Sharp-tailed Grouse
Winter Dreams are Coming True
Winter Dreams #2
Mailbox or birdhouse?
snow fence
snow kitten
snow kitten-2
snow kitten
H.F.F. - Winter Dreams #3
Winter Dreams #4
Winter Dreams #5: Nightmare for Drivers
Winter in Kananaskis
Küchwaldring
Kosmonautenzentrum
Baumallee im Küchwald
Küchwaldwiese im Winter
Pforte an der Schloßkirche - HFF
Chemnitzer Schloßkirche
Cold feet
Good Morning with EGON *)
Dumping the Snow
Let it Flow
Break of Dawn
Main Square
Shops Awakening
Cafeterias Opening
Balcony Closed
Guardian Watching
Caps Growing
Down by the river on a frosty morning
A Great Deal Too Much
Neighbourly Help
Jazzing up the old silos - with Pacman
More Milly and snow (2010)
Milly and snow collage (2010)
Barn with a mural
Our beautiful Alberta
La mia vista quotididiana/2
Alzasca lake, 1855 m. - A world of silence
White beauty
Blick vom Inselsberg. 201601
Colour for winter
mom's tree
Winter walking
From My Balcony
A splash of colour on a snowy day
winter
Pavia
New Year's Day Bird Count
A well looked after barn
closing out 2016
cleaning up, post-storm
Merry Christmas, boys!
the ski trails are open
packing down the ski trails
Snowing outside
A beautiful start to a day
Guten Rutsch! **)
Balloon Glow
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130 visits
Northern Shrike / Lanius excubitor
Yes, a very, very distant shot of this Northern Shrike - adding it so that I can post it as record of the sighting on the Nanton Christmas Bird Count.
"A predatory songbird, the Northern Shrike breeds in taiga and tundra and winters in southern Canada and the northern United States. It feeds on small birds, mammals, and insects, sometimes impaling them on spines or barbed wire fences." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shrike/id
Some years, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton is held late in December. Other years, it ends up being held early January, sometimes delayed because of really bad weather. The Count for 2016 was held on 30 December. Nanton is roughly 98 km / 61 miles S of Calgary.
We drove through such beautiful scenery when we were covering the SW quadrant of the Christmas Bird Count circle that centered on the town of Nanton. A landscape over which the occasional Golden Eagle soars and in which, some years, numerous Sharp-tailed Grouse wander on the ground or perch in trees. Unfortunately, Sharp-tailed Grouse numbers are dwindling in Alberta.
Actually, there are not many chances to take photos of birds on many of these Counts, but those of you who know me well know that I love taking scenic shots, old barns, and anything else beautiful and/or interesting.
Last year, the highlight for me was seeing Pine Grosbeaks nice and close. This Count, I think the highlights were the stunning winter scenery, and a Great Horned Owl. A close Sharp-tailed Grouse was also a treat. Exactly like on the Count two years ago (2014), there was a Grouse just where we pulled into the same farmyard.
I absolutely love this area SW of Nanton! Some of these backroads are extremely steep and almost look vertical when seen from a distance. Some years, the whole area is white, covered in deep snow, so that you can't tell where the roadside ends and the ditch begins. This Count, it wasn't too bad, thank goodness, though I might have felt differently if I had been one of the two drivers for our group of 7 people (in two cars)!
After driving (being driven, for me, which is always pure luxury) the backroads from about 8:00 a.m. till around 3:30 p.m., we returned to the wonderful home of the Truch family. Not only do Bill and Leah Truch and their son, Mike, always welcome everyone with open arms, they also provide a much-appreciated breakfast snack for us and then, at the end of the day, a delicious supper. Have to say that I love travelling these scenic backroads (though I've never driven them myself), but I also really enjoy getting together with everyone afterwards. This is one of my favourite Bird Counts, and perhaps the most favourite.
Thanks so much for doing all the driving, Tony and Andrew, and thanks, Leah, Bill and Mike for all the effort and time you put into your wonderfully warm welcome! It was another well-organized Count, Mike, as usual - thank you!
I will add Andrew Hart's eBird report for this trip, in a comment box below.
"A predatory songbird, the Northern Shrike breeds in taiga and tundra and winters in southern Canada and the northern United States. It feeds on small birds, mammals, and insects, sometimes impaling them on spines or barbed wire fences." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shrike/id
Some years, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the town of Nanton is held late in December. Other years, it ends up being held early January, sometimes delayed because of really bad weather. The Count for 2016 was held on 30 December. Nanton is roughly 98 km / 61 miles S of Calgary.
We drove through such beautiful scenery when we were covering the SW quadrant of the Christmas Bird Count circle that centered on the town of Nanton. A landscape over which the occasional Golden Eagle soars and in which, some years, numerous Sharp-tailed Grouse wander on the ground or perch in trees. Unfortunately, Sharp-tailed Grouse numbers are dwindling in Alberta.
Actually, there are not many chances to take photos of birds on many of these Counts, but those of you who know me well know that I love taking scenic shots, old barns, and anything else beautiful and/or interesting.
Last year, the highlight for me was seeing Pine Grosbeaks nice and close. This Count, I think the highlights were the stunning winter scenery, and a Great Horned Owl. A close Sharp-tailed Grouse was also a treat. Exactly like on the Count two years ago (2014), there was a Grouse just where we pulled into the same farmyard.
I absolutely love this area SW of Nanton! Some of these backroads are extremely steep and almost look vertical when seen from a distance. Some years, the whole area is white, covered in deep snow, so that you can't tell where the roadside ends and the ditch begins. This Count, it wasn't too bad, thank goodness, though I might have felt differently if I had been one of the two drivers for our group of 7 people (in two cars)!
After driving (being driven, for me, which is always pure luxury) the backroads from about 8:00 a.m. till around 3:30 p.m., we returned to the wonderful home of the Truch family. Not only do Bill and Leah Truch and their son, Mike, always welcome everyone with open arms, they also provide a much-appreciated breakfast snack for us and then, at the end of the day, a delicious supper. Have to say that I love travelling these scenic backroads (though I've never driven them myself), but I also really enjoy getting together with everyone afterwards. This is one of my favourite Bird Counts, and perhaps the most favourite.
Thanks so much for doing all the driving, Tony and Andrew, and thanks, Leah, Bill and Mike for all the effort and time you put into your wonderfully warm welcome! It was another well-organized Count, Mike, as usual - thank you!
I will add Andrew Hart's eBird report for this trip, in a comment box below.
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Number of Checklists: 3
Number of Taxa: 19
Checklists included in this summary:
(1): Williams Coulee Road
Date: Dec 30, 2016, 8:45 AM
(2): Nanton general area
Date: Dec 30, 2016, 9:04 AM
(3): Nanton - Bear Trap Feedlot
Date: Dec 30, 2016, 12:38 PM
25 Sharp-tailed Grouse -- (1),(2),(3)
4 Golden Eagle -- (1),(2)
6 Bald Eagle -- (2),(3)
4 Rough-legged Hawk -- (1),(2)
209 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) -- (2),(3)
4 Eurasian Collared-Dove -- (2)
1 Great Horned Owl -- (1)
1 Downy Woodpecker -- (1)
5 Northern Flicker -- (1),(2)
2 Northern Shrike -- (2)
27 Black-billed Magpie -- (1),(2),(3)
31 Common Raven -- (1),(2),(3)
27 Black-capped Chickadee -- (1),(2)
4 European Starling -- (3)
7 American Tree Sparrow -- (2)
1 Dark-eyed Junco -- (2)
18 Common Redpoll -- (1),(2)
1 Hoary Redpoll -- (2)
44 House Sparrow -- (1),(2)
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