Whether in mottled brown breeding plumage or gray winter colors, Willets in flight reveal a bold white and black stripe running the length of each wing. These long-legged, straight-billed shorebirds feed along beaches, mudflats, and rocky shores. Willets are common on most of our coastline—learn to recognize them and they’ll make a useful stepping-stone to identifying other shorebirds." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Willet/id

After Frank Lake, I called in at a slough that used to be so good for shorebirds, only to find that there was not a drop of water left. The whole area was white ground (salt?). So disappointing, as last year I had White-faced Ibis walking just 8 or 10 feet from my car, and I had been longing to go back again this spring! Yesterday, I didn't see any Ibis at all, but someone I was talking to had seen some earlier.

There were so many Yellow-headed Blackbirds - everywhere! They were in quite large groups, flying from fields over the road ahead of me, in fields amongst the stubble, and at one location they were feeding on the ground at the feet of cows.

Just as I was leaving the area to start my drive home, the rain arrived. Greatly needed, though we need a whole lot of precipitation to do any good. Alberta is a tinder box, ready to go up in smoke. In fact, yesterday, I saw on the News that there was a small wildfire in Edmonton.