https://www.ipernity.com/tag/293827/keyword/21376 https://cdn.ipernity.com/p/101/C3/7B/293827.buddy.jpg https://www.ipernity.com/tag/293827/keyword/21376 Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:51:35 +0000 Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:51:35 +0000 https://www.ipernity.com https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/50936334 tag:ipernity.com,2019-10-02,doc-50936334 Wed, 02 Oct 2019 19:08:49 +0000 2019-09-05T10:52:07-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/50936334"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/63/34/50936334.1eaac7a0.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Has anyone else noticed an enormous drop in Stats Views in the past 10 days? I know a few people have commented on this in the Help Forum. After 22 September 2019, mine have dropped down to very roughly one quarter to a third the number. I know Stats are not usually really accurate, but a sudden drop that continues always makes me wonder if there is a Flickr glitch somewhere. I know a lot of people have been saying that their Contacts' new images are not showing up on the Contact page.<br /> <br /> Yesterday was spent on backing up photos and starting the major task of slowly deleting photo folders from my computer. I still don't have enough room for my computer to function properly, so I will have to spend a lot more time in the days ahead, deleting more. While I was doing this, I noticed that I had only posted a dozen photos from this enjoyable day, so, today, I have added another eight.<br /> <br /> The small peak just right of centre is The Fortress, with Gusty Peak immediately to its right.<br /> <br /> On 5 September 2019, friend Pam and I had a great day out in Kananaskis. It had been just over two months since I drove myself out there, but Pam had been only two days before. There were a few different places that she wanted to stop, and she was hoping to see a bear - preferably a Grizzly, but we were out of luck for that. However, we were lucky enough to see two Black Bears, which was such a treat.<br /> <br /> Our day started off really well, leaving the city at 7:00 am. Driving along a backroad SW of the city, a small, rather cute, old barn was our first find. It was set back from the road a little and easily missed, so I'm glad I spotted it.<br /> <br /> Further on, we came across a White-tailed Deer feeding in a field, and it looked so beautiful in the early morning sun. Normally, I don't get out this early and I know I miss that special light.<br /> <br /> Going to have to finish description, etc. later .... I've been saying that ever since, too. Just not getting enough time at the moment .... sigh.</div> Wedge Pond, Kananaskis, Alberta <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/50936334"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/63/34/50936334.1eaac7a0.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Has anyone else noticed an enormous drop in Stats Views in the past 10 days? I know a few people have commented on this in the Help Forum. After 22 September 2019, mine have dropped down to very roughly one quarter to a third the number. I know Stats are not usually really accurate, but a sudden drop that continues always makes me wonder if there is a Flickr glitch somewhere. I know a lot of people have been saying that their Contacts' new images are not showing up on the Contact page.<br /> <br /> Yesterday was spent on backing up photos and starting the major task of slowly deleting photo folders from my computer. I still don't have enough room for my computer to function properly, so I will have to spend a lot more time in the days ahead, deleting more. While I was doing this, I noticed that I had only posted a dozen photos from this enjoyable day, so, today, I have added another eight.<br /> <br /> The small peak just right of centre is The Fortress, with Gusty Peak immediately to its right.<br /> <br /> On 5 September 2019, friend Pam and I had a great day out in Kananaskis. It had been just over two months since I drove myself out there, but Pam had been only two days before. There were a few different places that she wanted to stop, and she was hoping to see a bear - preferably a Grizzly, but we were out of luck for that. However, we were lucky enough to see two Black Bears, which was such a treat.<br /> <br /> Our day started off really well, leaving the city at 7:00 am. Driving along a backroad SW of the city, a small, rather cute, old barn was our first find. It was set back from the road a little and easily missed, so I'm glad I spotted it.<br /> <br /> Further on, we came across a White-tailed Deer feeding in a field, and it looked so beautiful in the early morning sun. Normally, I don't get out this early and I know I miss that special light.<br /> <br /> Going to have to finish description, etc. later .... I've been saying that ever since, too. Just not getting enough time at the moment .... sigh.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/49541444 tag:ipernity.com,2019-07-05,doc-49541444 Fri, 05 Jul 2019 16:07:58 +0000 2019-07-03T14:55:25-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/49541444"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/14/44/49541444.18c6f489.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This morning, 5 July 2019, I am posting 6 photos taken two days ago, on a drive south to Frank Lake. Yet again, when I checked the weather forecast, it said continuing rain for day after day after day. However, the sun was shining when I decided to drive south. The clouds were sufficiently photogenic for me to change my plans and, instead of calling in at the Saskatoon Farm, I drove straight to the Lake.<br /> <br /> The last time I was at Frank Lake, there was one Coot, two Canada Geese, and a Red-winged and a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Two days ago, it was so much better! The Barn Swallows were there, having built their nest a few feet away from their previous nest site. The Eared Grebes had their tiny, adorable babies, sometimes riding on their back, other times swimming separately. Same thing with the Coots - some had very young babies; others had somewhat older youngsters. One Coot adult and baby were walking in thick mud, searching for food. They both looked such a mess, as if they had rolled in the mud. A pair of Western Grebes could be seen far in the distance.<br /> <br /> The sky began to change - the white clouds were taken over by rather menacing black ones and it became windy and the rain started. I really didn't want to drive back home on the very busy highway in pouring rain, but after waiting and hoping for it to end, I eventually had no choice but to risk it. As it turned out, there was hardly any traffic going north. <br /> <br /> It has been raining on and off ever since. The famous 9-day Calgary Stampede runs from 5-14 July this year and some events already started yesterday. This morning, Friday 5 July, it is the Stampede Parade downtown. Rain during Stampede makes things so unpleasant! Judging by my Stampede photos posted on Flickr, I haven't been since 2013, when I went with my daughter - surely it hasn't been that long? I know I haven't been the last few years, as it was feeling just too much to deal with. Happy to be away from the huge masses of people and the sickening smell of grease, ha, ha! Of course, not going means not getting any mini-donuts, too. Happy Stampeding, everyone! May the sun shine ....</div> Storm clouds moving in <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/49541444"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/14/44/49541444.18c6f489.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This morning, 5 July 2019, I am posting 6 photos taken two days ago, on a drive south to Frank Lake. Yet again, when I checked the weather forecast, it said continuing rain for day after day after day. However, the sun was shining when I decided to drive south. The clouds were sufficiently photogenic for me to change my plans and, instead of calling in at the Saskatoon Farm, I drove straight to the Lake.<br /> <br /> The last time I was at Frank Lake, there was one Coot, two Canada Geese, and a Red-winged and a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Two days ago, it was so much better! The Barn Swallows were there, having built their nest a few feet away from their previous nest site. The Eared Grebes had their tiny, adorable babies, sometimes riding on their back, other times swimming separately. Same thing with the Coots - some had very young babies; others had somewhat older youngsters. One Coot adult and baby were walking in thick mud, searching for food. They both looked such a mess, as if they had rolled in the mud. A pair of Western Grebes could be seen far in the distance.