American Robin

On 23 July 2015, five of us spent the day botanizing the land belonging to Darryl Teskey, SW of Calgary and W of Millarville (maybe a 40-minute drive from Calgary). This was the first time I had been there and I'm so glad I was invited to go - I would have missed all sorts of things, including a family of Ruffed Grouse and several fungi. These Grouse were the rare rufous-morph, and we startled them when we were walking through the forest in their direction. Usually, you don't see Grouse because they are so well-hidden. When you get fairly close (sometimes very close) to them, they suddenly "explode" from the tangle of shrubs and plants of the forest floor, making ones heart beat fast! We were taken by surprise when we came across a nearby statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. A nice idea, I thought. Our walk took us over grassland and through forest, many places treacherous with so many fallen logs which were often barely visible. I have never, ever seen so many tiny Skipper butterflies - there must have been hundreds or even thousands of these bright orange beauties that were flying or perched on flowers of every colour. Fortunately, the rain stayed away until we started driving back to Calgary. Quite a lot of black clouds, reminding me of the tornado that passed through Calgary just the day before (22 July 2015). Our purpose, as always, was to find and list everything that we saw - wildflowers, trees, grasses, birds, insects, fungi, etc.. Our leader then compiles an extensive list of our finds and this is later sent to the landowner, along with any photos that we might take. Always a win/win situation, as the landowner then has a much better idea of just what is on his property, and we have a most enjoyable day. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_robin

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, everyone! Posting this for the record, not for photographic merit : ) On 19th August 2015, a group of friends and I saw this unusually pale American Robin at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It was a very slow day for birds and I only took a handful of photos of anything during our three-hour walk.

Update on the massive wildfire in the Fort McMurray area: "On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Albertan history. As of May 17, it continues to spread across northern Alberta, consuming forested areas and impacting Athabasca oil sands operations. It may become the costliest disaster in Canadian history. .... While the fire had moved away from Fort McMurray, explosions and poor air quality continued to prevent residents and rebuilding crews from returning to the town. The wildfire is still burning and is expected to take months to contain and extinguish." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Fort_McMurray_wildfire www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/the-fort-mcmurray-di... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yesterday, 18 May 2016, I went to what was most likely my last volunteer shift. I have been volunteering there for about 18 years and it has been a wonderful experience. However, as the number of clients constantly rises, even more so with the poor state of the economy, the problem of parking has become a real issue. Though we have to park on the nearby street, usually at the very far end of it, I now find that each time I go, I have to park further and further away. There is no sidewalk on which to walk and there are many huge trucks coming and going all the time. Makes for a dangerous walk. In winter, it will be even worse. I always walk in pain and yesterday was, I think, the final straw, when I had to park even further away. I have been volunteering at several places for the last 36 or so years, so I know I will miss it, but I was just not enjoying the long walk and always wondering if I was even going to be able to find a parking spot. I know I will miss good friends there, terribly. Anyway, after my shift, I thought I had better call in at the Reader Rock Garden, in case I don't get over there for a long time. I wasn't sure about the weather and I did feel the odd raindrop, plus it was rather windy. However, the scent around the garden was wonderful - I could have stayed there for hours, just breathing it in. Plenty of flowers to enjoy. The few workers do such a great job of keeping this place looking beautiful. If you visit and you happen to see one of the staff or volunteers, do let them know how much you appreciate all their hard work and care. I know they would appreciate it. I always drive slowly through the adjoining Union Cemetery, keeping my eyes open for one of the Jackrabbits, in particular. I was in luck yesterday with one brief sighting, and also enjoyed watching American Robins flying from gravestone to gravestone. Most of the stones are covered in lichen, especially the bright orange kind, and I liked the way this Robin matched the lichen. A distant shot and rather fuzzy, but thought I would still post it.

