68th Street Wetlands, August 09, 2023

Yesterday included an opportunity to participate in a Field Trip with Nature Calgary to the Wetlands in the evening. The sun would be in a different part of the sky than when I am usually there, and it was a chance to go with a new field trip leader. It was a terrific evening. The sky was low in the West, the wind had calmed down, and the birds were out! There were some new bird sightings, and we were lucky to spot at least five Blacked Crowned Night Herons and almost that many Great Blue Herons. There was a new Life Bird for me, a Wilson's Phalarope - 125 and counting. It was identifiable with binoculars and telescope but too far for a photograph. 

The first picture is of a Black Crowned Night Heron and the sun was really showcasing its beauty. Due to the low light, the ISO was up and there is a little more noise in the picture.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1600, 1/640, f/13. Aug 09, 2023, 7:00 pm.

The next is a picture of four Black Crowned Night Herons all lined up on a fence. I guess this is the place to come if you are looking for a place to store your heron. :-) I increased the f-stop so that the City of Calgary sign was also readable. Two of the Night Herons are adults and two are this year's juveniles. This is truly a rare sighting. "...chance favours only the prepared mind", Louis Pasteur.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 490mm, ISO 1600, 1/400, f/20. Aug 09, 2023, 7:10 pm.

Perhaps my favourite picture of the night is this shot of a female Merlin (the males are more grey/silver). She was perched on a barbed wire fence (ouch) watching for prey and she would swiftly fly off and then come back to perch. A bad day to be prey!

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1600, 1/1600, f/13. Aug 09, 2023, 8:05 pm.

This was an out-and-back field trip, and on the out this Osprey hovered close to us as it searched the pond for fish. These pictures are just seconds apart. You can tell by the focal length that it was very close to us. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 300mm, ISO 1600, 1/1600, f/12. Aug 09, 2023, 7:10 pm.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 300mm, ISO 1600, 1/1250, f/12. Aug 09, 2023, 7:10 pm.

At the very end of our walk, a Black Crowned Night Heron and a Great Blue Heron lined up for a "family photo". 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 585mm, ISO 2500, 1/500, f/16. Aug 09, 2023, 8:30 pm.

At this point it was getting dark and the clouds were not looking any friendlier; so it was time to head to the car and home.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 200mm, ISO 2500, 1/500, f/22. Aug 09, 2023, 8:40 pm.

All photographic files post-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2023.