<br /> <br /> The sky began to change - the white clouds were taken over by rather menacing black ones and it became windy and the rain started. I really didn't want to drive back home on the very busy highway in pouring rain, but after waiting and hoping for it to end, I eventually had no choice but to risk it. As it turned out, there was hardly any traffic going north. <br /> <br /> It has been raining on and off ever since. The famous 9-day Calgary Stampede runs from 5-14 July this year and some events already started yesterday. This morning, Friday 5 July, it is the Stampede Parade downtown. Rain during Stampede makes things so unpleasant! Judging by my Stampede photos posted on Flickr, I haven't been since 2013, when I went with my daughter - surely it hasn't been that long? I know I haven't been the last few years, as it was feeling just too much to deal with. Happy to be away from the huge masses of people and the sickening smell of grease, ha, ha! Of course, not going means not getting any mini-donuts, too. Happy Stampeding, everyone! May the sun shine ....</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/48888210 tag:ipernity.com,2019-04-23,doc-48888210 Tue, 23 Apr 2019 02:07:09 +0000 2019-03-22T08:50:46-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/48888210"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/82/10/48888210.736f82f1.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This evening, I have flooded my photostream, (yet again) with another 22 images taken on 22 March, Day 4 of our 13-day trip to South Texas, 19-31 March 2019. I don't seem to have all that many photos from that day - thought I took a lot more than I did at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Centre, at the Port Aransas Nature Reserve, South Texas.<br /> <br /> Day 4, 22 March 2019, was a day of birding and also driving from Rockport, where we had stayed for three nights, to Kingsville. Most of these 22 photos were taken at the Port Aransas Nature Preserve. When we arrived at that location, we discovered that only a small area near the beach was open to the public, as other parts had been closed because of damage from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. We had a short walk there, enjoying seeing a tiny - and fast! - Sedge Wren. We also all took photos of a white caterpillar, only to discover when we got back to Calgary, that in fact it was not a caterpillar after all, but two white moths mating : ) <br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving that area, we stopped to take a quick shot or two of a Loggerhead Shrike, perched high up on a wire. I have seen a Loggerhead Shrike before, here in Alberta, but I had never seen one this close.<br /> <br /> After we left this area, we stopped at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, on the edge of the Port Aransas Nature Reserve. We really enjoyed this birding centre and their new boardwalk and tower. Lots of birds; even a huge Alligator.</div> Day 4, Common Gallinule, Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Centre, Texas <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/48888210"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/82/10/48888210.736f82f1.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This evening, I have flooded my photostream, (yet again) with another 22 images taken on 22 March, Day 4 of our 13-day trip to South Texas, 19-31 March 2019. I don't seem to have all that many photos from that day - thought I took a lot more than I did at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Centre, at the Port Aransas Nature Reserve, South Texas.<br /> <br /> Day 4, 22 March 2019, was a day of birding and also driving from Rockport, where we had stayed for three nights, to Kingsville. Most of these 22 photos were taken at the Port Aransas Nature Preserve. When we arrived at that location, we discovered that only a small area near the beach was open to the public, as other parts had been closed because of damage from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. We had a short walk there, enjoying seeing a tiny - and fast! - Sedge Wren. We also all took photos of a white caterpillar, only to discover when we got back to Calgary, that in fact it was not a caterpillar after all, but two white moths mating : ) <br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving that area, we stopped to take a quick shot or two of a Loggerhead Shrike, perched high up on a wire. I have seen a Loggerhead Shrike before, here in Alberta, but I had never seen one this close.<br /> <br /> After we left this area, we stopped at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, on the edge of the Port Aransas Nature Reserve. We really enjoyed this birding centre and their new boardwalk and tower. Lots of birds; even a huge Alligator.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/47328888 tag:ipernity.com,2018-09-16,doc-47328888 Sun, 16 Sep 2018 03:43:03 +0000 2018-09-15T10:47:37-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/47328888"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/88/88/47328888.2a871593.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Tonight, I have just added 8 extra photos of poor quality. They were taken during a walk with friends this morning, 15 September 2018, at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. I just wanted to add them to various albums for the record. <br /> <br /> The weather was so unpleasant today - cold (just a few degrees above freezing), misty and drizzling. Longjohns, gloves, two fleece jackets and a light shell were all needed. Some people were even wearing their thick, padded winter jackets. The atrocious light was useless for photography. However, I so rarely get to this location and so I wanted to add several sightings that were much appreciated, especially an American Mink that was spotted the far side of the lagoon, a few deer and a very distant Great Blue Heron. <br /> <br /> After our walk, some of us went for lunch at the Blackfoot Diner. It was cold enough outside to make it feel really good to be able to wrap our fingers round cups of hot coffee, <br /> <br /> Everyone here is really hoping that we will actually have an autumn this year. Quite a few of the trees have turned yellow, but we have had rain and snow this week and some of the leaves are already on the ground. This is SUMMER! What a crazy summer we have had this year - heat (including breaking an all-time record for here!), slightly cooler days in between, snow and rain accompanied by temperatures that are barely above freezing and windchills that have plunged below 0C. Oh, and weeks of very poor air quality because of the smoke that was blowing in from the Britisih Columbia wildfires. Just when we were thinking that fall has arrived early, along came the snow. Keeping fingers crossed that another week of crummy weather and hopefully fall will return, with much-needed sunshine and warmth.</div> On a cold summer day with mist and drizzle <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/47328888"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/88/88/47328888.2a871593.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Tonight, I have just added 8 extra photos of poor quality. They were taken during a walk with friends this morning, 15 September 2018, at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. I just wanted to add them to various albums for the record. <br /> <br /> The weather was so unpleasant today - cold (just a few degrees above freezing), misty and drizzling. Longjohns, gloves, two fleece jackets and a light shell were all needed. Some people were even wearing their thick, padded winter jackets. The atrocious light was useless for photography. However, I so rarely get to this location and so I wanted to add several sightings that were much appreciated, especially an American Mink that was spotted the far side of the lagoon, a few deer and a very distant Great Blue Heron. <br /> <br /> After our walk, some of us went for lunch at the Blackfoot Diner. It was cold enough outside to make it feel really good to be able to wrap our fingers round cups of hot coffee, <br /> <br /> Everyone here is really hoping that we will actually have an autumn this year. Quite a few of the trees have turned yellow, but we have had rain and snow this week and some of the leaves are already on the ground. This is SUMMER! What a crazy summer we have had this year - heat (including breaking an all-time record for here!), slightly cooler days in between, snow and rain accompanied by temperatures that are barely above freezing and windchills that have plunged below 0C. Oh, and weeks of very poor air quality because of the smoke that was blowing in from the Britisih Columbia wildfires. Just when we were thinking that fall has arrived early, along came the snow. Keeping fingers crossed that another week of crummy weather and hopefully fall will return, with much-needed sunshine and warmth.