Hooded Merganser male
Yesterday's COLD walk
Final photo from Caroni Swamp, Trinidad
Twice the beauty
On the way to Canmore - seven Swans a-swimming :)
Hooded Merganser male
Common Merganser male
Another Pelican treat
Wood Duck male / Aix sponsa
Wood Duck male / Aix sponsa
Fall colours near the Highwood River
Harlequin Duck male
Day 6, part of Tadoussac, seen from up on the clif…
Day 7 afternoon, Surf Scoters off Tadoussac
Day 7 afternoon, Prince Shoal Lighthouse, off Tado…
Day 7 afternoon, Prince Shoal Lighthouse
Day 7 afternoon, Prince Shoal Lighthouse, near Tad…
Mallard family swimming on the river
American White Pelicans on the Bow River
American White Pelicans on the Bow River
Afternoon trip to the mountains
Kananaskis on a mixed-weather day
Late September in Kananaskis, 2019
The return of the ice pillars
Town of Canmore, Alberta
Yellowlegs
Sheep River Falls, Alberta
Common Merganser family
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
American Dipper / Cinclus mexicanus
American Robin down by the river
Down by the river on a frosty morning
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Across the river
The Heritage tree at Carburn Park
Winter walk at Beaverdam Flats
Winter chill
Heritage tree from 1907, at Carburn Park
Yesterday's walk along the Bow River
Along the Bow River in fall
A joy to see
Sainfoin / Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.
At the start of our climb
Mallard pair at Mallard Point
Bow River, E end of Fish Creek Park
Mountain view
The art of ice
Sunset over Great Falls, US
A view from The Saskatoon Farm
Majestic Castle Mountain
A peaceful litte spot
Beyond the treetops
Reflected beauty
Common Merganser
Wood Duck pair
Mistaya Canyon, Icefields Parkway
View from the Saskatoon Farm
On the edge of insanity
Remembering the beauty of fall
Visitor to the city
LOOK CLOSELY : )
No such thing as a line-up
Pink slopes of the Canyon of the Yellowstone
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park in the rai…
Double-crested Cormorant
Ducks in Yellowstone National Park
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
A sense of mystery on a gloomy, rainy day
Double-crested Cormorants
Takakkaw Falls, Yoho National Park
Yoho's Natural Bridge
Barrow's Goldeneye / Bucephala islandica
Gulls, gulls and more gulls
Patiently waiting for spring
Bow River at Canmore
End of a cold winter's day
Long-tailed Duck
Cool, but cold
Like searching for Waldo
Last one in is a ... chicken?
The beauty of winter
Bands of blue
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Hello, winter
I guess I will be posting a lot of "white" photos from now on, with winter well-settled. I really hope we get plenty of Chinooks, to give us short breaks from brutally cold weather. Some winters we get them, but not always.
All three photos posted today were taken yesterday, 5 November 2017, when I joined a few birding friends for a walk in Carburn Park. Afternoons are usually not the best time of day to see birds so, as usual, we saw far fewer species than the morning groups - 19 species of bird. Though cold, it was a beautiful afternoon to be out in nature. It was cold enough for there to be a few clusters of small ice pillars along the edge of the Bow River - something I always enjoy seeing. There were so many Canada Geese on the river, quite densely packed. Not sure I've ever seen that many before.
Carburn Park is a very popular place for birding in the city, offering water and woodland species. According to eBird, a total of 211 species have been recorded within the park. In comparison, at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary (the top Hot Spot in the city) 252 species have been recorded. In the Weaselhead Natural Area, 227 species have been seen.
We were mobbed by Black-capped Chickadees who followed us along some of the trails. You can always count on seeing a Chickadee - these friendly little birds are so reliable. They are just 24 hours away from death, and need to collect enough fat in order to survive. Such busy little birds. There were about 10 of them yesterday, hanging out with several Downy Woodpeckers. Over the years, I have taken many photos of them, but I so rarely go for walks any more. From now on, I know it will be much harder to make myself put on all my winter layers, including struggling to get ice grippers on to my winter boots, and leave the comfort of my home. The main roads had been cleared, and were very reasonable to drive on yesterday. I do enjoy going for coffee and a chat after these walks.
"The Black-capped Chickadee is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand)." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/id
"The chickadee's unerring spatial memory is remarkable enough, says Colin Saldanha, assistant professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University and an anatomist who has studied songbirds for six years.
But it is what happens inside the tiny songbird's brain that Saldanha finds amazing. In the fall, as the chickadee is gathering and storing seeds, Saldanha says, its hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for spatial organization and memory in many vertebrates, expands in volume by approximately 30 percent by adding new nerve cells. In songbirds, the hippocampus is located on the dorsal surface of the forebrain right beneath the skull. In mammals, the hippocampus is located beneath the cortex.
In the spring, when its feats of memory are needed less, the chickadee's hippocampus shrinks back to its normal size, Saldanha says." From article on ScienceDaily.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030912072156.htm
All three photos posted today were taken yesterday, 5 November 2017, when I joined a few birding friends for a walk in Carburn Park. Afternoons are usually not the best time of day to see birds so, as usual, we saw far fewer species than the morning groups - 19 species of bird. Though cold, it was a beautiful afternoon to be out in nature. It was cold enough for there to be a few clusters of small ice pillars along the edge of the Bow River - something I always enjoy seeing. There were so many Canada Geese on the river, quite densely packed. Not sure I've ever seen that many before.
Carburn Park is a very popular place for birding in the city, offering water and woodland species. According to eBird, a total of 211 species have been recorded within the park. In comparison, at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary (the top Hot Spot in the city) 252 species have been recorded. In the Weaselhead Natural Area, 227 species have been seen.
We were mobbed by Black-capped Chickadees who followed us along some of the trails. You can always count on seeing a Chickadee - these friendly little birds are so reliable. They are just 24 hours away from death, and need to collect enough fat in order to survive. Such busy little birds. There were about 10 of them yesterday, hanging out with several Downy Woodpeckers. Over the years, I have taken many photos of them, but I so rarely go for walks any more. From now on, I know it will be much harder to make myself put on all my winter layers, including struggling to get ice grippers on to my winter boots, and leave the comfort of my home. The main roads had been cleared, and were very reasonable to drive on yesterday. I do enjoy going for coffee and a chat after these walks.
"The Black-capped Chickadee is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand)." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-capped_Chickadee
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/id
"The chickadee's unerring spatial memory is remarkable enough, says Colin Saldanha, assistant professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University and an anatomist who has studied songbirds for six years.
But it is what happens inside the tiny songbird's brain that Saldanha finds amazing. In the fall, as the chickadee is gathering and storing seeds, Saldanha says, its hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for spatial organization and memory in many vertebrates, expands in volume by approximately 30 percent by adding new nerve cells. In songbirds, the hippocampus is located on the dorsal surface of the forebrain right beneath the skull. In mammals, the hippocampus is located beneath the cortex.
In the spring, when its feats of memory are needed less, the chickadee's hippocampus shrinks back to its normal size, Saldanha says." From article on ScienceDaily.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030912072156.htm
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