Hibiscus beauty
Calgary's special guests
Common Raven at Bow Lake
Black Bear seen from the bus
Bow Lake on a cloudy day
Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Rondeau PP
Resting on a window
Chameleon
Glorious Canola
Ruddy Duck male
Himalayan monal / Lophophorus impejanus male
Invasive Yellow Clematis
Botanizing Beagles - Ben and Maggie
Baneberry, white berries
Baneberry, red berries
Magpie Inky Cap / Coprinus picaceus?
Magpie Inky Cap / Coprinus picaceus?
Once-married Underwing / Catocala unijuga, left fr…
Puffballs / Calvatia sp.
Himalayan Monal female
Succulent beauty
Cracker sp.
Between the cracks
Common Wood-Nymph / Cercyonis pegala
Hollyhock
Pine Siskin
Spruce Grouse / Falcipennis canadensis
Fungi on a log
Beginning to look like fall
Most likely a Ground Pholiota / Pholiota terrestri…
Let the light shine in
Onnia triquetra (??) and Blue Stain
Common Nighthawk / Chordeiles minor - threatened s…
Me and my dad
I LOVE owls - in case you didn't know : )
The painted cow - "Some enchanted evening"
Globe Thistle / Echinops ritro
How dare you take a photo of me looking like this?
Sleepy Barn Owl
Common Nighthawk / Chordeiles minor - threatened s…
Butterfly on Joe Pye Weed
Pink (African?) Daisies
Artichoke in bloom
Pink Showy Cinquefoil
Old and weathered
Fun to spend time with
Mushrooms galore
Fall colours near the Highwood River
Happy Gobble Gobble weekend!
Happy Thanksgivng, everyone!
Snow Leopard / Panthera uncia
Red Panda / Ailurus fulgens
Heading into the mountains
Harlequin Duck / Histrionicus histrionicus
Early fall, looking (and feeling) like winter
Trillium, Day 2, Rondeau PP, Ontario
White-breasted Nuthatch, Day 2, Rondeau PP, Ontari…
Day 2, Common Five-lined Skink barn, Rondeau PP
Day 2, Five-lined Skink barn, Rondeau PP
Day 2, reflected 'Geese', Rondeau PP
Day 2, mating snakes, Rondeau PP
Day 2, mating snakes, Rondeau PP
Day 2, Tree Swallow, Rondeau PP
Love an old, red barn
American Goldfinch male
Cedar Waxwing / Bombycilla cedrorum
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel munching on Yellow…
Purple Martin in its gourd nest box
Purple Martin, Ellis Bird Farm, Alberta
Wildflowers at Peyto Lake
Disappearing
Lichen at Peyto Lake
Black Bear seen through the bus window
Beautiful Peyto Lake
Yellow Penstemon with wildflower bokeh
Friends at Bow Lake
On the way home from Cartwright bio-blitz
On the way home from Cartwrights' land
Great Orange Tip / Hebomoia glaucippe
Western Wood Lily
The start of a great day
Happy Canada Day
Swainson's Hawk take-off
Blue Himalayan Poppy
Bow Lake
Clark's Nutcracker / Nucifraga columbiana
Bow Lake, Alberta
Orange Peel Fungus, Peyto Lake
American Wigeon
Blue Flax / Linum lewisii
Sparrow's-egg Orchid / Cypripedium passerinum
A favourite view, Waterton Lakes National Park
Prince of Wales Hotel, Waterton
Tall grass, Pt Pelee - Phragmites
Fungus (Dryad's Saddle?), Pt Pelee, Ontario
Yellow Lady's-slipper / Cypripedium parviflorum
Great Horned Owlet
Great Horned Owlet
Wolf Willow / Elaeagnus commutata
At the base of a tree, Pt Pelee, Ontario
Dutchman's Breeches / Dicentra cucullaria, Pt Pele…
Dutchman's Breeches, Pt Pelee, Ontario
Wilson's Snipe
Beauty
Killdeer nest
The beauty of iridescence
A new addition
Pretty in pink
That's quite the nest, at Pt Pelee, Ontario
Dutchman's Breeches, Pt Pelee
Small, sleepy Bat, Pt Pelee, Ontario
Daffodils growing wild, Pt Pelee
The ubiquitous American Robin, Pt Pelee
The Tip, Pt Pelee, Ontario
Birders at The Tip, Pt Pelee, Ontario
Trillium
Watching the waves at The Tip, Pt Pelee, Ontario,…
Baltimore Oriole, The Tip, Pt Pelee, Ontario
Wild Turkey, Pt Pelee, Ontario
Ferruginous Hawk / Buteo regalis
Once was home
Yellow-headed Blackbird / Xanthocephalus xanthocep…
Purple Honeycreeper male, Trinidad
Masked Cardinal, Caroni Swamp, Trinidad
Mountain Bluebird female
See also...
Keywords
Authorizations, license
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159 visits
Purple Martin male
The angle at which I caught this handsome male Purple Martin makes the bird look shorter than it actually is. The orange gourd on which it is standing is a nest box.