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/47021030 tag:ipernity.com,2018-07-18,doc-47021030 Wed, 18 Jul 2018 17:06:05 +0000 2018-06-23T14:10:24-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/47021030"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/10/30/47021030.961937af.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of the lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned.<br /> <br /> Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. <br /> <br /> "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake</a><br /> <br /> From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/</a><br /> <br /> On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature.<br /> <br /> A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there.<br /> <br /> Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!</div> Bow Lake on a cloudy day <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/47021030"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/10/30/47021030.961937af.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of the lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned.<br /> <br /> Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. <br /> <br /> "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake</a><br /> <br /> From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/</a><br /> <br /> On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature.<br /> <br /> A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there.<br /> <br /> Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46958772 tag:ipernity.com,2018-07-06,doc-46958772 Fri, 06 Jul 2018 16:27:27 +0000 2018-06-23T13:10:32-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46958772"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/87/72/46958772.50491529.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned.<br /> <br /> Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. <br /> <br /> "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake</a><br /> <br /> From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/</a><br /> <br /> On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature.<br /> <br /> A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there.<br /> <br /> Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!</div> Reflected peaks <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46958772"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/87/72/46958772.50491529.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned.<br /> <br /> Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. <br /> <br /> "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake</a><br /> <br /> From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/</a><br /> <br /> On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature.<br /> <br /> A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there.<br /> <br /> Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46958516 tag:ipernity.com,2018-07-05,doc-46958516 Thu, 05 Jul 2018 17:30:30 +0000 2018-06-23T13:02:22-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46958516"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/85/16/46958516.f0165572.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned.<br /> <br /> Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. <br /> <br /> "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake</a><br /> <br /> From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/</a><br /> <br /> On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature.<br /> <br /> A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there.<br /> <br /> Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!</div> Friends at Bow Lake <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46958516"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/85/16/46958516.f0165572.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned.<br /> <br /> Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. <br /> <br /> "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake</a><br /> <br /> From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/</a><br /> <br /> On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature.<br /> <br /> A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there.<br /> <br /> Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46903792 tag:ipernity.com,2018-06-25,doc-46903792 Mon, 25 Jun 2018 16:23:10 +0000 2018-06-23T14:01:56-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46903792"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/37/92/46903792.c9996bed.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">The day before yesterday, 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned.<br /> <br /> Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. <br /> <br /> "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake</a><br /> <br /> From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/</a><br /> <br /> On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. A photo I posted yesterday shows a moment that the bear raised its head and stared in that photographer's direction. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature.<br /> <br /> A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there.<br /> <br /> Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!</div> Bow Lake, Alberta <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46903792"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/37/92/46903792.c9996bed.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">The day before yesterday, 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned.<br /> <br /> Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. <br /> <br /> "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake</a><br /> <br /> From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/</a><br /> <br /> On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. A photo I posted yesterday shows a moment that the bear raised its head and stared in that photographer's direction. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature.<br /> <br /> A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there.<br /> <br /> Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46878218 tag:ipernity.com,2018-06-21,doc-46878218 Thu, 21 Jun 2018 16:45:14 +0000 2018-06-19T18:40:38-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46878218"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/82/18/46878218.a40345d9.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="181" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Two days ago, on 19 June 2018, there were two walks I wanted to go on - an afternoon botany walk at Griffith Woods, especially as I have missed most of the walks this session; and a birding walk in the evening at Lafarge Meadows in Fish Creek Park. Usually, I don't do two walks on the same day, as it is just too much walking for me. <br /> <br /> I photographed this male American Wigeon at the Fish Creek Park location. We were also lucky enough to see two Black-crowned night-herons there, though they were far, far away. A Great Blue Heron stood at the river's edge, fishing. The group of 8 of us saw 39 bird species in total. When I checked the list on ebird just now, there was no mention of a Gadwall, so now I'm wondering if this photo shows a Gadwall or an American Wigeon!<br /> <br /> After the evening walk, a few of us went to Tim Horton's for coffee and chat. Coffee doesn't usually keep me awake, but I guess I'm not normally drinking it at 10:00 pm! Despite feeling tired out from two walks, I was also 'wired' and it was 6:00 am before I finally fell into bed the next morning. An hour later, I was awake, so yesterday was definitely a slow day at home.</div> American Wigeon <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46878218"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/82/18/46878218.a40345d9.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="181" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Two days ago, on 19 June 2018, there were two walks I wanted to go on - an afternoon botany walk at Griffith Woods, especially as I have missed most of the walks this session; and a birding walk in the evening at Lafarge Meadows in Fish Creek Park. Usually, I don't do two walks on the same day, as it is just too much walking for me. <br /> <br /> I photographed this male American Wigeon at the Fish Creek Park location. We were also lucky enough to see two Black-crowned night-herons there, though they were far, far away. A Great Blue Heron stood at the river's edge, fishing. The group of 8 of us saw 39 bird species in total. When I checked the list on ebird just now, there was no mention of a Gadwall, so now I'm wondering if this photo shows a Gadwall or an American Wigeon!