In order of Interestingness, Flickr

I happened to be looking at my Long-tailed Weasel photos yesterday and came across this one that I didn't post before, because the Weasel is rather blurry, though the fence post is nice and sharp : ). However, photos of these little guys are not all that common, so thought I'd post it anyway. It is somewhat similar to my most popular/most Interesting photo on Flickr. "Curious" is the word to describe a Long-tailed Weasel! Note the black tip to the tail. Saw this little guy/gal in a local park on 26th December 2006 - the best Christmas present I could have received!

This path takes one by the Elbow River that runs through Weaselhead. Sunrise added a pleasant glow to the ice- and snow-covered river.

This beautiful Water Lily was standing tall and upright when I first started taking photos of it at the Calgary Zoo on 16 April 2013. Then, on came the sprinklers, and the weight of the water made it lean right over. Gave me the chance, though, to see the flowerhead from different angles. Truly beautiful from which ever way you look at it.

Whenever I see a Great Horned Owl with its eyes wide open like this, it makes me think of my favourite Licorice Allsorts candies - those large, round, yellow ones with the black licorice centre : ) One of the first places three of us called in at, during the annual Nanton Christmas Bird Count, had a pair of Great Horned Owls in the Spruce trees in their farmyard. One flew to a different tree and all we could see was a bit of movement through the branches. The owl in my photo stayed where it was for a short while, giving me a chance for a few shots, and then flew over to join the other one. Ha, most of my photos were very blurry - not sure what happened there! Thankfully, two or three came out OK, otherwise I would have been so disappointed, as it really was an exceptionally beautiful owl. I had a weird experience when I was in this farmyard - can't remember if I was trying to focus my camera on the owl or some other bird, but suddenly there was a furry face between my hands and touching my face and camera! A black and white cat had leapt at my clothes and appeared right against my face!! Talk about making me jump, ha! I've marked this image as Nanton on my map - it was taken somewhere SW of the town (i.e. Area D), but I don't know the exact location - just in case anyone is not familiar with where Nanton is.. "Each individual count is performed in a "count circle" with a diameter of 15 miles or 24 kilometres. At least ten volunteers, including a compiler to manage things, count in each circle. They break up into small parties and follow assigned routes, which change little from year to year, counting every bird they see. In most count circles, some people also watch feeders instead of following routes. Counts can be held on any day from December 14 to January 5 inclusive." From Wikipedia.

One of the first places three of us called in at, during the annual Nanton Christmas Bird Count, had a pair of Great Horned Owls in the Spruce trees near their house. One flew to a different tree and all we could see was a bit of movement through the branches. The owl in my photo stayed where it was for a short while, giving me a chance for a few shots, and then flew over to join the other one. Ha, most of my photos were very blurry - not sure what happened there! Thankfully, three or four came out OK, otherwise I would have been so disappointed, as it really was an exceptionally beautiful owl. I had a weird experience when I was in this farmyard - can't remember if I was trying to focus my camera on the owl or some other bird, but suddenly there was a furry face between my hands and touching my face and camera! A black and white cat had leapt at my clothes and appeared right against my face!! Talk about making me jump, ha! Got the local 20th Annual Fish Creek Park New Year's Day Bird Count this morning - all walking, unfortunately. Later - results for the small group I was with, covering Bebo Grove eastwards as far as Bridge 7: Canada Goose-1250 Sharp-shinned Hawk-1 Downy Woodpecker-5 Hairy Woodpecker-1 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER-1 (female) Pileated Woodpecker-1, flying W from Bebo Grove at 8:30am. Black-billed Magpie-4 Common Raven-26 Black-capped Chickadee-24 Boreal Chickadee-1 Red-breasted Nuthatch-8 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 Golden-crowned Kinglet-2 Townsend's Solitaire-2 Bohemian Waxwing-150 Red Crossbill-25 Common Redpoll-50 HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!

