Fish Creek Park 4

I think the petals came out a little more purple than they actually were. Photographed (macro) on May 30th at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park. This beautiful, native species is one of the early ones to bloom in the spring.

A pair of Wood Ducks photographed on one of the stormwater ponds at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park.

I was so surprised to notice these teeny fungi growing in the middle of the path through the forest at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park on 16th August. Needless to say, it was the gorgeous colour that caught my eye. The largest one was maybe an inch from tip of cap to the ground end of the stalk, so you can imagine how small the others were. All the fungi seem to have finished for this year, sadly. Maybe five weeks of fungi season in a whole year is pretty pathetic - and really hard when these are perhaps my favourite subject to photograph! Practically no wildflowers left in bloom now, too - was out at Bow Valley Provincial Park all day today and the little blue Asters were just about all that was left. Sigh .....

Couldn't resist showing this little guy's face on Christmas Day, LOL. Apparently, this tiny Northern Pygmy-owl or another one, was seen down in Fish Creek Park just two days ago, so it's good to know that at least one is still around. This photo shows him/her at approximately life size, i.e. fist-sized or popcan-sized : ) 18x zoomed and heavily cropped, as usual! In a couple of days, I might replace this image with just the plain bird shot without the holly - would look better for my Birds of Alberta Set : ) You'll never think of milk and cookies for Santa in the same way if you watch this funny little video from JibJab. Would never have seen it, but my son, Steven, posted it on his Facebook page. Thanks for the laugh, Steven! sendables.jibjab.com/holidays/sendables/203532/from_the_f...

Macro shot of a White Elfin Saddle that I found at Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park, September 17th.

Seen a few days ago atop a very tall, distant Spruce tree on a walk in Fish Creek Park, from Bebo Grove to Shannon Terrace and back. Being posted only because I don't have a photo of a Townsend's Solitaire in my Birds of Alberta Sets. This long-tailed, grey bird feeds almost exclusively on Juniper berries. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Townsends_Solitaire/lifehistory

These migratory, medium-sized shorebirds have a beautiful orange-red eyering, which doesn't show up too well in my photo. This is one of a pair that I saw at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park, on April 25th. "These birds will frequently use a distraction display ("broken-wing act") to distract predators from their nests. This involves the bird walking away from its nesting area holding its wing in a position that simulates an injury and then flapping around on the ground emitting a distress call. The predators then think they have easy prey and are attracted to this seemingly injured bird and away from the nest. If the parent sees that a potential predator is not following them, they will move closer and get louder until they get the attention of the predator. This is repeated until the predator is far from the nest, and the killdeer suddenly "heals" and flies away." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killdeer www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/killdeer/id

This was close to the start of a beautiful sunset at Votier's Flats in Fish Creek Park. I thought the sky was an unusual colour.

Took this photo of two young Richardson Ground Squirrels on 12th June, down by Sikome Lake, Fish Creek Park. Such funny little creatures to watch.