<br /> <br /> After the evening walk, a few of us went to Tim Horton's for coffee and chat. Coffee doesn't usually keep me awake, but I guess I'm not normally drinking it at 10:00 pm! Despite feeling tired out from two walks, I was also 'wired' and it was 6:00 am before I finally fell into bed the next morning. An hour later, I was awake, so yesterday was definitely a slow day at home.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46487318 tag:ipernity.com,2018-04-07,doc-46487318 Sat, 07 Apr 2018 18:00:52 +0000 2017-08-22T18:56:24-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46487318"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/73/18/46487318.8f4379f4.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Normally, I don't go on any evening bird walks, but I had been meaning for ages to get over to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It always feels like a long drive across the city, but I thought this particular bird walk, on 22 August 2017, would actually get me over there. I'm really glad I went, not just seeing friends, but also these two Wood Ducks that were reasonably close. I don't see Wood Ducks very often and usually, when I do see them, they are far away. The light wasn't as good as I would have liked, so my photos are not as sharp as they could have been, but I'm still happy to get them.<br /> <br /> "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id</a><br /> <br /> We saw 24 species of bird, including 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 8 Wood Ducks, and an American Goldfinch. Thanks, Janet, for a very enjoyable two and a half hour walk on such a beautiful evening!</div> Wood Ducks <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46487318"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/73/18/46487318.8f4379f4.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Normally, I don't go on any evening bird walks, but I had been meaning for ages to get over to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It always feels like a long drive across the city, but I thought this particular bird walk, on 22 August 2017, would actually get me over there. I'm really glad I went, not just seeing friends, but also these two Wood Ducks that were reasonably close. I don't see Wood Ducks very often and usually, when I do see them, they are far away. The light wasn't as good as I would have liked, so my photos are not as sharp as they could have been, but I'm still happy to get them.<br /> <br /> "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id</a><br /> <br /> We saw 24 species of bird, including 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 8 Wood Ducks, and an American Goldfinch. Thanks, Janet, for a very enjoyable two and a half hour walk on such a beautiful evening!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46341200 tag:ipernity.com,2018-03-06,doc-46341200 Tue, 06 Mar 2018 16:32:51 +0000 2017-05-27T18:14:23-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46341200"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/12/00/46341200.f9341879.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This photo was taken in the evening of 27 May 2017, when a group of us (13?) got together at Frank Lake for a celebration of spring. Great company and great picnic food. Even a few birds to photograph, including this male Ruddy Duck, who was busy trying to impress a nearby female Ruddy Duck. We had sunshine, too, until it was time to go home, when the heavens opened and down came the rain, accompanied by streaks of lightning. Thanks, Brenda, for organizing this event that went so smoothly and was most enjoyable!<br /> <br /> "Ruddy Ducks are compact, thick-necked waterfowl with seemingly oversized tails that they habitually hold upright. Breeding males are almost cartoonishly bold, with a sky-blue bill, shining white cheek patch, and gleaming chestnut body. They court females by beating their bill against their neck hard enough to create a swirl of bubbles in the water. This widespread duck breeds mostly in the prairie pothole region of North America and winters in wetlands throughout the U.S. and Mexico." From AllAboutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruddy_Duck" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruddy_Duck</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruddy_duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruddy_duck/id</a><br /> <br /> "Frank Lake, found 50 km southeast of Calgary near High River, Alberta, is a productive wetland important to hundreds of bird species. Once completely dry, this wetland has been saved from drainage and drought through a progressive partnership between industry, government and Ducks Unlimited. It is now listed as one of 597 Important Bird Areas in Canada."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake/</a></div> Ruddy Duck from the archives <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46341200"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/12/00/46341200.f9341879.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This photo was taken in the evening of 27 May 2017, when a group of us (13?) got together at Frank Lake for a celebration of spring. Great company and great picnic food. Even a few birds to photograph, including this male Ruddy Duck, who was busy trying to impress a nearby female Ruddy Duck. We had sunshine, too, until it was time to go home, when the heavens opened and down came the rain, accompanied by streaks of lightning. Thanks, Brenda, for organizing this event that went so smoothly and was most enjoyable!<br /> <br /> "Ruddy Ducks are compact, thick-necked waterfowl with seemingly oversized tails that they habitually hold upright. Breeding males are almost cartoonishly bold, with a sky-blue bill, shining white cheek patch, and gleaming chestnut body. They court females by beating their bill against their neck hard enough to create a swirl of bubbles in the water. This widespread duck breeds mostly in the prairie pothole region of North America and winters in wetlands throughout the U.S. and Mexico." From AllAboutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruddy_Duck" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruddy_Duck</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruddy_duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruddy_duck/id</a><br /> <br /> "Frank Lake, found 50 km southeast of Calgary near High River, Alberta, is a productive wetland important to hundreds of bird species. Once completely dry, this wetland has been saved from drainage and drought through a progressive partnership between industry, government and Ducks Unlimited. It is now listed as one of 597 Important Bird Areas in Canada."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake/</a></div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46206270 tag:ipernity.com,2018-02-01,doc-46206270 Thu, 01 Feb 2018 06:54:29 +0000 2017-03-19T16:01:51-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46206270"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/62/70/46206270.d80ddca2.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Tonight, I am posting six 'green' photos taken on our outing to the Caroni Swamp in Trinidad, on 19 March 2017. While these photos bring back great memories for myself, they are probably of little interest to most people. Also, they are poor quality images. For that reason, I am posting them at night, when probably most people will not be on Flickr. I will post my usual three images tomorrow morning, though they are far from good photos.<br /> <br /> This outing really was the highlight of our holiday, kept to the last but one day in Trinidad. There was just one more outing the following morning, and then we spent that afternoon hanging out at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, photographing some of the birds and packing our bags ready for leaving in the middle of the night to catch our first flight home. <br /> <br /> On this day, we hiked to see the unusual Oilbirds in the morning and then we went to the Caroni Swamp in the afternoon and evening. We were lucky enough to see a Masked Cardinal along the edge of the Caroni Swamp, before going on the boat to see the Scarlet Ibis.<br /> <br /> At the Swamp, my six friends and I were privileged to be able to watch the arrival of huge flocks of amazing Scarlet Ibis flying in to roost. Will add this YouTube link (not my video) to give an idea of what our boat ride was like - including the large snake curled up in a tree over our heads! All the other boats we saw were packed full of people, but we were given a boat to ourselves, which was great.