Wood Duck Ducklings

One of the most colourful ducks in Alberta, and probably the cutest ducklings! On my walk at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary I saw two hens; one with six-ducklings and one with ten. These good size ducks nest in trees (I have yet to see one fly into its nest) and when the ducklings hatch, they leave the nest and bounce when they hit the ground. At that time it is good to be light and fluffy. The website allaboutbirds.org states that the ducklings can fall as far as 50 feet without hurting themselves. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/640, f/14. May 31, 2023, 9:55am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/400, f/14. May 31, 2023, 9:05am.

The hens were very cautious and stayed at the other side of the pond.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/500, f/18. May 31, 2023, 9:55am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 456mm, ISO 2500, 1/320, f/14. May 31, 2023, 8:55am.

Just in case you think the duck doesn't know you are there...

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/800, f/14. May 31, 2023, 8:55am.

Here is one of the males. They were off by themselves.  Apparently not being involved in the rearing process can be pretty tiring.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1000, f/18. May 31, 2023, 10:00am.

LaFarge Meadows

Yesterday morning I went for a walk at LaFarge Meadows off of 194th Ave in the Cranston community of Calgary. It was quite a hot morning, the birds were active and lots of calls and songs.  When the sun hit the Silverberry (Elaeagnus commutata Bernh), the smell was amazing. We are lucky to have such pretty green spaces in Calgary! Both of the following pictures were taken with my phone: your best camera is the one you have with you.

iPhone 14, ISO 50, 5.7mm, 1/4444, f1.5. May 29, 2023, 9:20am.

iPhone 14, ISO 50, 5.7mm, 1/4831, f1.5. May 29, 2023, 10:15am.

The roses are just starting to open and the colours are very rich.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/2000, f/13. May 29, 2023, 9:35am.

This Yellow Warbler was singing its heart out.  Usually these birds are so busy that they don't hold still for a picture. This one posed for me and he is such a pretty bird! Such a happy yellow.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 437mm, ISO 2500, 1/2500, f/13. May 22, 2023, 9:40am.

Pound for pound, I don't think another bird makes as much noise as the House Wren. This little bird was very vocal and hard to ignore.  Can you get that beak any wider?

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/160, f/20. May 29, 2023, 9:25am.

The Osprey nest is still occupied. You can see the head of one osprey, but you can't see any babies yet!  This osprey was opposite the nest in the trees. It seemed to be itchy as it was grooming quite a bit.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/1250, f/14. May 29, 2023, 10:00am.

Remember

Come walk with me, Hold my hand, and Remember other walks.

(day 60)

Olympus OMD-M5II, 14-150mm, 15mm, ISO, 3200, 1/50, f/5.6. May 21, 2023, 7:00am. Fernie, BC.

We would walk every morning. We would start our walks together for 2-kms, I would then run and then join you for the last 3-km to home. Best start to the day ever. Now that I am walking again, it is not the same; but it will have to do. Remember all the places we would walk?

• Linden, where we spent our last three summers. Our first year there you would walk two 5-km circuits every day. I would take pictures on my walks during the day and share the pictures with you when I got back to the bus. The reason for this blog.
• Prairie Winds Park, Calgary, where we would walk every day. You got in your 10,000 steps before breakfast. Every day you would wave to me when I ran down the ramp at the McKnight pedestrian bridge. As I cross that bridge now, I look to where you would wave and wave to the memories. 
• Whitehorse, where one day you walked for 50,000 steps! Amazing! We would walk four times a day; once for ice cream.
• Katherine Lake, Yukon, one of the prettiest places to walk anywhere. We were planning on travelling further, but once we saw the campground we just stayed. 
• Blackfoot, Idaho (around the lake, behind the Walmart), where one day you walked at a pace of 8 minutes, 34 seconds per kilometer -- best ever!
• Banff, Alberta, where we would start our walks together around the campground, then I would run and finally join you to end our walks. We would also walk downtown for ice cream! Maybe we burned off some of it by the time we walked back up the hill to Tunnel Mountain Campground.
• Orlando, Florida, where we walked to Sea World and had the best tour ever of that facility and then walked back to the hotel. 
• Tampa, Florida, where we walked along the water; usually heading out in the dark and enjoying every second of it. We saw Winter, the dolphin with no tail at the Clearwater Aquarium. We were so impressed that we left a donation. 
• San Antonio, Texas, where we walked along the river into downtown San Antonio, walked along the canals, toured the Alamo and then walked back. When in downtown San Antonio we bought a ceramic tulip, which I look at every day and think about our trips with the AVCA. 
• Arches National Park, where I was overwhelmed that I could share something so beautiful with someone so beautiful to me.
• Moab, Utah, where you got the biggest blister ever and couldn't walk for days. 
• Fountain Hills, Arizona, where we walked in late March and enjoyed the desert flowers; and avoided the coyotes. You walked with your headphones on and I couldn't believe you would walk underneath a tree covered with bees. I guess the sound of the audiobooks covered up the sound of the bees. 
• Boppard, Germany, where we walked along the Rhine; all the way to St. George and back. Such a beautiful country to visit! 
• Hiawatha Trail, Idaho, our first rail to trails experience. Such a beautiful place. If we went again we were going to take our e-bikes.
• Kananaskis, Alberta, where we would add on a walk to Boulton Creek at the end of the day for ice cream.
• and Miami, Oklahoma, where we spent so many of your birthdays. You would walk at Rotary Park with its 1-mile loop. We visited our great friends -- a relationship starting with you picking up the phone and saying "yes, I will help".

