Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary, Alberta, September 02, 2023

As I was feeling a little 'antsy' on Saturday, instead of staying home I went to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary early in the morning to walk the trails and to see what wildlife was out and about. The City of Calgary has been working on the lagoon for about 18 months to increase the flow of water through the lagoon and increase the oxygen level in the water.  It looks like it is about done. The water level is higher and I hope this will support the birds better through the winter. Last winter the lagoon froze over for most of the winter and the birds had to over-winter on the Bow River. 

Olympus M5ii, 14-150mm, 31mm, ISO 640, 1/1250, f/8. Sept 02, 2023, 8:30 am.

Shortly after passing through the gate to the Sanctuary, one of the resident Coyotes (Canis latrans) saw me and slowly headed away. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2000, 1/800, f/13. Sept 02, 2023, 8:00 am.

A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was perched high up in a tree well over an hour. My favourite picture of it was just after it took off from the dead branch.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 371mm, ISO 1250, 1/1250, f/16. Sept 02, 2023, 9:25 am.

It was a good day for predators, I spotted a Bald Eagle, two Osprey, and a Red-tailed Hawk. The two Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flew over the lagoon and that was what encouraged the Great Blue Heron to find a bit of a safer roost. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 554mm, ISO 1250, 1/1000, f/16. Sept 02, 2023, 9:25 am.

This juvenile American Robin (Turdus migratorius) seemed to embrace the raptor vibe and got all scary looking!

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 500mm, ISO 1250, 1/1600, f/16. Sept 02, 2023, 9:20 am.

Across the river from the Sanctuary, this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was perched on the trees, keeping eye on the Bow River.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 1250, 1/400, f/16. Sept 02, 2023, 9:00 am.

When in the Sanctuary I usually see Mule Deer, but this morning I saw this year's fawn White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus).

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 200mm, ISO 1250, 1/25, f/18. Sept 02, 2023, 8:20 am.

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2023.