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/vV9XvW2JSVE" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/vV9XvW2JSVE</a><br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/uMj4zbdtlmU" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/uMj4zbdtlmU</a><br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/uMj4zbdtlmU" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/uMj4zbdtlmU</a><br /> <br /> This adventure was only the second holiday of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week trip with my dear friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going. <br /> <br /> Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together (from 12-21 March 2017), spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could choose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself! We were so lucky with our flights, as we were just in time to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off! <br /> <br /> What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with some of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. Just gorgeous. <br /> <br /> The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on Trinidad, is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up the mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a minibus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was enough room for two vehicles to pass each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road, from the coast to Asa Wright, took just over an hour each way.<br /> <br /> I still miss the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and even the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served buffet-style, with a great variety of dishes from which to choose. To me, pure luxury. So very, very grateful to have been invited to be part of this amazing adventure.<br /> <br /> This is a video that I came across on YouTube, taken by Rigdon Currie and Trish Johnson, at many of the same places we visited on Trinidad and Tobago. Not my video, but it made me feel like I was right there still. Posting the link here again, so that I won't lose it. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/BBifhf99f_M" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/BBifhf99f_M</a><br /> <br /> I also came across the following 27-minute YouTube video of the flora and fauna of Trinidad, filmed by John Patrick Smith in February 2015.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/6HHBm9MIxnk" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/6HHBm9MIxnk</a></div> Boat ride to see Scarlet Ibis, Caroni Swamp, Trinidad <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46206270"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/62/70/46206270.d80ddca2.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Tonight, I am posting six 'green' photos taken on our outing to the Caroni Swamp in Trinidad, on 19 March 2017. While these photos bring back great memories for myself, they are probably of little interest to most people. Also, they are poor quality images. For that reason, I am posting them at night, when probably most people will not be on Flickr. I will post my usual three images tomorrow morning, though they are far from good photos.<br /> <br /> This outing really was the highlight of our holiday, kept to the last but one day in Trinidad. There was just one more outing the following morning, and then we spent that afternoon hanging out at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, photographing some of the birds and packing our bags ready for leaving in the middle of the night to catch our first flight home. <br /> <br /> On this day, we hiked to see the unusual Oilbirds in the morning and then we went to the Caroni Swamp in the afternoon and evening. We were lucky enough to see a Masked Cardinal along the edge of the Caroni Swamp, before going on the boat to see the Scarlet Ibis.<br /> <br /> At the Swamp, my six friends and I were privileged to be able to watch the arrival of huge flocks of amazing Scarlet Ibis flying in to roost. Will add this YouTube link (not my video) to give an idea of what our boat ride was like - including the large snake curled up in a tree over our heads! All the other boats we saw were packed full of people, but we were given a boat to ourselves, which was great.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/vV9XvW2JSVE" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/vV9XvW2JSVE</a><br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/uMj4zbdtlmU" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/uMj4zbdtlmU</a><br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/uMj4zbdtlmU" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/uMj4zbdtlmU</a><br /> <br /> This adventure was only the second holiday of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week trip with my dear friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going. <br /> <br /> Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together (from 12-21 March 2017), spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could choose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself! We were so lucky with our flights, as we were just in time to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off! <br /> <br /> What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with some of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. Just gorgeous. <br /> <br /> The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on Trinidad, is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up the mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a minibus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was enough room for two vehicles to pass each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road, from the coast to Asa Wright, took just over an hour each way.<br /> <br /> I still miss the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and even the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served buffet-style, with a great variety of dishes from which to choose. To me, pure luxury. So very, very grateful to have been invited to be part of this amazing adventure.<br /> <br /> This is a video that I came across on YouTube, taken by Rigdon Currie and Trish Johnson, at many of the same places we visited on Trinidad and Tobago. Not my video, but it made me feel like I was right there still. Posting the link here again, so that I won't lose it. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/BBifhf99f_M" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/BBifhf99f_M</a><br /> <br /> I also came across the following 27-minute YouTube video of the flora and fauna of Trinidad, filmed by John Patrick Smith in February 2015.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://youtu.be/6HHBm9MIxnk" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/6HHBm9MIxnk</a></div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46122168 tag:ipernity.com,2018-01-09,doc-46122168 Tue, 09 Jan 2018 16:10:12 +0000 2018-01-08T11:24:48-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46122168"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/21/68/46122168.b140844d.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="240" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">UPDATE about our friend, Mike Kelly, who amazingly survived an horrific vehicle accident (broken jaw, broken ankle and two broken legs), east of the city, in brutal, -30C weather. One of the two wonderful good Samaritans who saved his life turned up at Mike's hospital room! This will be so good for Mike, as he really, really wanted to meet his two life-savers and thank them in person. Hopefully, he will still get the chance to meet his other hero. We are all so grateful! <br /> <br /> Three rather uninspiring photos posted this morning, mainly just as a record that I actually got out on a birding walk with a group of friends yesterday morning. Quite a photographic leap from the hot rainforest of Trinidad (posted yesterday) to the cold, winter sights of Calgary. One look at the weather forecast for this week and I decided that, if I was going to head over to Carburn Park, I had better do it yesterday. We are supposed to get snow this evening, overnight and the next two days. Temperature this overcast morning is -7C (windchill -15C), so not too bad.<br /> <br /> The light was not good for photos yesterday morning and most of the birds were very distant, as usual, at this location. Funny how it always works - if one is walking along the edge of the river, the birds are mainly on the far side. We did see 29 bird species, though. My main reason for pushing myself out the front door was to catch up with friends.<br /> <br /> Later in the day, a friend very kindly picked me up and we went to the meeting about the recent Christmas Bird Counts. What an enormous amount of detail and facts are collected each year - most impressive!</div> Hooded Merganser male <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/46122168"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/21/68/46122168.b140844d.