European Starling / Sturnus vulgaris
Common Redpoll
Great Gray Owl
Glaucous Gull / Larus hyperboreus
Winter's artwork
Crested Oropendola, Trinidad
One of two Coyotes
Sleepy Great Horned Owl
Violaceous Euphonia / Euphonia violacea
New birding blind in a local park
Black-capped Chickadee
Purple Honeycreeper male, Trinidad
Red-breasted Meadowlark / Sturnella militaris, Tri…
Tropical plant, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Green Honeycreeper male, Trinidad
Agouti, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Donkey guardians of the old schoolhouse
Evening Grosbeak male
When the world turns white
Shoo-fly / Nicandra physalodes
Ruddy Turnstone, Tobago
White-lined Tanager, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Bear Grass, Waterton Lakes National Park
Crested Oropendola, Trinidad
Palm Tanager, Trinidad
Purple Honeycreeper male, Trinidad
Pileated Woodpecker
Tropical pink, Trinidad
On the way to Canmore - seven Swans a-swimming :)
Buffalo mural in Exshaw
A quick glimpse of a Long-tailed Weasel
Great Gray Owl
Winter beauty
Red Fox (just for the record)
Yesterday's drive-by barn
Iceland Gull (formerly Thayer's Gull) juvenile (lo…
Gray Partridge
Twice the beauty
Bighorn Sheep mom and youngster
Pileated Woodpecker seen in Canmore
Far, far away
Stay away - this is MY food!
Yesterday's fog
Great Gray Owl on the hunt
Rough-legged Hawk
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Burrowing owl in the wild
Happy Easter weekend to everyone who celebrates!
We are under another weather alert today, 30 March 2018. "A low pressure system developing over southern Alberta this morning will bring snowfall across much of southern Alberta. Generally areas south and east of Calgary, including Calgary itself, can expect to see anywhere from 5 to 10 cm of snow by late this evening." Our temperature just after noon is -11C (windchilll -20C) - and they call this 'spring'?
There are 47 images in my Burrowing Owl album - this photo shows one of the first and only Burrowing Owls that I have ever been fortunate enough to see in the wild. To say that it was a thrill is an understatement! The photo was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm, and it was very windy, just before a dreadful storm (mesocyclone) moved in.
These endangered owls are tiny and so difficult to see, especially when they are down in the grasses. They are a true delight when or if they are seen on a fence post, so that the whole of the bird can be seen, not just a bright yellow eye peering out between the blades of grass. We saw two different individuals, possibly three, and for a brief moment both were perched on distant fence posts at the same time. Most of the time, though, they were mainly hidden in the grass. Such a great pity that this is an endangered species!
Without the help of two friends who helped us know where we might find these birds, and the two friends who invited me to go with them on a wonderful three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, I would never have had this amazing sighting. For years, I had longed to see a wild Burrowing Owl, but never thought it would actually happen! We were SO grateful for the help we received!
During our three days away, my two friends and I saw so many things, including breathtaking scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer (including several that we saw in the town of Waterton (where we stayed for two nights at the clean and friendly Bear Mountain Motel), Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including a family of Dusky Grouse that are uncommon to the park, a few wildflowers, and a few different insect species. I was so happy to see Yellow-bellied Marmots when we drove way east of the park and a bit later in the day, all three of us were so thrilled to find our very first two (possibly three) endangered Burrowing Owls. I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators.
Oh, and we got caught in a storm like nothing we'd ever seen before. An enormous storm cloud moved in. It was like nothing I had ever seen before - a menacing shelf cloud that was travelling fast and furious. Despite trying our best to out-drive it, it eventually engulfed our car, surrounding us with more or less zero visibility, pounding hail, thunder and lightning. There was nothing to do but stop the car and sit tight, hoping that the hail would not break the car windows and that this severe storm would not develop into a tornado! This storm was very scary, but at the same time, exciting at first (only because all turned out OK in the end!). Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Someone from the Alberta Tornado Watch told me that this particular storm was a Mesocyclone.
We are under another weather alert today, 30 March 2018. "A low pressure system developing over southern Alberta this morning will bring snowfall across much of southern Alberta. Generally areas south and east of Calgary, including Calgary itself, can expect to see anywhere from 5 to 10 cm of snow by late this evening." Our temperature just after noon is -11C (windchilll -20C) - and they call this 'spring'?
There are 47 images in my Burrowing Owl album - this photo shows one of the first and only Burrowing Owls that I have ever been fortunate enough to see in the wild. To say that it was a thrill is an understatement! The photo was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm, and it was very windy, just before a dreadful storm (mesocyclone) moved in.
These endangered owls are tiny and so difficult to see, especially when they are down in the grasses. They are a true delight when or if they are seen on a fence post, so that the whole of the bird can be seen, not just a bright yellow eye peering out between the blades of grass. We saw two different individuals, possibly three, and for a brief moment both were perched on distant fence posts at the same time. Most of the time, though, they were mainly hidden in the grass. Such a great pity that this is an endangered species!
Without the help of two friends who helped us know where we might find these birds, and the two friends who invited me to go with them on a wonderful three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, I would never have had this amazing sighting. For years, I had longed to see a wild Burrowing Owl, but never thought it would actually happen! We were SO grateful for the help we received!
During our three days away, my two friends and I saw so many things, including breathtaking scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer (including several that we saw in the town of Waterton (where we stayed for two nights at the clean and friendly Bear Mountain Motel), Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including a family of Dusky Grouse that are uncommon to the park, a few wildflowers, and a few different insect species. I was so happy to see Yellow-bellied Marmots when we drove way east of the park and a bit later in the day, all three of us were so thrilled to find our very first two (possibly three) endangered Burrowing Owls. I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators.
Oh, and we got caught in a storm like nothing we'd ever seen before. An enormous storm cloud moved in. It was like nothing I had ever seen before - a menacing shelf cloud that was travelling fast and furious. Despite trying our best to out-drive it, it eventually engulfed our car, surrounding us with more or less zero visibility, pounding hail, thunder and lightning. There was nothing to do but stop the car and sit tight, hoping that the hail would not break the car windows and that this severe storm would not develop into a tornado! This storm was very scary, but at the same time, exciting at first (only because all turned out OK in the end!). Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Someone from the Alberta Tornado Watch told me that this particular storm was a Mesocyclone.
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