Just over a year ago, on 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. Then, on 7 July 2018, I got the chance to visit this unique place again, thanks to Jackie and Brenda, who organized a trip for a group of about 15 (?) friends/birders/photographers.
The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm took us about two hours. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People send them from all over the province, even from overseas. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world - 300+!
Myrna Pearman, who has been "at the helm of Ellis Bird Farm for the past 30 years", knew we were coming and we were treated to a very special viewing of Purple Martins at various stages, from eggs to adult, To do this, she lowered some of the Purple Martin condominiums and let us peer inside. After a short talk about the Farm, we explored every corner, taking a break for lunch, sitting outside, at the Cafe. A few of us had reserved a table, which is a good idea, as the Farm can get very busy with visitors.
The main attraction at the Farm is the beautiful Purple Martins, uncommon in Alberta, though there are so many other things to see, as well. Purple Martins are very social birds, who apparently like people too, and nest in condominium-style nest boxes. They spend "most of the year in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and come up to Alberta just long enough to raise a family."
"Ellis Bird Farm made science history on Tuesday May 31 2016 (?) when University of Manitoba Grad Student, Alisha Ritchie, and her EBF team (Cheyenne Knight, Claudia Lipski and Myrna Pearman) retrapped a very special yearling Purple Martin. This bird had been retrofitted with a light level geolocator last season, as a nestling, and is the first songbird EVER(!) to be tracked on its first migration. The bird had evaded several attempts to trap it, so it has been named Houdini."
Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program:
www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html
""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife.
The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters.
After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website.
www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/
Many thanks to Shirley, for driving the four of us to and from the Farm. Thank you for picking me up, Pam, to get me over to the meeting place. Beautiful weather and great company made for a super day. Have to say, too, that it was great to get away from the city, where the Calgary Stampede is in full swing.
Just over a year ago, on 4 June 2016, I had the chance to visit somewhere that I had longed to go to for years - the Ellis Bird Farm. This was thanks to the annual Nature Calgary Bus Trip, which goes to a different location each year. Then, on 7 July 2018, I got the chance to visit this unique place again, thanks to Jackie and Brenda, who organized a trip for a group of about 15 (?) friends/birders/photographers.
The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm took us about two hours. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of bird nest boxes along the fence line. Within the farm area, there were even more nest boxes - everywhere! People send them from all over the province, even from overseas. I believe the Farm has the largest collection of outdoor boxes in the world - 300+!
Myrna Pearman, who has been "at the helm of Ellis Bird Farm for the past 30 years", knew we were coming and we were treated to a very special viewing of Purple Martins at various stages, from eggs to adult, To do this, she lowered some of the Purple Martin condominiums and let us peer inside. After a short talk about the Farm, we explored every corner, taking a break for lunch, sitting outside, at the Cafe. A few of us had reserved a table, which is a good idea, as the Farm can get very busy with visitors.
The main attraction at the Farm is the beautiful Purple Martins, uncommon in Alberta, though there are so many other things to see, as well. Purple Martins are very social birds, who apparently like people too, and nest in condominium-style nest boxes. They spend "most of the year in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and come up to Alberta just long enough to raise a family."
"Ellis Bird Farm made science history on Tuesday May 31 2016 (?) when University of Manitoba Grad Student, Alisha Ritchie, and her EBF team (Cheyenne Knight, Claudia Lipski and Myrna Pearman) retrapped a very special yearling Purple Martin. This bird had been retrofitted with a light level geolocator last season, as a nestling, and is the first songbird EVER(!) to be tracked on its first migration. The bird had evaded several attempts to trap it, so it has been named Houdini."
Information about their Purple Martin Geolocator Program:
www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/purple-martin-geolocators.html
""Ellis Bird Farm is both a non-profit company and a working farm. It was established in 1982 to carry on the legacy of Lacombe-area conservationists, Charlie and Winnie Ellis, when their farm was purchased by Union Carbide Canada Ltd. At the time, Charlie and Winnie operated one of the largest bluebird trails in Canada and had established their farmstead as a haven for wildlife.
The Ellis family of Parkenham, Ontario, came west in 1886 to settle on a ranch near Calgary. Their son John, then a teenager, was married in 1894 to Agnes Clark who had come west from Ontario in 1888 to teach school. They lived near Calgary until 1906 when they moved with their family of four children to a quarter section homestead in the Joffre district. In 1907 they built a two-storey frame house and subsequently enlarged the farm by the purchase of an additional five quarters.
After John and Agnes passed away in the early 1950s, two of their children, Charlie and Winnie, took over the farm operations. And about this same time, Charlie began a project that was to dominate the rest of his life; he set out his first nesting box for the Mountain Bluebirds." From Ellis Bird Farm website.
www.ellisbirdfarm.ca/
Many thanks to Shirley, for driving the four of us to and from the Farm. Thank you for picking me up, Pam, to get me over to the meeting place. Beautiful weather and great company made for a super day. Have to say, too, that it was great to get away from the city, where the Calgary Stampede is in full swing.
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