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="240" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">UPDATE about our friend, Mike Kelly, who amazingly survived an horrific vehicle accident (broken jaw, broken ankle and two broken legs), east of the city, in brutal, -30C weather. One of the two wonderful good Samaritans who saved his life turned up at Mike's hospital room! This will be so good for Mike, as he really, really wanted to meet his two life-savers and thank them in person. Hopefully, he will still get the chance to meet his other hero. We are all so grateful! <br /> <br /> Three rather uninspiring photos posted this morning, mainly just as a record that I actually got out on a birding walk with a group of friends yesterday morning. Quite a photographic leap from the hot rainforest of Trinidad (posted yesterday) to the cold, winter sights of Calgary. One look at the weather forecast for this week and I decided that, if I was going to head over to Carburn Park, I had better do it yesterday. We are supposed to get snow this evening, overnight and the next two days. Temperature this overcast morning is -7C (windchill -15C), so not too bad.<br /> <br /> The light was not good for photos yesterday morning and most of the birds were very distant, as usual, at this location. Funny how it always works - if one is walking along the edge of the river, the birds are mainly on the far side. We did see 29 bird species, though. My main reason for pushing myself out the front door was to catch up with friends.<br /> <br /> Later in the day, a friend very kindly picked me up and we went to the meeting about the recent Christmas Bird Counts. What an enormous amount of detail and facts are collected each year - most impressive!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45671068 tag:ipernity.com,2017-10-14,doc-45671068 Sat, 14 Oct 2017 12:48:52 +0000 2017-10-10T10:32:24-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45671068"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/10/68/45671068.091de241.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 10 October 2017, I decided to join friends for a three-hour walk - that included a fair bit of standing - at the east end of Fish Creek Provincial Park. I was hoping that there might still be some fall colour to be seen. Strong winds and snow had removed a lot of the leaves from the trees, but there were still enough to give a golden glow to photos. <br /> <br /> We had a few good sightings, including a Great Blue Heron that seemed to have a problem with swallowing a very tiny fish it had caught. It would catch the fish, and then drop it back in the water, and repeated this several times. I don't think it ever did catch and actually eat it. Another fun thing to see was a male Downy Woodpecker that suddenly flew down to someone's hand. Chickadees and Nuthatches were also very aware that we were standing there. They are so busy searching for and collecting food to store away for the long, harsh winter months.<br /> <br /> Great Horned Owls nest each year at the east end of the park and have done so for years. I don't know how on earth someone spotted the one we saw on this walk. It was perched far away in a wooded area and was almost impossible to see. If I moved two or three inches to the left or right, the owl was hidden from view. Even though I have seen endless owls over the years, it is always a good feeling to see one again. I guess I missed the owls in this area back in March or April of this year - too busy with preparations for my trip to Trinidad & Tobago, but also, last winter was so brutal.</div> Great Blue Heron, fishing <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45671068"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/10/68/45671068.091de241.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">On 10 October 2017, I decided to join friends for a three-hour walk - that included a fair bit of standing - at the east end of Fish Creek Provincial Park. I was hoping that there might still be some fall colour to be seen. Strong winds and snow had removed a lot of the leaves from the trees, but there were still enough to give a golden glow to photos. <br /> <br /> We had a few good sightings, including a Great Blue Heron that seemed to have a problem with swallowing a very tiny fish it had caught. It would catch the fish, and then drop it back in the water, and repeated this several times. I don't think it ever did catch and actually eat it. Another fun thing to see was a male Downy Woodpecker that suddenly flew down to someone's hand. Chickadees and Nuthatches were also very aware that we were standing there. They are so busy searching for and collecting food to store away for the long, harsh winter months.<br /> <br /> Great Horned Owls nest each year at the east end of the park and have done so for years. I don't know how on earth someone spotted the one we saw on this walk. It was perched far away in a wooded area and was almost impossible to see. If I moved two or three inches to the left or right, the owl was hidden from view. Even though I have seen endless owls over the years, it is always a good feeling to see one again. I guess I missed the owls in this area back in March or April of this year - too busy with preparations for my trip to Trinidad & Tobago, but also, last winter was so brutal.</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45487606 tag:ipernity.com,2017-09-10,doc-45487606 Sun, 10 Sep 2017 16:50:51 +0000 2017-09-09T10:50:53-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45487606"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/76/06/45487606.6cf9fd52.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Yesterday morning, 9 September 2017, I joined several friends for a morning's bird walk at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary in Calgary. I will add our leader's report in a comment box below. Thanks for a very enjoyable walk, Janet, followed by lunch at the nearby Blackfoot Truckstop Diner! <br /> <br /> At the Sanctuary, people must stay on the path. There are various deer trails or places where Beavers have dragged logs to the lagoon. These are not 'paths' for visitors to walk along. Our leader is a steward at the Sanctuary and she explained about staying on the path to a young woman who was ignoring the rules. However, this woman took no notice and stayed where she was, wanting to take photos. Ignorant.<br /> <br /> "The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Nature Centre have been providing migratory birds with a place to rest their wings since 1929. That's more than 80 years of conservation!<br /> <br /> To date, 270 species of birds, 21 species of mammals and 347 species of plants have been recorded at the Sanctuary and Nature Centre by members of the public, volunteers and staff.<br /> <br /> In 1883, Colonel James Walker settled the land that is now occupied by the sanctuary. In 1910, the current brick house - then named Inglewood - was built, and the surrounding area was named for the most prominent property in the area.<br /> <br /> From 1929 to 1952, several Chinese families leased land from Colonel Walker and established market gardens to serve the needs of a growing city. These highly productive gardens were used to grow vegetables and bedding plants, and represent an early example of urban agriculture and horticulture in the city. As part of the engagement process for Bend in Bow, it was discovered the descendants of one of the families, the Koo family, still reside in Calgary.<br /> <br /> Colonel Walker's son, Selby, applied to the Federal government in 1929 to have 59 acres on the west side of the Bow River be designated as a Federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary. His request was granted and the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary was born.<br /> <br /> When Selby died in 1953, Ed Jefferies acquired the property and leased it to the Alberta Fish & Game Association. In 1970, The City of Calgary purchased the property and has been managing it as a natural reserve ever since.<br /> <br /> The sanctuary's Nature Centre was built in 1996 and grassland restoration projects began in that same year.<br /> The Colonel Walker House is currently used by Parks staff and volunteers as a classroom and office."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SE-parks/Inglewood-Bird-Sanctuary.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SE-parks/Inglew...</a></div> Walker House, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45487606"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/76/06/45487606.6cf9fd52.