Once was home
Ferruginous Hawk / Buteo regalis
Eared Grebes in their mating dance
Pretty in pink
A new addition
Glorious Canola
Ruddy Duck male
Black-crowned Night-heron
American Coot
American Coot
Vesper Sparrow
Impressive creature
Enjoying a good meal
Ferruginous Hawk
A classic light/intermediate-morph adult Swainson'…
Swainson's Hawk juvenile
Mourning Dove - love the blue eye-ring
Me and my dad
Butterfly on Joe Pye Weed
Swainson's Hawk / Buteo swainsoni
Pink (African?) Daisies
Artichoke in bloom
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Halloween!
Farm cat, High River Christmas Bird Count
Searching for a Great Horned Owl - with permission
Red barn, High River Christmas Bird Count
A 'new' barn
Another see-through barn
Helmeted Guineafowl
Prairie winter
Farmyard friends
Wide open spaces
A face only a mother could love
Juvenile Swainson's Hawk / Buteo swainsoni
Blossom on red
Farm dog
What insect is this (on my car)? Mosquito sp.?
Richardson's Ground Squirrel / Urocitellus richard…
Young Richardson's Ground Squirrel / Urocitellus r…
Eared Grebe / Podiceps nigricollis
Yellow-headed Blackbird / Xanthocephalus xanthocep…
Frank Lake bird blind
Yellow-headed Blackbird / Xanthocephalus xanthocep…
Eared Grebe / Podiceps nigricollis
Barn Swallow / Hirundo rustica
Storm clouds moving in
Eared Grebe with baby
Storm clouds in the direction of home
Barn Swallow with feather for its nest
Coot juvenile
Coot baby following in Mom's footsteps
Eared Grebe baby
Eared Grebe & baby
Old, red barn
Golden Eagle!
Swainson's Hawk, immature
The yellow has bloomed!
Colour for an overcast day
Old and rusty tractor
A great use for old teapots
The far side of the river valley
Bright and beautiful
Yellow-headed Blackbird / Xanthocephalus xanthocep…
Little country church, Carmangay
Milk Thistle, I believe
Little angel
Almost missed, but gratefully seen
They call this spring?
Standing up well
Western Meadowlark
The challenges of being a birder
One of yesterday's Great Horned Owls
Old country church
Ruddy Duck from the archives
Cute little thing
Little country church
Cat at the Saskatoon Farm
Before winter arrived
Barn of an unusual shape
Old and the new
An old, abandoned Chevrolet
Common Redpoll in falling snow
The end of an Artichoke
Rural decay
The final stage of an Artichoke
Not quite Santa's reindeer
Beautiful and, oh, so cute
Snow-capped
Always a treat
Common Redpoll with an orange spot
Hungry Moose
King of silos
The birding blind at Frank Lake
Feeding frenzy - is the top right bird a Hoary Red…
A welcome addition to our Christmas Bird Count
In search of an owl - with permission
Birders on an Audubon Christmas Bird Count
Common Redpoll
Here comes the snow
Unexpected, and very welcome, Moose
The difference four days make
Farm cat
Under a Chinook arch
Handsome Mulie buck
A sunrise sky that lasted till sunset
"Just" a little House Sparrow
Fine old house
Little country church
Looking across the prairie
Before the next snowfall
One of my favourite barns
Handsome - Norwegian Fjord Horse?
Rural decay on the prairie
Old country church
House Sparrow at the Saskatoon Farm
Modern barn
Memories of colour
Behind the tangled branches
Down on the farm
Old, see-through barn
Before "winter" arrived
Weathered wood
Old house on the prairie
Beyond repair
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183 visits
Western Grebes paired up
A couple of days ago, I was so torn as to whether or not to accept an invite from my friend, Pam, to take a drive SE of the city. I really, really wanted to go, even more so as I have barely been out for ages. However, I am running out of time to get certain things done, and also I was concerned that if I slightly moved in a 'wrong' way, my knees would give way or my rotator cuffs and lower back would become even more painful. Not what I need, especially right now. In the end, I decided that, yes, I would go after all, and I am so glad that I made that decision.
