Frosted chin whiskers
Day 6, White-crowned Sparrow, Tadoussac
Eastern Kingbird, SW of Calgary
Day 12, Snow Geese, Cap Tourmente National Wildlif…
Day 12, migrating Snow Geese, Cap Tourmente
Dreaming of spring
Eastern Kingbird, from my archives
Great Horned Owl / Bubo virginianus
Yellow-bellied Marmot - from the archives
Great Gray Owl - from the archives
Day 6, Green Jay / Cyanocorax yncas, southern Texa…
Day 7, Hong Kong orchid tree / Bauhinia (blakeana?…
Day 1, Thistle sp., southern Texas
Day 1, Thistle sp., southern Texas
Day 1, Thistle sp., southern Texas
Day 1, Thistle / Cirsium horridulum, southern Texa…
Day 1, Thistle / pink form of Cirsium horridulum,…
THE TICK THAT BIT ME in South Texas! LONE STAR TI…
Day 3, leg band & tracking device, Whooping Crane…
Day 3, Whooping Crane colt flexing its wings, Aran…
Day 4, Aloe vera, Bishop City Park, South Texas
Day 5, White Prickly Poppy / Argemone albiflora
Day 5, wildflowers, King Ranch, Norias Division
Day 6, Plain Chachalaca / Ortalis vetula
Day 6, Great-tailed Grackle male / Quiscalus mexic…
Day 7, Hong Kong Orchid tree, Estero Llano Grande…
Common Grackle after a bath
Mountain Bluebird male
Mountain Bluebird female
Mountain Bluebird male
Wilson's Snipe / Gallinago delicata
Eastern Kingbird / Tyrannus tyrannus
Rare Thirteen-lined Groundsquirrel / Ictidomys tri…
Insect on Steven's shirt - some kind of Borer?
Wilson's Snipe, having a stretch
Opening Gaillardia flower
Wilson's Snipe
Swainson's Hawk, immature
Great Horned Owl - rehab
Colour for an overcast day
Bright and beautiful
Bee on Tall Larkspur / Delphinium exaltatum
Fungus guttation droplets
Purple/Water Avens / Geum rivale
Fungi on a tree stump
Wild Licorice?
Sainfoin / Onobrychis
Sainfoin / Onobrychis
Sunflower details
Flower close-up
Mountain Death Camas / Zigadenus elegans
Red Baneberry
Weathered window from the smaller red barn
Flowers at the Saskatoon Farm - Solanum sp.
Yellow Prairie Coneflower / Mexican Hat
Globe Centurea / Centaurea macrocephala with bee
Gazania
Opening Sunflower bud
Sunflower in full bloom
Artichoke
Splash of colour
Campion / Silene sp.
Campion
Christmas Llama - oops, Bird! - Count
Delicate hoarfrost
Day 6, and so ends another day, Tadoussac
Day 9, White-crowned Sparrow, Tadoussac
Day 6, Tadoussac Hotel, Quebec
Day 6, White-crowned Sparrow, Tadoussac
Day 10, American Goldfinch female, Tadoussac
Day 10, American Goldfinch male, Tadoussac
Day 4, Baltimore Oriole, The Tip, Point Pelee
Winter in the park
Day 4, Wild Turkey, Pt Pelee
Fall colours
A much-needed change of colour
Lest We Forget
Day 3, Daffodil (Narcissus?) growing wild, Pt Pele…
Day 3, Dryad's Saddle (?), Pt Pelee, Ontario
Day 3, Daffodil (or Narcissus?), Pt Pelee, Ontario
Day 3, Large-flowered Bellwort / Uvularia grandifl…
Powderpuff flower
Mama Turkey (domestic)
Old farm wagon wheel
Friendly horse
Unknown duck species (domestic)
The picture of contentment
Weathered door
Pumpkin season, kid-style
When fall comes after 'winter'
Day 2, White Trillium, Rondeau PP
Day 2, a more typical Trillium, Rondeau PP
Day 2, yes, another Trillium, Rondeau PP
Trillium, Day 2, Rondeau PP, Ontario
Much-needed colour!
Harlequin Duck / Histrionicus histrionicus
After our first major snowstorm
Snow Leopard / Panthera uncia
Happy Thanksgivng, everyone!
Artichoke in bloom
Two-month-old American Kestrel
Black-necked Stilt (juvenile?)
Sea Holly
Clouded Sulphur on Lettuce sp.?
American Avocets
Butterfly on Joe Pye Weed
Globe Thistle / Echinops ritro
Spooked by a barking dog
Living on the edge
Black-necked Stilt (juvenile?) / Himantopus mexica…
I LOVE owls - in case you didn't know : )
Beauty of a weed
Let the light shine in
Most likely a Ground Pholiota / Pholiota terrestri…
Beautiful guttation droplets on a polypore
Rough cocklebur / Xanthium strumarium
Cute goat at Eagle Lake
Spruce Grouse / Falcipennis canadensis
Hollyhock
Peony seedpods
Between the cracks
Cracker sp.
Succulent beauty
Puffballs / Calvatia sp.
Once-married Underwing / Catocala unijuga, left fr…
See also...
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131 visits
Up close with a Llama
I am adding these eight photos late tonight. All of the photos were taken on 29 December 2018, when four of us (using just one car) took part in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for the Cochrane Wildlife Reserve area. I'm not sure why it's called Wildlife Reserve, as it consists of regular back roads and farms just like on our other Counts. The area our group covered was right on the east edge of the count circle.
One of my absolute favourite things to photograph on this annual Count are the Llamas at one of the farms. This farmer has seven of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. Most of these animals were given to him by other farmers who no longer wanted them.
"Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia.