I love the patterns and textures created when our local creek freezes. Such a beautiful contrast between the smooth, rounded edges and the spiky frost (ice?) crystals on top. Taken at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park, on 22 November 2012. Couldn't resist adding the following, especially for birder friends. A friend sent it to me via e-mail and I thought others might find it interesting : ) "I heard that they found about 200 dead crows near Halifax, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu. They had a Bird Pathologist examine the remains of all the crows, and he confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu, to everyone's relief. However, he determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, and only 2% were killed by an impact with a car. The Province then hired an Ornithological Behaviourist to determine the disproportionate percentages for truck versus car kill. The Ornithological Behaviourist determined the cause in short order. When crows eat road kill, they always set-up a look-out Crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger. His conclusion was that the lookout crow could say "Cah", but he could not say "Truck." Have a nice day...." Sorry, I don't know who the author was.

.... just not the species I was after, lol! After a three-hour walk in Fish Creek Park two days ago, I went straight to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. I don't usually go "chasing" after a rather more special bird that has been reported, but I will sometimes do so if it's an owl : ) Someone had photographed a little Northern Saw-whet Owl there recently, so I thought it was worth going to see if there was any sign of it. Ha, no there wasn't, but instead I found myself staring into a big, round, yellow eye, deep within a Spruce tree. Yep, a Great Horned Owl. When I first caught sight of the eye, I was seeing the owl from a different angle - at the end of my walk, it had shifted a little and was easier to see. Bumped into a fellow birder down there and when he couldn't find the Saw-whet either, he wondered if maybe this Great Horned Owl might have had Saw-whet for lunch. It was sitting in one of the trees where the little owl had apparently been seen.

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, I met friends Cathy and Terry NW of Calgary and we spent a great day in sunshine and reasonable warmth. When I opened my blinds this morning, I discovered that it was snowing heavily! While a May snow storm isn't unusual here, I was hoping that our April snowstorm was simply a May snow storm that had arrived too early : ) Yeah, right! Despite getting up pretty early yesterday morning, to give a better chance for seeing a Great Gray Owl, none were to be seen. However, the highlight of the day was seeing this handsome, delightfully blue Mountain Bluebird and his mate. I've seen a few of these birds so far this spring, but only from a long distance. This gorgeous pair gave us lots of photo opportunities, though the bright sunlight tended to blow out the paler chest on quite a few of my images, unfortunately. Still plenty of others, though, that are without the blinding brightness. For those who are following the Northern Hawk Owls, all is well with them, too. When we got back to the road after seeing them, there were two small birds on the gravel behind someone's truck. Not sure yet what they were - Crossbills perhaps or Grosbeaks? The brighter one was quite orange. I drove my own vehicle yesterday and followed Cathy and Terry in theirs. I thought that getting away from the computer would give my arms a rest from mouse-clicking - by the time I got home after many hours of driving, my arms were more painful than ever. Gripping the steering wheel while trying to avoid the worst of the potholes didn't help, either, I suspect : ) Totally worth it, though, as we had such a good day. Thanks, Cathy and Terry, for your always enjoyable company! In Bluebirds, the blue colour is produced by the structure of the feather - there is no blue pigment. "Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers can scatter incoming light, resulting in a specific, non-iridescent color. Blue colors in feathers are almost always produced in this manner. Examples include the blue feathers of Bluebirds, Indigo Buntings, Blue Jay's and Steller's Jays." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Bluebird/id www.jstor.org/discover/pgs/index?id=10.2307/4077277&i...

I love the shapes and colours of these flowers. This one was growing at the Reader Rock Garden on July 28th last summer. Is this a Columbine? Such beauty in these colourful petals ... but such a contrast to the dark, mud-covered devastation for the people of Japan. They are such civil people, caring about their neighbour, not just about themselves. I just keep thinkng, how do people, a country, recover from something this tragic and overwhelming? How on earth do they start clearing such extensive damage and start rebuilding homes and lives, especially all those who are grieving the loss of family members. For those of you who love the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl that I've been posting, wait till you see tomorrow's photo of it. I think I can guarantee you'll be shocked! Suspense? Sure, lol!