Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Provincial Park, February 9, 2024

During the field trip with Nature Calgary at Votier's Flats on Friday, we only saw five different species of birds; a bit of a let down. However, the American Coyotes (Canis latrans) more than made up for it.  Most of the coyotes mate in January and February and then pups are born in April and May. On our walk the coyotes had no fear and were quite territorial. This coyote saw us (there were eight of us), walked toward us and stared us down, then peed on a tree and slowly walked away.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/500, f/18. Feb 09, 2024, 9:50 am.

This coyote wound up being chased away from a bonded pair, right across the ice. No damage was done, but territory was established.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 280mm, ISO 5000, 1/3200, f/18. Feb 09, 2024, 10:25 am.

After the chase, it postured on the other side of the ice - hackles raised - and howled.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 571mm, ISO 5000, 1/1600, f/18. Feb 09, 2024, 10:25 am.

It was so focused on the other coyote that it didn't even notice the photographer standing behind it taking pictures. The photographer had to back up to take a picture, because the coyote was too close. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 571mm, ISO 5000, 1/1600, f/18. Feb 09, 2024, 10:30 am.

It was a great day for photographing coyotes. This American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) also posed.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 656mm, ISO 5000, 1/200, f/18. Feb 09, 2024, 10:40 am.

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2024

Carburn Park, Friday, February 02, 2024

It's a new month and I was back at Carburn Park in SE Calgary on a field trip with Nature Calgary. It was a very nice day for a walk and we saw a good variety of birds and mammals. We saw four Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in total, two juveniles and two mature adults. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2000, 1/1250, f/18. Feb 02, 2024, 10:50 am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/1250, f/18. Feb 02, 2024, 10:20 am.

In the next picture two juvenile Bald Eagles were challenging for a dead Canada Goose - lunch.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/2000, f/13. Feb 02, 2024, 9:55 am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/4000, f/13. Feb 02, 2024, 10:00 am.

All the mature Bald Eagles were some distance away, and this is the best shot that I could get of a mature eagle.

 Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/5000, f/13. Feb 02, 2024, 10:00 am.

The prettiest bird of the day, and perhaps the most abundant, was the Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola). When the sun hits the drake's head just right, it really sparkles.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/2000, f/13. Feb 02, 2024, 10:15 am.

As we were headed toward the north end of the park, this Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) was making good headway upstream.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 280mm, ISO 5000, 1/1250, f/11. Feb 02, 2024, 10:15 am.

As we were leaving the park we swung by the porcupine den and were lucky to find a North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)  sunning itself outside of its den. On the original pictures, you could find its eye peeking out (the tail is to the left).

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 2000, 1/50, f/18. Feb 02, 2024, 11:10 am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 200mm, ISO 2000, 1/125, f/18. Feb 02, 2024, 11:10 am.

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2024

Carburn Park, Calgary, January 26, 2024

On Friday I went on a solo walk at Carburn Park. The birding has been very good there all winter long, and it didn't disappoint on Friday.  There were four Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) on the river, three completely white and one grey; the grey being a cygnet, this year's hatch. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/800, f/14. Jan 26, 2024, 9:25 am.

There have been lots of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) on this section of the river, and a mature eagle perched across the river from the path. On this trip I was trying to avoid the "bird in a box" look of many of my pictures and included more background or foreground. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 600mm, ISO 5000, 1/5000, f/16. Jan 26, 2024, 9:40 am.

The Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) were flying along the river quite a bit, and I was able to take a couple of action shots. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 280mm, ISO 5000, 1/2500, f/16. Jan 26, 2024, 10:20 am.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 200mm, ISO 5000, 1/5000, f/16. Jan 26, 2024, 10:25 am.

There were seven White-tail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) seen in the bushes, one group of three and one of four. There were no bucks in the groups.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 200mm, ISO 5000, 1/1000, f/16. Jan 26, 2024, 11:00 am.

This winter we have enjoyed a lot of sunny days, and we are lucky to enjoy so many green spaces right in the City of Calgary.

Canon EOS M10, 15-45mm, 45mm, ISO 800, 1/1000, f/11. Jan 26, 2024, 9:40 am.

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2024

Mallard Point, January 23, 2024

Yesterday I went on a walk at Mallard Point, Fish Creek Provincial Park. It was an absolute beautiful day. I got there well after sunrise and took the first picture facing south, just north of the pedestrian crossing. I used a high f-stop so that the sun didn't wash out sky. The second picture was taken toward the end of my morning. 

 Canon EOS M10, EF-M 15-45mm, 24mm, ISO 800, 1/1000, f/29. Jan 23, 2024, 9:45 am.

Canon EOS M10, EF-M 15-45mm, 28mm, ISO 800, 1/2000, f/11. Jan 23, 2024, 11:05 am.

There were two highlight images of the day. The first was of this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). I watched it fly south along the Bow River and land on a snag just around the corner. Moving past the eagle, I was able to take this picture with the sun highlighting the bird. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 615mm, ISO 5000, 1/5000, f/13. Jan 23, 2024, 10:00 am.

The second highlight picture was of a White Tail Deer buck (Odocoileus virginianus). I saw two different grouping and only one buck, seven in total. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/2500, f/13. Jan 23, 2024, 10:55 am.

