Sheep River Christmas Bird Counts, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

We came across this scene when we were on the Sheep River/Turner Valley Bird Count recently. It all seemed a little too perfect, somehow - the shelter looked in perfect condition, the fence was new and undamaged, and the snow was untouched. In other words, it all looked pristine. Very beautiful with the trees covered in snow, but, perhaps a little too much perfection?

Yesterday, 31st December, I took part in the 2007 Christmas Bird Count in the Sheep River/Turner Valley area, south of Calgary. The weather was an absolutely perfect winter's day! When I crossed the road to try and photograph three Bald Eagles in a field, feeding on a dead Coyote, I noticed this group of beautiful horses nearby. I liked the different colours all happily together.

Yesterday, 31st December, I took part in the 2007 Christmas Bird Count in the Sheep River/Turner Valley area, south of Calgary. The weather was an absolutely perfect winter's day! We saw quite a few of these little Mountain Chickadees, which is always a treat. They are uncommon year round in Alberta. This kind of Chickadee has a white eyebrow through the black cap, unlike the Black-capped Chickadee. It has a white cheek, black bib, grey upperparts and tail, and light grey underparts. It breeds at higher elevations and is found more commonly in the mountains, as the name suggests. Usually, though, they move down to the montane forests for the winter months. They are often found together with a group of Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees. Species seen by my group of 7 people: Ruffed Grouse-3 Rough-legged Hawk-3 Downy Woodpecker-11 Hairy Woodpecker-2 Pileated Woodpecker-1 Gray Jay-11 Blue Jay-8 Black-billed Magpie-25 Common Raven-22 Black-capped Chickadee-72 Mountain Chickadee-32 Boreal Chickadee-3 Red-breasted Nuthatch-2 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 Dark-eyed Junco-1 Common Redpoll-38 16 species American Crow-31, off territory, on 332 Av, at Mesa Creek Ranch. Red Squirrel-1 Coyote-1 White-tailed Deer-4 Deer sp. 13

On Monday, 31st December, I took part in the 2007 Christmas Bird Count in the Sheep River/Turner Valley area, south of Calgary. The weather was an absolutely perfect winter's day! At one of the farms we stopped at, the owners had built an Inukshuk (pronounced IN-OOK-SHOOK) "art gallery" on the frozen creek that runs along the back of their home. "Inukshuk (singular), meaning "likeness of a person" in Inuktitut (the Inuit language), is a stone figure made by the Inuit. The plural is inuksuit. The Inuit make inuksuit in different forms and for different purposes: to show directions to travellers, to warn of impending danger, to mark a place of respect, or to act as helpers in the hunting of caribou. Similar stone figures were made all over the world in ancient times, but the Arctic is one of the few places where they still stand. An inukshuk can be small or large, a single rock, several rocks balanced on each other, round boulders or flat. Inuit tradition forbids the destruction of inuksuit. Inukshuk in the form of human beings, called inunnguaq, seem to have been a recent development, perhaps only appearing after the arrival of European whalers in the 19th century. One of the most important types of inuksuit are those that helped in the caribou hunt. These are usually built with 2 or 3 rocks piled up and placed in converging lines along the migration route of the herd. The Inuit placed arctic heather among the rocks to simulate human hair. The figures were intended to spook the caribou and stampede them towards the places where the hunters hid. An open leg on an inukshuk found near water or a coastline may point to an open channel for navigation. If an inukshuk is in open land, a leg or arm might suggest a direction. Inuksuit placed near a lake might show that fish can be found in the lake at the same distance the figure is placed from the shoreline. Some inuksuit were built out of respect for a beloved person and are seen as memorials." From www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com .

On Monday, 31st December, I took part in the 2007 Christmas Bird Count in the Sheep River/Turner Valley area, south of Calgary. The weather was an absolutely perfect winter's day! On one of our stops for taking a short walk, we were so lucky to have this Ruffed Grouse fly into a tree close to the path. The lighting wasn't the best, but you can still see the rather intricate feather patterns on this bird. A good sighting! These birds are common year-round in Alberta, which doesn't necessarily mean that you will be lucky enough to see one. The Ruffed Grouse is named for the black "ruffs" on the sides of its neck. Displaying males erect these black patches to impress females". From "Birds of Alberta" by Fisher and Acorn.

On Monday 31st December, I took part in the 2007 Christmas Bird Count in the Sheep River/Turner Valley area, south of Calgary. The weather was an absolutely perfect winter's day! When we got out of the car at one of our stops, I glanced up at the moon and thought I'd take a quick shot of it. I was just curious to see how large or small it would look with my fairly new little camera (Panasonic DMC-FZ18). This is a greatly cropped image, but I find it fascinating that even with a little point-and-shoot camera, you can still see some of those interesting craters.

On Monday 31st December, I took part in the 2007 Christmas Bird Count in the Sheep River/Turner Valley area, south of Calgary. The weather was an absolutely perfect winter's day! We saw quite a few of these little Mountain Chickadees, which is always a treat. They are uncommon year round in Alberta. This kind of Chickadee has a white eyebrow through the black cap, unlike the Black-capped Chickadee. It has a white cheek, black bib, grey upperparts and tail, and light grey underparts. It breeds at higher elevations and is found more commonly in the mountains, as the name suggests. Usually, though, they move down to the montane forests for the winter months. They are often found together with a group of Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees.

On Monday, 31st December, I took part in the 2007 Christmas Bird Count in the Sheep River/Turner Valley area, south of Calgary. The weather was an absolutely perfect winter's day! On one of our stops for taking a short walk, we were so lucky to have this Ruffed Grouse fly into a tree close to the path. The lighting wasn't the best, but you can still see the rather intricate feather patterns on this bird. A good sighting! These birds are common year-round in Alberta, which doesn't necessarily mean that you will be lucky enough to see one. The Ruffed Grouse is named for the black "ruffs" on the sides of its neck. Displaying males erect these black patches to impress females". From "Birds of Alberta" by Fisher and Acorn.

A little Mountain Chickadee, seen when I took part in the Sheep River/Turner Valley Christmas Bird Count on 31st December 2007.