Another of my favourite (very welcoming) farms to stop at had a beautiful, old dog named Fang, who sadly died this year. They have a "newer" dog who had just had leg surgery. Apparently, this Anatolian Shepherd is an amazing dog with the owner's young children. Three cats are also at the farm, but I didn't see any of them on this trip. The enthusiastic landowners work so hard in the area of native plants, growing various species in their greenhouses. Steven Tannas was excited to show us some of his new additions, too - pigs and sheep. I love pigs, but was totally unprepared to see large pigs that were covered in curly fur! His four pigs are called Mangalitsa pigs (also called Mangalica or Mangalitza) - I think three of them are Swallow-bellied Mangalica (black and blonde) and one is a Red Mangalica (reddish-brown). They are being fed left-over, expired grocery store vegetables, so were busily munching on a variety of nutritious squash. Apparently, babies are striped.
"The Mangalica (also Mangalitsa or Mangalitza) is a Hungarian breed of domestic pig. It was developed in the mid-19th century by crossbreeding Hungarian breeds from Szalonta and Bakony with the European wild boar and the Serbian Šumadija breed. The Mangalica pig grows a thick, woolly coat similar to that of a sheep. The only other pig breed noted for having a long coat is the extinct Lincolnshire Curly-coated pig of England." From Wikipedia.
modernfarmer.com/2014/03/meet-mangalitsa-hairy-pig-thats-...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangalica
Steven runs Tannas Conservation Services Ltd.. One of their projects is the rough fescue (native grass) restoration project, which has been very successful over the past 7+ years. Check the links below to discover all the other things that Steven's work involves:
www.tannasenvironmental.com/about-us/our-history.html
www.tannasenvironmental.com/
www.nativeplantproducer-esrs.com/About-Us.htm
A nearby farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, no one was home, but I did get the chance to take four or five shots as we drove past them. I always wish we could find someone home, so that I could ask permission to get out of the car and take a few photos. Have to remember that this IS a bird count, not a barn count, so I feel very lucky to get any photos of any barns : )
The weather was so beautiful, with the temperature starting off at 0C and later getting up to about PLUS 8C. It was heavily overcast till noon and then brightened up and turned into a glorious afternoon. The Count last year (December 2017) was just the opposite, with a bitterly cold temperature of -23C.
A huge thank-you to the various landowners who were kind enough to allow us to wander round their farmyards. These visits make our day so much more interesting and rewarding! So many delightful people. One of our stops is especially welcoming each year - with coffee and cookies ready waiting, not to mention the use of a washroom, which is always greatly appreciated,
Thank you, Dave, for being willing to drive the four of us all day. Without drivers, these counts just would not be able to take place, so it is appreciated so much.
One of my absolute favourite things to photograph on this annual Count are the Llamas at one of the farms. This farmer has seven of these large, amusing animals, and they are always one of the highlights of this Count for me. Most of these animals were given to him by other farmers who no longer wanted them.
"Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America and Asia about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 100,000 llamas and 6,500–7,000 alpacas in the US and Canada." From Wikipedia.
Another of my favourite (very welcoming) farms to stop at had a beautiful, old dog named Fang, who sadly died this year. They have a "newer" dog who had just had leg surgery. Apparently, this Anatolian Shepherd is an amazing dog with the owner's young children. Three cats are also at the farm, but I didn't see any of them on this trip. The enthusiastic landowners work so hard in the area of native plants, growing various species in their greenhouses. Steven Tannas was excited to show us some of his new additions, too - pigs and sheep. I love pigs, but was totally unprepared to see large pigs that were covered in curly fur! His four pigs are called Mangalitsa pigs (also called Mangalica or Mangalitza) - I think three of them are Swallow-bellied Mangalica (black and blonde) and one is a Red Mangalica (reddish-brown). They are being fed left-over, expired grocery store vegetables, so were busily munching on a variety of nutritious squash. Apparently, babies are striped.
"The Mangalica (also Mangalitsa or Mangalitza) is a Hungarian breed of domestic pig. It was developed in the mid-19th century by crossbreeding Hungarian breeds from Szalonta and Bakony with the European wild boar and the Serbian Šumadija breed. The Mangalica pig grows a thick, woolly coat similar to that of a sheep. The only other pig breed noted for having a long coat is the extinct Lincolnshire Curly-coated pig of England." From Wikipedia.
modernfarmer.com/2014/03/meet-mangalitsa-hairy-pig-thats-...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangalica
Steven runs Tannas Conservation Services Ltd.. One of their projects is the rough fescue (native grass) restoration project, which has been very successful over the past 7+ years. Check the links below to discover all the other things that Steven's work involves:
www.tannasenvironmental.com/about-us/our-history.html
www.tannasenvironmental.com/
www.nativeplantproducer-esrs.com/About-Us.htm
A nearby farm, which is also included in our area, has two beautiful old, red barns and I was longing to see these again. Unfortunately, no one was home, but I did get the chance to take four or five shots as we drove past them. I always wish we could find someone home, so that I could ask permission to get out of the car and take a few photos. Have to remember that this IS a bird count, not a barn count, so I feel very lucky to get any photos of any barns : )
The weather was so beautiful, with the temperature starting off at 0C and later getting up to about PLUS 8C. It was heavily overcast till noon and then brightened up and turned into a glorious afternoon. The Count last year (December 2017) was just the opposite, with a bitterly cold temperature of -23C.
A huge thank-you to the various landowners who were kind enough to allow us to wander round their farmyards. These visits make our day so much more interesting and rewarding! So many delightful people. One of our stops is especially welcoming each year - with coffee and cookies ready waiting, not to mention the use of a washroom, which is always greatly appreciated,
Thank you, Dave, for being willing to drive the four of us all day. Without drivers, these counts just would not be able to take place, so it is appreciated so much.
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