Come walk with me, hold my hand, and remember.

 

68th Street Wetlands in May

This morning I went for a walk at the 68th Street Wetlands in Southeast Calgary. By the end of the walk 21 different bird species were identified (there were more as I didn't focus on the gulls). With birding you never know what you will see, and I was amazed to see four Blacked Capped Night Herons by the ponds. I have never seen so many at one time. They were all on the opposite side of the pond hunting.  Good day not to be a frog! I love the "tail" of feathers off of the head. Wasn't this a style in the 80s?

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/640, f/16. May 28, 2023, 9:20am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/800, f/14. May 28, 2023, 9:20am.

The Canvasback is one of our larger ducks and is declining in population. It was nice to see a few of them on the ponds.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2500, 1/2500, f/13. May 28, 2023, 9:05am.

There were a few Horned Grebes. These are a fascinating diving duck with very red eyes.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 800, 1/2000, f/14. May 28, 2023, 9:45am.

The American Avocet are a great looking looking shorebird with pastel colours on the neck. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 800, 1/2000, f/14. May 28, 2023, 9:45am.

And just in case you think it is too quiet out there; this Raven was expressing its opinion.  

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 10000, 1/4000, f/12. May 28, 2023, 8:50am.

Hooded Merganser

Not as common a sighting as the other mergansers, these Hooded Mergansers were seen in two separate locations. The first picture is a female and she was seen in Fernie, BC, the second is a male and he was seen at the 68th Street Wetlands in South East Calgary. These are such pretty diving ducks. 

Olympus OMD-M5-II, 14-150mm, 150mm, ISO 1250, 1/80, f/10. March 20, 2023, 7:05am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 800, 1/500, f/14. April 16, 2023, 10:30am.

Old Homestead

On a drive to Vulcan yesterday, I saw this old building by the side of the highway.  I stopped and took a few pictures. It had rained the previous night, so the air was clear of smoke. The puffy clouds on the horizon add a nice element to the picture. 

iPhone 14, 6mm, ISO50, 1/444, f1.5. May 24, 2023, 11:20am.

The shadows on the inside of the building and an interesting study in contrast as the shadows fall across the beam.

iPhone 14, 6mm, ISO40, 1/228, f1.5. May 24, 2023, 11:20am.

 

Thankful

Come sit with me and be thankful. Thankful for 30+ years of adventures, of quiet times, of the many, many walks, of the journey (sometimes of the destination), of the support of family and friends, of the support of strangers - friends just met, of the memories, and of the pictures taken that help recall those memories. Come sit with me.

Olympus OM-1, 14-150mm, 60mm, ISO 10,000, 1/15, f/9. March 22, 2023, 6:45am.

 

Being Open

While in Fernie, BC last weekend, I got a little lost and came across this brilliant Pale Swallowtail.  Doing so reminded me of the need to be open to what nature (life) sends your way. If you head out with your camera looking for birds, or bear, or whatever, you might miss something you weren't looking for.  Sometimes just being a "finder" opens more opportunities.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 371mm, ISO 1250, 1/800, f/13. March 20, 2023, 11:35am.

Fernie, B.C.

This May long weekend I was able to visit Fernie with family.  Calgary has had very poor air quality lately due to the number of forest fires in the province of Alberta.  The air quality if Fernie was great and there was no smoke smell in the air or visible.  It was an amazing break. It was also a good mental reset for me. Certainly what I have been through has been difficult, but many have been through worse. It is good to be thankful for what I have.  This picture was taken just about a hundred meters from where we were staying.  The sky was blue, no visible smoke - such a change.

