Last night's snow .... and -29°C (windchill -38°C)
Common Redpoll
Love a Llama
Red barn in winter
Handsome Pine Grosbeak male
On a Christmas Bird Count, -23C
An old dog named Fang
Happy New Year, everyone!
On a brutally cold New Year's Day Count
On a New Year's Day Bird Count
Pretty in the sunshine
A glimpse through the trees
An upside-down kind of life
A rural Christmas
Winter walk in the park
Joy
Townsend's Solitaire / Myadestes townsendi
A most welcome find
Snowy Owl number 5
Two male Snowy Owls in the same field
You never know where you'll see a Snowy Owl
Old barns in winter
Miniature horses in a winter playground
Yesterday's walk in Fish Creek Park
Pine Grosbeak male feeding on berries
A rare glimpse of a Steller's Jay
Pine Grosbeak female or juvenile
Janet and a tiny friend
Yesterday's local walk
Juvenile Northern Goshawk, feeding
Winter beauty
Yesterday's COLD walk
White-tailed Deer through the snow
Curious glance from a Great Horned Owl
Yet another snowstorm
Boreal Chickadee, caught just in time
Hairy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker / Picoides villosus
Old wagon in winter
A beautiful sign of winter
Pine Grosbeak male / Pinicola enucleator
Posting just for the record
Young and innocent
The beauty of winter
Lacy curtain of ice
Red barn in winter
Whites and blues of winter
Better late than never
Country scene in winter
A white world
Sharp-tailed Grouse
A lucky Moose day
Deer on the horizon
The ever-present Black-capped Chickadee
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Old barns in the foothills
What is this?
Rusty and abandoned
Who am I?
Winter's beauty
Plain, but welcome
A view from yesterday
Coyote crossing the frozen Elbow River
Pine Grosbeak female
Mountain Chickadee / Poecile gambeli
Glorious scenery for a Christmas Bird Count!
Pine Grosbeaks
A welcome splash of colour
The fun times are over
Black farm cat
A peaceful winter scene
Popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl, from January 2015
Northern Hawk Owl with woodland bokeh
A distant shot from my archives
False eyes and real eyes
One of my favourite views
Boreal Chickadee
01 Barred Owl
02 Bald Eagle in late afternoon sun
Northern Pygmy-owl
Mountain Chickadee
Always glad to see a Snowy
Lovable Llama
Meadow Vole for a late lunch
Farm cat
Bark patterns on a cut log
Greenish sky beneath a Chinook Arch
Logging piles in the Porcupine Hills
Skull on a fence post
Northern Hawk Owl
Stubble pattern
Cattle drive - and a few old barns and sheds
Old times remembered
A view from the Porcupine Hills
Cattle drive
Entrance to a ranch
Eyes fixed on supper
Guardian of the path
Perch with a good view
Such a beautiful owl
Peacefully waiting
Dreaming of spring
Great Gray Owl from 2013
Quietly watching, always alert
Mountain Chickadee / Poecile gambeli
A highlight of a bird count
Winner with its prey
Winter textures
Northern Hawk Owl
With a little filtered help
The old-fashioned way
Snowy Owl along the fenceline
Lying on a bed of hoarfrost
Northern Hawk Owl
Winter in the Nanton, Alberta, area
A backward glance
Atop a utility pole
Meadow Vole for a tasty snack
Northern Hawk Owl
Non-wild horses in a wild landscape
Two of a family of three
Northern Hawk Owl from 2016
Dark-eyed beauty
Yesterday's treat
The beautiful mountains of Alberta
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Trudging through the snow
All three photos quickly edited and posted this morning were taken the day before yesterday, 27 December 2017, during the Sheep River Christmas Bird Count. I wasn't going to post any images today, as I have another long count day, this time NW of the city. However, I woke up around 4:15 am, 45 mins before my alarm clocks went off, so decided to find some photos to post. Our temperature is -24C (windchill -31C). Supposed to be a very overcast day, unfortunately. More later!
There were six of us (in the group I was in) taking part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Sheep River/Priddis/Turner Valley area. Our time was spent travelling in two cars, driving the back roads SW of the city and calling in at various acreages/ farms. Thanks so much, Joe and Dave, for being the two drivers. This was so much appreciated! With brutally cold temperatures for days, and wind chills plunging to as low as -37C if not more, and lots of snow, we were thankful that only part of the day was spent out of the car! Last night, we had more snow, so I needed to clear off my car before today's Bird Count way north of the city. Another three or four days of this bitter weather and things are forecast to warm up, thank goodness.
I took part in this Count for 2015 and 2016, but had missed it for a few years before that. I believe I had only ever done it twice before that, a few years ago (December 2007 and December 30, 2008). This time, like last year, our area was in the centre of the count circle and I'm so glad I decided to go again.
