Northern Green Orchid / Platanthera hyperborea

Griffith Woods 1

"Griffith Woods Park lies along the banks of the Elbow River in the southwest part of the city. The park was created in 2000 and named after Wilbur Griffith who, with his wife Betty, donated a portion of their estate to The City of Calgary to be set aside as a nature preserve. Griffith Woods is classified as a Special Protection Natural Environment Park because of its overall environmental sensiti…  (read more)

07 Jun 2007

174 visits

Yellow lady's-slipper

Always a pleasure to come across these beautiful orchids in the wild.

09 Jun 2009

242 visits

Fairybells

These dainty, little, native wildflowers belonging to the Lily family grow in moist deciduous and mixedwood forests. The bell-shaped flowers are greenish yellow and 1-2 cm long. These plants produce velvety, deep red berries.

19 May 2007

221 visits

Family Time

Saw this family of Canada Geese on my walk this morning. I also saw my very first Ring-necked Ducks (three?) on the pond - or at least it was the first time I had actually seen the details.

03 Aug 2008

219 visits

Dragonfly

This Dragonfly looked different (more brown than green, certainly from this angle), but I believe it is a female Cherry-faced Meadowhawk. Found at Griffith Woods, off Highway 6 in the city.

03 Aug 2008

210 visits

Big baby, little Momma

We saw this young Brown-headed Cowbird (?) being fed by a Sparrow (Clay-coloured?) on a walk in the rain this afternoon at Griffth Woods. Had to shoot into the sun and it's not as sharp - or as close, LOL - as I would have liked, but it was interesting to watch as this hard-worked Sparrow fed her huge, adopted baby! Hats off to these gullible small birds who accept the offspring of parents who lay their eggs in other birds' nests! Still haven't figured out how to adjust the colour and brightness on my monitor, so please bear with me if this photo appears too light or too dark. I know the right button to press, but then can't move in the direction of any arrows. At the moment, I can't tell what is what on my screen, which is frustrating, LOL!

02 Aug 2007

193 visits

Alfalfa

One of my favourite wildflowers - love the variation in colour, even on one flower.

24 Nov 2007

246 visits

Black-backed Woodpecker

I was SO thrilled this morning when I got the chance to see my very first Black-backed Woodpecker during a walk at Griffith Woods! Couldn't get a decent photo, but I was still happy to get this one! This bird is rare to uncommon year round in Alberta, living in coniferous forests. This is a male, as it has a yellow patch on its forehead.

10 Jun 2007

174 visits

Yellow lady's-slipper

These flowers are almost at the end of their blooming time, unfortunately.

05 Aug 2009

213 visits

After the rain

Something good always comes out of something not so welcome : ) Loved the way the tiny raindrops clung to the Brome (?) grass when we were on a morning walk at Griffith Woods three days ago.
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