Olympus OM-1, 14-150mm, 31mm, ISO 1250, 1/500, f/16. March 21, 2023, 4:20pm.

On our first walk after arriving we came across this Black Bear cub.  We quickly checked, but weren't able to see its mom. There were four of us plus a dog, so we continued on with our walk after the cub ran away. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 473mm, ISO 5000, 1/25, f/16. March 19, 2023, 7:15pm.

On our last morning, the day was cloudy and a slow drizzle of BC sunshine.  The colours really saturated with the lighting. It was very dark, so the ISO was quite high. 

Olympus OM-1, 14-150mm, 56mm, ISO 10,000, 1/60, f/11. March 22, 2023, 6:35am.

An advantage of my early morning walks is that I catch some wildlife that are pretty shy and stay hidden during the day.  Quite a few White Tail Deer were seen on my walks and on this day I saw a couple of Red Tailed Foxes. Again, it was quite dark, the street lights can be seen as still being on.

Olympus OM-1, 14-150mm, 150mm, ISO 10,000, 1/160, f/5.6. March 22, 2023, 5:45am.

This little fox did run off and was later seen with a friend. Normally they are quite solitary.

Olympus OM-1, 14-150mm, 140mm, ISO 10,000, 1/40, f/5.6. March 22, 2023, 5:50am.

Boreal Chickadee

The black-capped Chickadee is Calgary's official bird (also New Brunswick's official bird). This boreal chickadee is a little less common of a sighting in the Calgary area. Maria left me an audio message on my phone to listen to after she left for the next dimension (her words). In that message she told me to pay attention to the Chickadees and Nuthatches on my nature walks. If I held out my hand and one landed and then pooped on my hand - that would be her.  This handsome fellow posed for a picture during a nature walk in Bebo Grove in Fish Creek Park in Calgary. The picture was taken on January 19, 2023 - so no, it did not poop on my hand. 

Olympus OMD M5-II, 100-400mm +MC20, 280mm, ISO 5000, 1/500, f/11.3

Sandy McNabb

 Living in Calgary, Alberta, we are so lucky to be living within a few minutes of the Rocky Mountains.  This picture was shot at the Sandy McNabb campground. It was still early (April 13, 2023) so it is still pretty brown. This picture is a focus stack of seven pictures so that all of the picture is in focus. 

Olympus OM-1, 30mm F3.5 Macro, 30mm, ISO 200, 1/200, f/16

Ruddy Duck: spark bird

 A "spark bird" is the bird that started your interest in birding. For me it was the Ruddy Duck. These are a small but true diving duck. The first year of Covid we did our camping at Linden, Alberta and that is where I first became aware of Ruddy Ducks. The breeding males are so colourful and have such an attitude. 

Olympus OMD M5-II, 100-400 mm lens + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/1600, f/13

The following picture is a breeding pair.  I love the way the male's head feathers form ridges on the side of the head. 

Olympus OMD M5-II, 100-400 mm lens + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1250, 1/800, f/13

Mating behaviour is always interesting.  And male Ruddy Ducks create bubbles as part of their behaviour. 

Olympus OMD M5-II, 74-300 mm lens, 300mm, ISO 2500, 1/1600, f/6.7

Beauty

Beauty isn't just in youth and perfection. Here is beauty at end of life, with all its imperfections.  Maria loved tulips and each year I would plant tulips in pots in September and leave them in the garage.  Starting after Christmas I would bring them in the house and Maria would have "kitchen tulips" starting before Valentines Day until just before the outdoor tulips started to bloom.  This year the house was full of tulips right until her death. 

Olympus OMD M5-II, Olympus 100-400 mm lens, 400mm, ISO 1600, 1/500, f/8 

Maria loved tulips with more natural colours, especially the yellow and red tulips.

Olympus OMD M5-II, Olympus 100-400 mm lens +MC20, 800mm, ISO 6400, 1/60, f/13

Calgary Skyline

 On April 25, 2023 I rode my bicycle to the Bow River Weir. This is by the Zoo in Calgary, Alberta.  Spring has yet to arrive, so there is still a lot of brown grass.  

Olympus OMD M5-II, 14-150 mm lens, 18mm, ISO 400, 1/125, f/20

Olympus OMD M5-II, 14-150 mm lens, 14mm, ISO 400, 1/200, f/20