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Yesterday morning, 9 September 2017, I joined several friends for a morning's bird walk at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary in Calgary. I will add our leader's report in a comment box below. Thanks for a very enjoyable walk, Janet, followed by lunch at the nearby Blackfoot Truckstop Diner! <br /> <br /> At the Sanctuary, people must stay on the path. There are various deer trails or places where Beavers have dragged logs to the lagoon. These are not 'paths' for visitors to walk along. Our leader is a steward at the Sanctuary and she explained about staying on the path to a young woman who was ignoring the rules. However, this woman took no notice and stayed where she was, wanting to take photos. Ignorant.<br /> <br /> "The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Nature Centre have been providing migratory birds with a place to rest their wings since 1929. That's more than 80 years of conservation!<br /> <br /> To date, 270 species of birds, 21 species of mammals and 347 species of plants have been recorded at the Sanctuary and Nature Centre by members of the public, volunteers and staff.<br /> <br /> In 1883, Colonel James Walker settled the land that is now occupied by the sanctuary. In 1910, the current brick house - then named Inglewood - was built, and the surrounding area was named for the most prominent property in the area.<br /> <br /> From 1929 to 1952, several Chinese families leased land from Colonel Walker and established market gardens to serve the needs of a growing city. These highly productive gardens were used to grow vegetables and bedding plants, and represent an early example of urban agriculture and horticulture in the city. As part of the engagement process for Bend in Bow, it was discovered the descendants of one of the families, the Koo family, still reside in Calgary.<br /> <br /> Colonel Walker's son, Selby, applied to the Federal government in 1929 to have 59 acres on the west side of the Bow River be designated as a Federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary. His request was granted and the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary was born.<br /> <br /> When Selby died in 1953, Ed Jefferies acquired the property and leased it to the Alberta Fish & Game Association. In 1970, The City of Calgary purchased the property and has been managing it as a natural reserve ever since.<br /> <br /> The sanctuary's Nature Centre was built in 1996 and grassland restoration projects began in that same year.<br /> The Colonel Walker House is currently used by Parks staff and volunteers as a classroom and office."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SE-parks/Inglewood-Bird-Sanctuary.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SE-parks/Inglew...</a></div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45451852 tag:ipernity.com,2017-09-04,doc-45451852 Mon, 04 Sep 2017 15:34:15 +0000 2017-08-22T18:56:35-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45451852"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/18/52/45451852.f9be4995.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">For members of the ipernity website, this update is from 1 September 2017. I have the same almost 14,000 photos there as I have on Flickr.<br /> <br /> "Dear Members,<br /> <br /> We are thrilled to announce that we are about to take the last steps of IMA's take-over of the Ipernity platform and service. IMA is now handling the financial aspects of the site. IMA made the first payment to Amazon Web Services for August and will continue to pay the operating costs to ensure the site runs without interruption. This is a major accomplishment in the transition from Ipernity S.A. to IMA.<br /> <br /> However, technical issues such as renewal options still need to be resolved due to software/coding issues. These issues are currently being addressed with the objective of a quick resolution....."<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4675826" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4675826</a><br /> <br /> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> <br /> Normally, I don't go on any evening bird walks, but I had been meaning for ages to get over to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It always feels like a long drive across the city, but I thought this particular bird walk on 22 August 2017, would actually get me over there. I'm really glad I went, not just seeing friends, but also these two Wood Ducks that were reasonably close. I don't see Wood Ducks very often and usually, when I do see them, they are far away. <br /> <br /> "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id</a><br /> <br /> We saw 24 species of bird, including 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 8 Wood Ducks, and an American Goldfinch. I will add the complete list that Andrew Hart compiled, in a comment box below. Thanks, Andrew! Thanks, too, Janet, for a very enjoyable two and a half hour walk on such a beautiful evening!</div> Wood Ducks <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45451852"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/18/52/45451852.f9be4995.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">For members of the ipernity website, this update is from 1 September 2017. I have the same almost 14,000 photos there as I have on Flickr.<br /> <br /> "Dear Members,<br /> <br /> We are thrilled to announce that we are about to take the last steps of IMA's take-over of the Ipernity platform and service. IMA is now handling the financial aspects of the site. IMA made the first payment to Amazon Web Services for August and will continue to pay the operating costs to ensure the site runs without interruption. This is a major accomplishment in the transition from Ipernity S.A. to IMA.<br /> <br /> However, technical issues such as renewal options still need to be resolved due to software/coding issues. These issues are currently being addressed with the objective of a quick resolution....."<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4675826" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4675826</a><br /> <br /> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> <br /> Normally, I don't go on any evening bird walks, but I had been meaning for ages to get over to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It always feels like a long drive across the city, but I thought this particular bird walk on 22 August 2017, would actually get me over there. I'm really glad I went, not just seeing friends, but also these two Wood Ducks that were reasonably close. I don't see Wood Ducks very often and usually, when I do see them, they are far away. <br /> <br /> "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id</a><br /> <br /> We saw 24 species of bird, including 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 8 Wood Ducks, and an American Goldfinch. I will add the complete list that Andrew Hart compiled, in a comment box below. Thanks, Andrew! Thanks, too, Janet, for a very enjoyable two and a half hour walk on such a beautiful evening!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45374916 tag:ipernity.com,2017-08-23,doc-45374916 Wed, 23 Aug 2017 18:51:54 +0000 2017-08-22T18:56:51-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45374916"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/49/16/45374916.d5dc51b8.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Normally, I don't go on any evening bird walks, but I had been meaning for ages to get over to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It always feels like a long drive across the city, but I thought this particular bird walk yesterday evening, 22 August 2017, would actually get me over there. I'm really glad I went, not just seeing friends, but also these two Wood Ducks that were reasonably close. I don't see Wood Ducks very often and usually, when I do see them, they are far away. The light wasn't as good as I would have liked, so my photos are not as sharp as they could have been, but I'm still happy to get them.<br /> <br /> "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id</a><br /> <br /> We saw 24 species of bird, including 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 8 Wood Ducks, and an American Goldfinch. I will add the complete list that Andrew Hart compiled, in a comment box below. Thanks, Andrew! Thanks, too, Janet, for a very enjoyable two and a half hour walk on such a beautiful evening!</div> Handsome Wood Ducks <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/45374916"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/49/16/45374916.d5dc51b8.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Normally, I don't go on any evening bird walks, but I had been meaning for ages to get over to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It always feels like a long drive across the city, but I thought this particular bird walk yesterday evening, 22 August 2017, would actually get me over there. I'm really glad I went, not just seeing friends, but also these two Wood Ducks that were reasonably close. I don't see Wood Ducks very often and usually, when I do see them, they are far away. The light wasn't as good as I would have liked, so my photos are not as sharp as they could have been, but I'm still happy to get them.