From the second group of deer I was able to take this picture of a doe framed by a fallen Cottonwood tree. It is not as pretty a picture, but it is kind of a cool frame.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 248mm, ISO 5000, 1/2500, f/14. Jan 23, 2024, 10:55 am.

While walking in the trees I was able to take this picture of a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 500mm, ISO 5000, 1/500, f/14. Jan 23, 2024, 9:50 am.

Although Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) are pretty common, the sun catching the head of this drake really made this picture.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 500mm, ISO 5000, 1/2500, f/14. Jan 23, 2024, 9:55 am.

The last picture I took was of a group of Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) ducks. The sun caught the heads of two drakes just right. I love the sparkle!

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/2500, f/13. Jan 23, 2024, 10:30 am.

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2024

Carburn Park, Calgary, January 16, 2024

Yesterday Calgary got out of the deepfreeze for a day. It was wonderful to go for a walk outside and the wildlife in Carburn Park was amazing. I saw deer, coyote, beaver and lots of different birds.  One of my favourite pictures of the day was of a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). These large birds have the most amazing red cap!

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 684mm, ISO 5000, 1/2000, f/13. Jan 16, 2024, 9:55 am.

A beautiful bonded pair of Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) was present on the Bow River. These are a rare sighting at this time of year, but apparently these two have decided to stay the winter.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 415mm, ISO 5000, 1/1250, f/14. Jan 16, 2024, 10:30 am.

The male Wood Duck caught the light just right and showed off its colours.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/640, f/14. Jan 16, 2024, 10:35 am.

When walking along the Bow River about 20 Common Goldeneye ducks all flew up off the water at the same time. I looked up to see what had spooked them and saw a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) flying north along the river. As I went further along the path, I found a pair of them perched across the river.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/2000, f/13. Jan 16, 2024, 9:45 am.

The walk wasn't just about the birds. Across the river a coyote (Canis latrans) was hunting along the shore.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 5000, 1/320, f/22. Jan 16, 2024, 9:40 am.

As I was headed back to the car I passed three White-tailed (Odocoileus virginianus) does just off the path, relaxing in the bush and chewing their cud. 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 248mm, ISO 5000, 1/1250, f/14. Jan 16, 2024, 10:55 am.

Overall it was a beautiful day. I got there just after sunrise and left close to noon. It was a wonderful day to be outside!

Canon EOS M10, EF-M 15-45mm, 22mm, ISO 800, 1/400, f/10. Jan 16, 2024, 9:10 am.

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2024

 

Extreme Cold, January 12, 2024

The Canadian Weather Service has announced an extreme weather warning. This morning it is -35C with a -44C windchill.  But it could be worse, we could live in Edmonton where it is much colder!  As I am not walking outside in this extreme cold, I thought I would look at some pictures from earlier this month. This year I want to take more scenery pictures, so I wanted to look at those. These will be pictures that I haven't already posted. Sometimes the second look at my pictures finds the real gems. This picture was from Mallard Point on New Year's Day.

Olympus E-M5ii, 14-150mm, 31mm, ISO1250, f/5, 1/40sec. 

On January 3rd, Calgary weather became foggy and we had hoarfrost on our trees. At the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, the trees were particularly magical. I find this first picture very calming. The lack of definition in the sky due to the fog and cloud really simplifies the picture and your eye isn't drawn all over the place. 

Canon EOS M10, 15-45mm, 43mm, ISO800, f/16, 1/125sec. 

This second picture from the same day really highlights the hoarfrost and I think the path draws the eye into the picture and asks 'what adventure is around the corner?'. 

Canon EOS M10, 15-45mm, 15mm, ISO800, f/16, 1/125sec.

The final picture is from the northwest side of the Sanctuary. The use of a telephoto lens and the angle of the picture makes the Calgary Tower seem  almost as large as the other downtown buildings. Sometimes the Calgary Tower is hidden among the high rises and it is fun to highlight what once was Calgary's tallest building and a building about which the city was proud (The Husky Tower). 

Olympus OM-1, 100-40mm, + MC20, 248mm, ISO5000, f/16, 1/2500sec. 

Looking forward to warmer weather and being outside! 

iPhone14, 3mm, ISO80, f/19, 1/69sec. 

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2024

New Year 2024

This New Year I participated in a bird count at Mallard Point with other members of Nature Calgary. I also want to take more landscape pictures this year, so I arrived early so that I could catch the first sunrise of the year. 

iPhone 14, 6mm, ISO 50, 1/700, f/1.5. Jan 01, 2024, 8:35 am.

Olympus OMD M5ii, 14-150mm, 60mm, ISO 1250, 1/50, f/5.5. Jan 01, 2024, 9:10 am.

We counted 18 different species of birds that day and this Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) was one of my favourites.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 3200, 1/2000, f/16. Jan 01, 2024, 9:50 am.

This Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) was also an interesting sighting and a new life bird for me (149 and counting). 

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 800mm, ISO 10000, 1/1000, f/13. Jan 01, 2024, 9:15 am.

This White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) was nicely highlighted in the old log.

Olympus OM-1, 100-400mm + MC20, 200mm, ISO 3200, 1/50, f/16. Jan 01, 2024, 10:00 am.

Happy New Year!

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2024