Birds of Alberta 3

I will be so happy when I get to see more birds now that winter is almost here. To keep me going, I photographed a few Ring-billed Gulls recently at Bowness Park.

I was very lucky to be given the chance to go east of the city this afternoon, searching for birds. At Langdon Reservoir, there were many thousands of shorebirds in the water and on the mudflats. Most were Dowitchers, but we were lucky enough to see three Pectoral Sandpipers (a new bird for me!). I even managed to get several photos of both species. In this one, the Dowitchers are the ones further away, and the (smaller) Sandpipers are in the foreground. Very attractive birds. In the larger size, you can better see the longish, yellow legs of the Sandpiper; brown breast streaks which contrast with the light underparts; black, slightly-downcurved bill. The Pectoral Sandpiper does not nest in Alberta.

This was such a small, perfect little feather, lying on the mud flats at Langdon Reservoir, east of the city. There were thousands and thousands of shorebirds there this afternoon, so I would guess that this feather belongs to one of them.

Looks like the winter bird photography season is just beginning - yeah! This little female White-breasted Nuthatch flew down into a tree near where I was standing and I managed to get a quick shot. It was joined by Chickadees (of course!) and a little Downy Woodpecker. I'm going to have to brush up on my bird photography skills after all the summer months - I can see why "they" say that bird photography is the most difficult!

Wasn't sure whether to post this image, as I don't think I really like the posture of the bird. On the other hand, these White-breasted Nuthatches often look very streamlined as in this photo. I like the fall glow in the background, though.

I was very lucky to be given the chance to go east of the city on Monday afternoon, searching for birds. At Langdon Reservoir, there were many thousands of shorebirds in the water and on the mudflats. Most were Dowitchers, but we were lucky enough to see three Pectoral Sandpipers (a new bird for me!). I even managed to get several photos of both species. This photo shows two of the Pectoral Sandpipers. Very attractive birds. You can see the longish, yellow legs of the Sandpiper; brown breast streaks which contrast with the light underparts; black, slightly-downcurved bill. The Pectoral Sandpiper does not nest in Alberta.

Two more Pelicans from down by the Calgary Weir on the Bow River, taken on 25th July 2005. Many dozens of American White Pelicans can congregate at the Weir in the summer and I just happened to choose a beautiful evening to go down there. The evening sun could not have been more incredible and perfect.

I was amazed to be told that one of my photos had been chosen to be included in the recently published "The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta". It's a beautiful, coffee-table book! Comment from Bird Studies Canada (BSC): 12 October 2007 – After seven years of extensive fieldwork and data analysis, The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta: A Second Look, is now available. This high-quality publication from the Federation of Alberta Naturalists details the distribution, status, and preferred habitats of more than 270 species of birds nesting in the province." It is a "comprehensive, full colour, (LARGE), hardcover book". I think I submitted about 6 or 8 images last year, and feel very lucky to be included. I believe this is the fifth book that I've been lucky enough to be published in, plus three magazines (which include a beautifully produced children's magazine in Israel!). OK, now, to bring me back down to earth (!), I need to go and sort out and clean my ancient fridge which is dying, ready for a new one to be delivered on Monday. It's proving to be a bigger task than I thought - taking away precious time on Flickr, LOL!

I was amazed to be told that one of my photos had been chosen to be included in the recently published "The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta". It's a beautiful book! Comment from Bird Studies Canada (BSC): 12 October 2007 – After seven years of extensive fieldwork and data analysis, The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta: A Second Look, is now available. This high-quality publication from the Federation of Alberta Naturalists details the distribution, status, and preferred habitats of more than 270 species of birds nesting in the province." It is a "comprehensive, full colour, (LARGE), hardcover book". I think I submitted about 6 or 8 images last year, and feel very lucky to be included. I believe this is the fifth book that I've been lucky enough to be published in, plus three magazines (which include a beautifully produced children's magazine in Israel!). OK, now, to bring me back down to earth (!), I need to go and sort out and clean my ancient fridge which is dying, ready for a new one to be delivered on Monday. It's proving to be a bigger task than I thought - taking away precious time on Flickr, LOL!