<br /> <br /> "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id</a><br /> <br /> We saw 24 species of bird, including 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 8 Wood Ducks, and an American Goldfinch. I will add the complete list that Andrew Hart compiled, in a comment box below. Thanks, Andrew! Thanks, too, Janet, for a very enjoyable two and a half hour walk on such a beautiful evening!</div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/44900746 tag:ipernity.com,2017-06-02,doc-44900746 Fri, 02 Jun 2017 15:37:52 +0000 2017-05-27T18:23:42-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/44900746"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/07/46/44900746.79c96bef.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="181" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Last night, I added five extra photos, trying to catch up a little, otherwise I will never get back to the last two days of my Trinidad images. I am posting three more photos this morning.<br /> <br /> This photo of the bird blind at Frank Lake was taken in the evening of 27 May 2017, when a group of us (13?) got together at Frank Lake for a celebration of spring. The water level was quite high. Great company and great picnic food. Even a few birds to photograph : ) Sunshine, too, until it was time to go home, when the heavens opened and down came the rain, accompanied by streaks of lightning. Thanks, Brenda, for organizing this event that went so smoothly and was most enjoyable!<br /> <br /> "Frank Lake, found 50 km southeast of Calgary near High River, Alberta, is a productive wetland important to hundreds of bird species. Once completely dry, this wetland has been saved from drainage and drought through a progressive partnership between industry, government and Ducks Unlimited. It is now listed as one of 597 Important Bird Areas in Canada."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake</a></div> Frank Lake bird blind <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/44900746"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/07/46/44900746.79c96bef.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="181" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">Last night, I added five extra photos, trying to catch up a little, otherwise I will never get back to the last two days of my Trinidad images. I am posting three more photos this morning.<br /> <br /> This photo of the bird blind at Frank Lake was taken in the evening of 27 May 2017, when a group of us (13?) got together at Frank Lake for a celebration of spring. The water level was quite high. Great company and great picnic food. Even a few birds to photograph : ) Sunshine, too, until it was time to go home, when the heavens opened and down came the rain, accompanied by streaks of lightning. Thanks, Brenda, for organizing this event that went so smoothly and was most enjoyable!<br /> <br /> "Frank Lake, found 50 km southeast of Calgary near High River, Alberta, is a productive wetland important to hundreds of bird species. Once completely dry, this wetland has been saved from drainage and drought through a progressive partnership between industry, government and Ducks Unlimited. It is now listed as one of 597 Important Bird Areas in Canada."<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ducks.ca/places/alberta/frank-lake</a></div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43676370 tag:ipernity.com,2016-11-05,doc-43676370 Sat, 05 Nov 2016 15:53:57 +0000 2016-11-01T09:45:29-07:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43676370"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/63/70/43676370.0b59e344.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">I don't see Wood Ducks very often and, usually when I do see them, they are far away. The two males and one female in this photo were just within photo range, fully zoomed and cropped. A second female was nearby. They were hanging out at a local storm-water pond at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park, and were seen on a birding walk with friends on 1 November 2016. By the way, a note to any local birders - the road down to Bankside has been closed for the winter. I don't remember this happening other years. Now you have to park in the Burnsmead parking lot and walk the rest of the way. I will add the list of the 32 bird species seen, in a comment box below.<br /> <br /> "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id</a><br /> <br /> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_duck" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_duck</a></div> Wood Ducks on a local pond <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43676370"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/63/70/43676370.0b59e344.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">I don't see Wood Ducks very often and, usually when I do see them, they are far away. The two males and one female in this photo were just within photo range, fully zoomed and cropped. A second female was nearby. They were hanging out at a local storm-water pond at Burnsmead, Fish Creek Park, and were seen on a birding walk with friends on 1 November 2016. By the way, a note to any local birders - the road down to Bankside has been closed for the winter. I don't remember this happening other years. Now you have to park in the Burnsmead parking lot and walk the rest of the way. I will add the list of the 32 bird species seen, in a comment box below.<br /> <br /> "The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches." From AllABoutBirds.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id</a><br /> <br /> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_duck" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_duck</a></div> Anne Elliott https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43540308 tag:ipernity.com,2016-10-23,doc-43540308 Sun, 23 Oct 2016 11:51:36 +0000 2016-10-22T14:36:40-06:00 nobody@ipernity.com (Anne Elliott) <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43540308"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/03/08/43540308.022296a8.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This photo and the next one were taken yesterday, 22 October 2016, when I went on a birding day trip with a group of friends, east of Calgary. I will add our leader's eBird list of species seen, as soon as I have it.<br /> <br /> We had beautiful weather for these few hours and we saw plenty of birds. Unfortunately, all the birds were extremely far away, as usual, so all I got were very distant shots of a mass of birds, plus photos of this Ring-billed Gull and the much smaller Bonaparte's Gull. In the breeding season, the Bonaparte's Gull has a black head, but in winter, it is white with a black dot on each cheek.<br /> <br /> There were quite a few Geese of different species - Canada Geese, Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese. All the usual ducks were to be seen at the various sloughs. Chestermere Lake was one of our stops, and also Wyndham/Carseland Reservoir where I took this photo.<br /> <br /> This morning, I was up at an unearthly hour again, as I have a trip with various friends, this time going west of the city.</div> Ring-billed Gull and Bonaparte&#039;s Gull <p class="who"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/home/293827">Anne Elliott</a> has posted:</p><p class="preview"><a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/293827/43540308"><img src="https://cdn.ipernity.com/200/03/08/43540308.022296a8.240.jpg?r2" width="240" height="180" alt=""/></a></p><div class="description">This photo and the next one were taken yesterday, 22 October 2016, when I went on a birding day trip with a group of friends, east of Calgary. I will add our leader's eBird list of species seen, as soon as I have it.<br /> <br /> We had beautiful weather for these few hours and we saw plenty of birds. Unfortunately, all the birds were extremely far away, as usual, so all I got were very distant shots of a mass of birds, plus photos of this Ring-billed Gull and the much smaller Bonaparte's Gull. In the breeding season, the Bonaparte's Gull has a black head, but in winter, it is white with a black dot on each cheek.<br /> <br /> There were quite a few Geese of different species - Canada Geese, Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese. All the usual ducks were to be seen at the various sloughs. Chestermere Lake was one of our stops, and also Wyndham/Carseland Reservoir where I took this photo.<br /> <br /> This morning, I was up at an unearthly hour again, as I have a trip with various friends, this time going west of the city.</div> Anne Elliott