A great stop was at Rod Handfield's place. Some of us go there very occasionally on botany trips and he always has the best mushrooms and other fungi growing in his forest in the fall. Rod and his wife have such a beautiful cabin there. Rod is always so wonderfully hospitable, and he had driven out to the cabin and had delicious coffee and baked goods ready for us! This was so much appreciated and enjoyed, and I know that I, for one, felt re-energized after this treat and being able to warm up in his home. As always, many thanks, Rod!
We met with nothing but pleasant landowners, so willing to allow us to wander their properties. One of them, Doug J, had the highlight of the day for us - a Steller's Jay! The status of the Steller's Jay in Alberta is "locally uncommon year-round". They are spotted most often in the Rocky Mountains. Waterton Lakes National Park seems to be the best area for these stunning birds.
Another welcome sighting was a group of 10 Wild Turkeys at a location where we have previously seen them. Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls helped make the day enjoyable, too, along with the 'regulars', including Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Canada Geese, and three types of Chickadee. Everything seen in such spectacular scenery, too. I love this whole area and, thankfully, it is an area that I can drive to myself - but not in winter! Needless to say, I know I am very lucky. By the way, we briefly stopped and looked down a hill to see one of the 'sets' for the TV series, "Heartland". This is a real-life farm, including the big, red barn. This is a family drama on CBC TV about a family dealing with the highs and lows of life on a horse ranch in the stunning the foothills of Alberta. I don't watch it often, but when I do, I love it, seeing the countryside so close to home. They use the old, red barn for some of the scenes, plus a replica of the barn's inside in a studio. Heartland is the longest running hour-long drama in Canadian television history, and is syndicated to countries around the world.
A short Blog article by one of the sons raised in real life on this farm that is used in Heartland:
www.cbc.ca/heartland/blog/a-bit-of-real-history-of-the-he...
youtu.be/7LEvpS4zd2E
There were six of us (in the group I was in) taking part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Sheep River/Priddis/Turner Valley area. Our time was spent travelling in two cars, driving the back roads SW of the city and calling in at various acreages/ farms. Thanks so much, Joe and Dave, for being the two drivers. This was so much appreciated! With brutally cold temperatures for days, and wind chills plunging to as low as -37C if not more, and lots of snow, we were thankful that only part of the day was spent out of the car! Last night, we had more snow, so I needed to clear off my car before today's Bird Count way north of the city. Another three or four days of this bitter weather and things are forecast to warm up, thank goodness.
I took part in this Count for 2015 and 2016, but had missed it for a few years before that. I believe I had only ever done it twice before that, a few years ago (December 2007 and December 30, 2008). This time, like last year, our area was in the centre of the count circle and I'm so glad I decided to go again.
A great stop was at Rod Handfield's place. Some of us go there very occasionally on botany trips and he always has the best mushrooms and other fungi growing in his forest in the fall. Rod and his wife have such a beautiful cabin there. Rod is always so wonderfully hospitable, and he had driven out to the cabin and had delicious coffee and baked goods ready for us! This was so much appreciated and enjoyed, and I know that I, for one, felt re-energized after this treat and being able to warm up in his home. As always, many thanks, Rod!
We met with nothing but pleasant landowners, so willing to allow us to wander their properties. One of them, Doug J, had the highlight of the day for us - a Steller's Jay! The status of the Steller's Jay in Alberta is "locally uncommon year-round". They are spotted most often in the Rocky Mountains. Waterton Lakes National Park seems to be the best area for these stunning birds.
Another welcome sighting was a group of 10 Wild Turkeys at a location where we have previously seen them. Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls helped make the day enjoyable, too, along with the 'regulars', including Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Canada Geese, and three types of Chickadee. Everything seen in such spectacular scenery, too. I love this whole area and, thankfully, it is an area that I can drive to myself - but not in winter! Needless to say, I know I am very lucky. By the way, we briefly stopped and looked down a hill to see one of the 'sets' for the TV series, "Heartland". This is a real-life farm, including the big, red barn. This is a family drama on CBC TV about a family dealing with the highs and lows of life on a horse ranch in the stunning the foothills of Alberta. I don't watch it often, but when I do, I love it, seeing the countryside so close to home. They use the old, red barn for some of the scenes, plus a replica of the barn's inside in a studio. Heartland is the longest running hour-long drama in Canadian television history, and is syndicated to countries around the world.
A short Blog article by one of the sons raised in real life on this farm that is used in Heartland:
www.cbc.ca/heartland/blog/a-bit-of-real-history-of-the-he...
youtu.be/7LEvpS4zd2E
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