We started off at Frank Lake, a place that is very familiar to both of us. We knew that Grebes were being seen and we both hoped they would be there yesterday morning. This pair of Western Grebes were so far away, but the little Nikon B700 zoomed in well, even though the photo is far from sharp and detailed. Much, much closer than with my old, much loved Panasonic FZ200. In fact, I gave up using the FZ200 and just kept my fingers crossed that the new B700 would give me at least a few photos that were good enough to keep. I am still having the problem of image shift on some of the shots - photo jumps upward, downward or to one side, cutting off parts of birds and resulting in ridiculous compositions. At Frank Lake, I could rest both elbows on a very sturdy window ledge, making it impossible for normal, self-created camera shake to happen. Image shift still happened with some of the photos.
I think I only have one previous photo of a Western Grebe on my photostream. I don't see them very often and when I do, they are so far away.
Anyway, we were very fortunate that this pair of Western Grebes was visible, even if very distant. We watched as they did a bit of their mating dance, including when each bird gathered a beak full of wet, rotting plant material and went face to face in an amorous gesture. These birds also swam off separately, giving us a few chances for further shots. Still at the blind, we were so lucky when a pair of Eared Grebes came close enough to capture a shot or two of their mating dance. Not the best shots at this location, but certainly better than nothing. The Yellow-headed Blackbird in the next photo was also seen at this location.
By the way, the blind is surrounded by lake and flood water! Parts of the boardwalk were under 5" or 6" of water, through which we had to wade. If you do go, make sure you concentrate, or you might find yourself swimming in the lake!
Elsewhere in the whole SE area, there was a lot of water in some of the fields, creating what I suspect will turn out to be only temporary sloughs.
A few of the other birds we saw yesterday at various places included a few dozen Swans; plenty of Northern Shovelers; several Western Meadowlarks; a Great Horned Owl and her little white, fuzzy owlet, sitting on a distant nest; and a Ferruginous Hawk female lying down in her nest. Of course, the usual suspects included Canada Geese, Mallards, and so on.
When it came time to leave Frank Lake, I had assumed we would then start on the drive back to the city. Instead, Pam surprised me by saying that we would go further south - and further south we definitely went! Made such a great day. Thanks so much, Pam, for this treat - greatly appreciated.
We started off at Frank Lake, a place that is very familiar to both of us. We knew that Grebes were being seen and we both hoped they would be there yesterday morning. This pair of Western Grebes were so far away, but the little Nikon B700 zoomed in well, even though the photo is far from sharp and detailed. Much, much closer than with my old, much loved Panasonic FZ200. In fact, I gave up using the FZ200 and just kept my fingers crossed that the new B700 would give me at least a few photos that were good enough to keep. I am still having the problem of image shift on some of the shots - photo jumps upward, downward or to one side, cutting off parts of birds and resulting in ridiculous compositions. At Frank Lake, I could rest both elbows on a very sturdy window ledge, making it impossible for normal, self-created camera shake to happen. Image shift still happened with some of the photos.
I think I only have one previous photo of a Western Grebe on my photostream. I don't see them very often and when I do, they are so far away.
Anyway, we were very fortunate that this pair of Western Grebes was visible, even if very distant. We watched as they did a bit of their mating dance, including when each bird gathered a beak full of wet, rotting plant material and went face to face in an amorous gesture. These birds also swam off separately, giving us a few chances for further shots. Still at the blind, we were so lucky when a pair of Eared Grebes came close enough to capture a shot or two of their mating dance. Not the best shots at this location, but certainly better than nothing. The Yellow-headed Blackbird in the next photo was also seen at this location.
By the way, the blind is surrounded by lake and flood water! Parts of the boardwalk were under 5" or 6" of water, through which we had to wade. If you do go, make sure you concentrate, or you might find yourself swimming in the lake!
Elsewhere in the whole SE area, there was a lot of water in some of the fields, creating what I suspect will turn out to be only temporary sloughs.
A few of the other birds we saw yesterday at various places included a few dozen Swans; plenty of Northern Shovelers; several Western Meadowlarks; a Great Horned Owl and her little white, fuzzy owlet, sitting on a distant nest; and a Ferruginous Hawk female lying down in her nest. Of course, the usual suspects included Canada Geese, Mallards, and so on.
When it came time to leave Frank Lake, I had assumed we would then start on the drive back to the city. Instead, Pam surprised me by saying that we would go further south - and further south we definitely went! Made such a great day. Thanks so much, Pam, for this treat - greatly appreciated.
Fred Fouarge, Pam J have particularly liked this photo
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