It was the annual May Species Count on 28 and 29 May 2016, so I had no time for anything else over the weekend. My group's Saturday Count was down in Fish Creek Provincial Park, at Votier's Flats and Shaw's Meadow. On Sunday, our usual small group (six of us in two cars) covered an area SW of the city - which happens to be one of my favourite and most visited areas. We had a great day, stopping at a few wetlands and calling in at Barb Castell's acreage where she usually has amazing birds to show us. Several special species were missing, but we were delighted to watch a teeny Ruby-throated Hummingbird. We were also happy to see seven Rose-breasted Grosbeaks during the day, and a male American Kestrel that caught a frog for supper! No owls to be found anywhere, but I did go back the following evening and saw two separate Great Gray Owls in our Count area. I went back again yesterday and found the first owl again. This time, it wasn't pouring with rain, but I was looking into the sun (so a lot of blown-out feathers) and it was very windy. The owl photo I've posted this morning was one of the first photos taken, before the owl flew a few fence posts away, and then I was looking into the sun. It was nice to see the owl hunting, catch a small rodent and then fly to a fence post - wish the lighting had been so much better. On Sunday's Count, we stopped at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park and ate our picnic lunches and then did a short walk to look for Calypso Orchids. I took too long trying in vain to get a sharp photo of a little group of fungi, that I missed the orchids, but that's OK, as I have seen them several times before. After the Count came to an end, I drove a few of the back roads again, taking a few more shots of the Wilson's Snipe - a favourite of mine. I also pulled over to get a couple of shots of this handsome male American Robin. "The count goes May 28-29: Calgary birders have been out in force every May since 1979, contributing to a broad census of the constantly changing patterns of bird distributions in North America. Last year (2015) we found 212 species. The count circle is the same as previous years, extending from Olds to Nanton, and from Exshaw to Standard, and includes a variety of environments." From NatureCalgary. I will add the final list from our leader, Gus Y - 70 bird species seen, wow! "May species count, Terr. #22, Priddis Area: Plummers Rd, from Hwy 22 to #762, SW of Calgary, 0730-1530, Sun. 29May2016. 58 km. Mostly sunny, becoming overcast at noon, S wind, becoming gusty, 10 -20 kph. 13-18°C. Canada Goose-45 Gadwall-2 American Wigeon-6 Mallard-29. Blue-winged Teal-16 Cinnamon Teal-8 Northern Shoveler-3 Green-winged Teal-4 Redhead-6 Ring-necked Duck-12 Lesser Scaup-29 Bufflehead-5 Hooded Merganser-1 f. Ruddy Duck-11 Ring-necked Pheasant-3 Great Blue Heron-1 Swainson’s Hawk-2 Red-tailed Hawk-6 American Kestrel-2 Sora-6 American Coot-10 Killdeer-5 Spotted Sandpiper-8 Wilson’s Snipe-10 Wilson’s Phalarope-4 Black Tern-22 Mourning Dove-1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird-1 Red-naped Sapsucker-1 Black-backed Woodpecker-2 Northern Flicker-3 Western Wood-Pewee-5 Least Flycatcher-6 Easterm Phoebe-1 Easterm Kingbird-1 Gray Jay-2 Clark’s Nutcracker-1 Black-billed Magpie-6 American Crow-4 Common Raven-5 Tree Swallow-86 Cliff Swallow-6 Barn Swallow-2 Black-capped Chickadee-3 Mountain Chickadee-1 Boreal Chickadee-2 Red-breasted Nuthatch-2 House Wren-9 Mountain Bluebird-29 American Robin-13 Gray Catbird-2 European Starling-8 Tennessee Warbler-11 Yellow Warbler-6 Cape May Warbler-1 Chipping Sparrow-8 Clay-coloured Sparrow-13 Savannah Sparrow-4 Song Sparrow-1 Lincoln’s Sparrow-4 White-throated Sparrow-1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak-7 Black-headed Grosbeak-1, or hybrid. Red-winged Blackbird-178 Western Meadowlark-2 Yellow-headed Blackbird-2 Brewer’s Blackbird-7 Brown-headed Cowbird-6 Baltimore Oriole-4 American Goldfinch-5 Richardson’s Ground Squirrel-11 Muskrat-1 Mule Deer-1 White-tailed Deer-4 Boreal Chorus Frog-10+ Green Comma Butterfly-2 Western White-1 Tiger Swallowtail-2 Gus Yaki"

Four days 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. When I read where this year's outing was going to be, I was so excited and registered immediately and, apparently, was the first person on the list : ) I believe there were 66 people on the trip, enjoying a great day. The sun was shining and the temperature got up to around 25C - too warm for me and for many others, especially when the whole day is spent outdoors. It was a very early start, with my alarm clocks set for 4:30 am. Unfortunately, they had also been set for 4:30 am the previous day, when I went on a Bio-blitz to the Square Butte Ranch. Being a dreadful 'night owl', this meant that I ended up doing these two trips on about 5 hours sleep total over the two nights. Not good! It is such a treat to go somewhere by bus - everyone can relax and chat. Some of the $50 charge per person went towards a donation to the Ellis Bird Farm (and to the JJ Collett natural area), which was good to know. The drive from Calgary to the Ellis Bird Farm takes about an hour and a half. 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+! One of the highlights was seeing the Purple Martin condominium-style nest boxes. These birds 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." We started off by watching a very touching old video about Charlie Ellis - what a delightful, very shy, modest man he was. ""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/ After the video, we were divided into two large groups and then further divided again. Not easy to organize such a large number of people and it was rather confusing, Have to admit that I ended up, like varous friends, wandering around, taking photos. I always prefer to be free to do this, as there is a lot of information on the Internet, which can be read before and after such a visit. "​Ellis Bird Farm made science history on Tuesday May 31 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 Following our visit to the Farm, we boarded the two buses and were driven about half an hour's drive away, to the JJ Collett natural area, where the amazing Dr. Charles (Charlie) Bird took us on a walk (longer and faster paced than we were expecting, ha) along one of the trails. This is an interesting place to visit - will have to add information about it when I eventually post an image or two taken there. www.jjcollett.com/ Not sure what time we got back to the meeting place in Calgary - around 5:15 pm? I sat in my car and gulped down a mug of black coffee before driving for maybe 45 minutes to the far side of the city. My vehicle had been sitting in the sun all day and my coffee was as hot as if freshly made! Thank you, Nature Calgary and Leslie, for organizing this special day trip for us! Very successful and greatly enjoyed! Kate, thank you for your company on the drive there and back - made the time go faster and was so enjoyable.

