Frank Lake & area

I don't usually even bother to try and get in-flight shots with my little camera, but amazingly, I didn't need to delete this one. Seen on the Frank Lake drive, south of Calgary.

"Birds of Alberta" book: "By August, most Avocets have lost their peachy hoods and put on their winter greys, which are still worth a second glance."

Another photo from when a few of us were at Frank Lake on 18 December 2012, as part of our group's area to cover for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count for High River (south of Calgary). We spent the whole day (8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) driving all the backroads in the SE quadrant of the huge Count circle that centred on the town of High River. This photo was taken when we walked along the edge of the inlet, looking out over Frank Lake. Had to take my photos looking into the sun, so I did a great job of blowing out part of the sky : ) Not sure if I've marked the location correctly on my map.

The male Cinnamon Teal is such a gorgeous colour - unfortunately it is yet another bird that is always far, far away! Once again, this photo will have to do until I manage to get a closer shot (in my dreams!). The book, "Birds of Alberta", describes these males as "glowing upon the water like embers". Uncommon in Alberta from April to September, spotted only occasionally.

This was taken on 18 December 2012, when a group of eight of us drove south of the city to High River, to take part in the annual Audubon High River Christmas Bird Count. My group, travelling in two cars, covered the SE quadrant of the huge circle centred on the town of High River, driving along all the backroads and calling in at several farms. This photo was taken when we stopped at Frank Lake and walked along the inlet. I think I'm right when I say these are Thistles of some kind, but of course I could be wrong. They just looked so beautiful covered in ice crystals. As you can imagine, after a long day of birding, the delicious Pot Luck supper that was held at the meeting place was so much enjoyed and appreciated. Actually, it wasn't as bitterly cold as it might look from my photo. Started off at -10C and ended up soaring to -3C. I think it was about five years ago (no, four years ago), that our annual Audubon Christmas Bird Counts were done in -30C weather! Now that was brutal!!

Another cold, wintry shot of six of us at Frank Lake. A group of eight of us had travelled south of Calgary to High River, to take part in the annual High River Christmas Bird Count, on 18 December 2012.

Seeing a Horned Lark yesterday was a thrill. Seen on a drive to the Frank Lake area with a friend. Though my bird book says that Horned Larks are common in Alberta from February to November, I have only had the chance to see them maybe three or four times. The male has small black "horns" - often not raised. These birds tend to fly dangerously close along the road in front of ones car.

It's always a treat for me to get down to Frank Lake, a very popular birding location south of Calgary. A casual trip was arranged for May 6th (thanks, Dan!) and we got the chance to see several of these rather exotic White-faced Ibis. Full zoom and heavily cropped as much as I dared, but it gives you an idea of what these birds look like, with their long bills and a glimpse of their beautiful, iridescent plumage.

Yesterday was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count in High River, south of Calgary. A small group of eight of us from Calgary met up with local people from High River to search the area in and around High River. We started our search at around 8:30 a.m. and returned to the meeting place around 5:00 p.m., when we handed in our results and stayed for a delicious potluck supper. Thanks so much to the local birders who organized this most enjoyable ending to a long day! My small group drove all the backroads in the SE quadrant of the huge circle that surrounds High River, including calling in at several farms to ask if we could check their trees, hedges, etc. for birds. One of the first places we called in at was Frank Lake, a very popular place for birders. We walked along the edge of the inlet, and the view was so beautiful. All the plants and grasses were covered in ice crystals, and vapor was rising from the surface of the water up towards the rising sun. Gave me some nice photo opps : ) In fact, so much so, that I forgot all about looking for birds, lol! We came across a number of dead fish in one spot, which was not a good find. The day was cloudy, becoming clear, calm, -10C to -03C. I have placed this photo on my map, just to show where High River is - not sure where the exact location was, but it was somewhere SE of High River. 103.5 km by car; 3 km by foot; 6.5 hours by car; 2 hours on foot. We saw two Merlins, this being the closest one for a photo from my side of the car. We pulled up just past this beautiful bird. It stayed on the fence post just long enough for me to try and twist round in my seat, point my camera in its direction and then I clicked with my eyes closed, lol. Amazingly, I got the bird, though I did just miss the tip of its tail! Background is a mix of snow and stubble in the field. Our group's sightings for the day: Mallard 9 in am at Frank Lake; 7 seen flying there in late pm. Common Goldeneye-4 Bald Eagle-4 ad. Northern Goshawk-2 ad. Rough-legged Hawk-1 Merlin-2 Gray Partridge-12 Sharp-tailed Grouse-5 Rock Pigeon-26 Great Horned Owl-5 Snowy Owl-1 (seen 3 times). Downy Woodpecker-1 m. Black-billed Magpie-34 Common Raven-8 Northern Shrike-1 American Tree Sparrow-3 Snow Bunting-807 Common Redpoll-925 Hoary Redpoll-1 House Sparrow-245 Also saw 2 Coyotes, 26 Mule Deer and 39 White-tailed Deer. I still have to sort out about the Snowy Owl, though, as it looks like two photos I took at different spots show a paler and a darker owl. I also have a lot of photo editing to do of the shots taken on the various Bird Counts so that they can be passed on to a long list of people. Christmas??? Hope I'll be better organized for next year - as I seem to say every year, lol!