Album Fish Creek Park 2 from Anne Elliott

A tasty meal of fresh, green grass

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:58:02 +0000

This young Mule Deer, along with four others, had hopped a fence into someone's garden that edges one of the local parks and was contentedly grazing the lawn. Must have tasted SO good after surviving the winter on dead, dried up leaves and twigs!! This was the young deer that I caught jumping the fence a few minutes later (uploaded on May 4th) : )

Focussed on feeding

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:42:52 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Not the greatest photo, but I was sitting in my car after just leaving the parking lot of the park the other day, when a group of nine Mule Deer appeared and began a feeding frenzy amongst shrubs and tall grass. This doe came in my direction and in fact got quite close, seemingly oblivious to everything but the task in hand, but then seemed to notice me at the very last moment.

Muskrat

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:11:08 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Happened to notice this Muskrat in the creek leading into the Bow River yesterday, when I called in to check on the Great Horned Owls. I was fascinated by the patterns the Muskrat created as it swam through the reflections in the water. People are sometimes unsure if they have seen a Beaver or a Muskrat when they see something swimming - as you can see in this photo, the Muskrat's tail is long and thin, not like the Beaver's large tail, flattened like a paddle. The Beaver is also a much larger animal.

Supper in the park

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:20:48 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

My walk was longer than I had planned this afternoon, thanks to hitting an area of wet, slippery, muddy trails that of course went steeply up or down. What an unexpected work-out, clinging to tree branches and tree roots, LOL! And what was I looking for? Fungi, of course! Had a little success with this, but the sky was overcast and my little camera does not like dull days : ) I passed this little family of White-tailed Deer when I was on my way out of the park - this is just a quick shot from my car. I was so happy to see a spotted fawn in the wild - doesn't often happen with me.

Tiny tightrope walkers

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 19:29:45 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

These tiny mushrooms are some of my favourite fungi to photograph : ) This pair was growing on the curved stalk of a small leaf. The tallest one was no more than an inch in height, probably closer to three-quarters of an inch. Found at Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park on 12th September.

Eye-catcher

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:57:17 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Not sure when I took this photo, but it was with my old Olympus C750 UZ camera, when the date wasn't working. Found at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park. LOL, at least I got one edge reasonably sharp!

Northern Pygmy Owl 5

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 22:03:09 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

I think this is probably the last OK photo that I took of the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl the other day. Wanted to get it backed up here. It's quite likely that I may never see another one of these owls, unless I see one at the top of a very tall tree. For those of you not familiar with this species, remember that this little bird is the size of a popcan! Sorry, Steven W - wish I could send you one, LOL! Guess that's not much comfort, though.

Solitary Sandpiper

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 04:05:56 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

I had never seen a landscape like I found one day in my local natural area. A swampy area had dried out, partly because of beaver activity, and the slime had dried into peaks. Actually, it felt quite eerie - almost like being on another planet! There were several Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers feeding.

Common Burdock

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 21:24:35 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Though this plant is invasive and is pulled from time to time, it is still an attractive plant, with its hooked burrs and its unusual purple and white flowers. This particular plant was growing near the edge of the old Beaver pond in Shaw's Meadow.

I'm outta here

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:08:28 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

OK, I just wasn't very lucky getting a decent photo of one of these little birds this afternoon, LOL! Might be able to rescue one other image. You can still see the black eye line and the rusty underparts. Saw a few of these birds this afternoon, along with the usual Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, a Downy Woodpecker and a few Brown Creepers. A couple of small Red Squirrels completed the noisy activity in this grove of trees. No sign of the Northern Pygmy-owls or the Black-backed or Three-toed Woodpecker.

Morning walk by the Bow River

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:53:18 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Our walk this morning took us along the Bow River south of Hull's Wood and beyond the Highway 22X bridge. It was so cold and very windy! We had tremendous winds overnight - a weather advisory had warned us that this was about to happen.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:25:00 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

I liked the bright red and the black and white stripes against the snow. This is one of the photos I took yesterday afternoon when I had more or less given up hope of seeing one of the Northern Pygmy-owls. Didn't want to go home with an empty memory card, LOL!

Chickadee

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:37:56 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

One of the little Black-capped Chickadees that I see on my walks. Winter is the time you really see these little birds, but this season results in so many photos with very little colour.

Wandering Garter Snake

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 05:20:14 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Finally, a photo showing the bright red tongue of the Wandering Garter Snake.

Star-flowered Solomon's-seal

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:57:07 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

The berries on this Star-flowered Solomon's-seal plant have turned completely red. In the stage before this, the berries are most attractively striped.

Black-capped Chickadee

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:30:14 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Had a chance to quickly shoot a few Black-capped Chickadees this afternoon. An extremely windy day and I think most of the birds were sheltering from the violent gusts. Got too many blurry photos : )

Savannah Sparrow

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 21:41:08 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

This Savannah Sparrow was sitting in the same tree as the Clay-colured Sparrow, which is why at first I thought the Clay-coloured Sparrow was another Savannah. Then I realized that the Clay-coloured was a smaller bird. The Savannah Sparrow is one of Alberta's most common open-country birds.

Common Bladderwort

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:21:09 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

I give up - I can't decide if this plant is Common Bladderwort (Utricularia macrorhiza" or Small Bladderwort (Utriculria minor). Please let me know, if you are sure which one it is - thanks!

Life is good

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 02:55:39 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

Saw this little Chickadee this afternoon. Couldn't see any sign of the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl today, so it was a case of Chickadees or nothing, as far as birds went. The snow in the background looks more like a beautiful blue sky, which in fact we did have.

Downy Woodpecker

nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 02:00:01 +0000

Anne Elliott has posted:

This little Downy Woodpecker was enjoying the late afternoon "sweet light" yesterday. He was there for a second or two and then was gone. Just managed a quick shot before he flew. This is the bird that I am hoping will fly down to my hand one day. That would be such a thrill. (Note to self: I used a horizontal version of this image for my 2008 calendar).