I have missed so many of the birding walks (and botany walks) and there is just one more walk left and then they come to an end till the end of August/beginning of September. Yesterday afternoon's walk (12 June 2016) was very enjoyable, as was a stop at the Good Earth cafe afterwards : ) Will add our leaders' final list of species seen - thanks for a great walk Janet, Bernie and Stephen!: FFCPPSoc. Birding West end of South Glenmore Park, Calgary. 1:15-4:15 PM. Sun. June 12/16. Gusting West winds 30 - 40 Km/hr, 21 to 23C, Sunny skies. 1. Great Blue Heron - 1 2. Swainson's Hawk - 1 seen by BD pre-walk 3. Franklin's Gull - 60 4. Great Horned Owl - 2 juveniles 5. Downy Woodpecker - 4 (including pair seen at nest sight feeding young) 6. Eastern Phoebe - 2 7. Least Flycatcher - 4 heard 8. Red-eyed Vireo - 4 heard 9. American Crow - 7 10. Tree Swallow - 3 11. Red-breasted Nuthatch - 2 including one flying into nest 12. White-breasted Nuthatch - 1 13. House Wren - 3 heard 14. American Robin - 1 15. Veery - 2 heard 16. Cedar Waxwing - 3 17. Yellow Warbler - 6 (5 heard, 1 seen) 18. Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1 heard 19. Clay-coloured Sparrow - 4 20. White-throated Sparrow - 2 heard 21. Red-winged Blackbird - 13 22. Brown-headed Cowbird - 5 23. American Goldfinch - 4 24. House Sparrow - 1 White-tailed Deer - 1 Least Chipmunk - 1 Red Squirrel - 1 Swallow-tailed Butterfly - 8 As usual on our birding walks, I take very few photos, so yesterday after the walk, I decided I would drive to a wetland in SW Calgary to check on the Red-necked Grebes. The light was harsh and I had to look into the sun and couldn't even tell if there were any babies. Obviously the wrong time of day to go there. From there, I decided to go SW of the city and check on Bluebirds, Snipe and maybe even a Great Gray Owl if I was very lucky. Only stopped at one Bluebird box and the parents were busy bringing insects to feed their babies. Every now and then, a baby would peer out of the small hole, so I know it won't be long till they fledge. This male American Robin flew to the fence post next to the male Bluebird at one point, as if to ask for its photo to be taken, too. What a sight to see the two birds together - brilliant blue and bright red. Driving along one road to search for an owl, I noticed a truck pulled over in the distance. I always slow right down when I see a vehicle stopped, just in case it is a photographer taking photos of something interesting. I never want to spook a bird or animal and spoil a photographer's fun. I was so focused on the truck, looking to see if there was a driver pointing a camera, that at first I didn't notice the person standing the other side of the road OR the owl sitting on the fence! When I realized it was a friend, I pulled over, got out and took a few photos. I don't know if this was one of the two Great Grays that I had seen within the last 10 days or so. It is possible either way. Also spotted two distant Bobolinks chasing each other and then disappearing - no chance for a photo.

I have missed so many of the birding walks (and botany walks) this year, There is just one more birding walk left, this week - and I may not be able to make it - and then they come to an end till the end of August/beginning of September. I did manage to get out on the afternoon walk five days ago, on 12 June 2016, and it was very enjoyable, as was a stop at the Good Earth cafe afterwards : ) Will add our leaders' final list of species seen - thanks for a great walk Janet, Bernie and Stephen!: FFCPPSoc. Birding West end of South Glenmore Park, Calgary. 1:15-4:15 PM. Sun. June 12/16. Gusting West winds 30 - 40 Km/hr, 21 to 23C, Sunny skies. 1. Great Blue Heron - 1 2. Swainson's Hawk - 1 seen by BD pre-walk 3. Franklin's Gull - 60 4. Great Horned Owl - 2 juveniles 5. Downy Woodpecker - 4 (including pair seen at nest sight feeding young) 6. Eastern Phoebe - 2 7. Least Flycatcher - 4 heard 8. Red-eyed Vireo - 4 heard 9. American Crow - 7 10. Tree Swallow - 3 11. Red-breasted Nuthatch - 2 including one flying into nest 12. White-breasted Nuthatch - 1 13. House Wren - 3 heard 14. American Robin - 1 15. Veery - 2 heard 16. Cedar Waxwing - 3 17. Yellow Warbler - 6 (5 heard, 1 seen) 18. Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1 heard 19. Clay-coloured Sparrow - 4 20. White-throated Sparrow - 2 heard 21. Red-winged Blackbird - 13 22. Brown-headed Cowbird - 5 23. American Goldfinch - 4 24. House Sparrow - 1 White-tailed Deer - 1 Least Chipmunk - 1 Red Squirrel - 1 Swallow-tailed Butterfly - 8 As usual on our birding walks, I take very few photos, so after this walk, I decided I would drive to a wetland in SW Calgary to check on the Red-necked Grebes. The light was harsh and I had to look into the sun and couldn't even tell if there were any babies. Obviously the wrong time of day to go there. From there, I decided to go SW of the city and check on Bluebirds, Snipe and maybe even a Great Gray Owl if I was very lucky. Only stopped at one Bluebird box and the parents were busy bringing insects to feed their babies. Every now and then, a baby would peer out of the small hole, so I know it won't be long till they fledge. An American Robin flew to the fence post next to the male Bluebird at one point, as if to ask for its photo to be taken, too. What a sight to see the two birds together - brilliant blue and bright red. Driving along one road to search for an owl, I noticed a truck pulled over in the distance. I always slow right down when I see a vehicle stopped, just in case it is a photographer taking photos of something interesting. I never want to spook a bird or animal and spoil a photographer's fun. I was so focused on the truck, looking to see if there was a driver pointing a camera, that at first I didn't notice the person standing the other side of the road OR the owl sitting on the fence! When I realized it was a friend, I pulled over, got out and took a few photos. I don't know if this was one of the two Great Grays that I had seen within the last couple of weeks. It is possible either way. Also spotted two distant Bobolinks chasing each other and then disappearing - no chance for a photo. That is, until two evenings ago! I was SO thrilled to find them (maybe 5?)! These birds are rare in Alberta and are much sought after by birders. I was unable to go and check on the Bluebirds the previous evening, as I had dropped off my car ready to be serviced the following day. I collected it in time - $1,300 later! - to go for a drive. So glad I went, as luck and timing were both on my side. The Bobolinks were on the far side of the road and I managed to get just a few distant, very poor shots before a truck came along and off they flew. I drove down the road and turned around, hoping to see them again, but they didn't reappear. I was just happy to get any kind of photo as a record of this special sighting.

Yesterday, 20 April 2017, I had to move my vehicle for the whole day so that the City could clean the whole area. I don't have an up-to-date street parking pass, which meant that I needed to find something to fill my day - instead of being at home, working on my Taxes! A morning walk at Carburn Park took care of around three hours - the only birds close enough for photos were an American Robin (seen in this photo), two Franklin's Gulls, and a Canada Goose : ) Afterwards, I called in at a local wetland and photographed a Mallard, a busy Muskrat - and a Canada Goose, lol. Not a very friendly Goose, either, though he must have a nest somewhere in the area. Hissed at me and followed me part way down the path. I had to go back along the same path to get to my car, and waited till the Goose was as far away as possible before I hurried back. Oh, there was also a Ring-billed Gull that was standing on the bridge railing, letting me take some nice, close shots. I can't wait till I can start editing my photos from Day 5 of our Trinidad & Tobago adventure! First, though, I have to finish my Taxes and try again to make an appointment.

Late yesterday afternoon, 5 May 2017, I dragged myself away from my computer and went for just a short drive SW of the city. The weather forecast was for sun and cloud, but it was far too cloudy for good light. I was hoping to see Mountain Bluebirds, but I only saw a couple of them and they were in flight. A Wilson's Snipe, one of my favourite birds to see and photograph, was already there, perched on a fence post, so I came home happy. It feels good to take a short break from going through my Trinidad & Tobago photos - not to mention posting them! - but I know I must plod on. Today, I will start going though Day 6 of our 8-day trip (plus two travel days). This day includes a wonderful hot lunch at the beach, which we so enjoyed. More new birds, whose names I have already forgotten, so I will have to look them up. New plants, including beautiful Water Hyacinth and the amazing Sacred Lotus (which I had only ever seen growing in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo). I love photographing their spectacular seedpods. For now, though, I must have breakfast/brunch - with a small sprinkling of chocolate powder, bought on Day 5 of our Trinidad trip, over my Stoked Oats. Then, back to editing ....