Best of January 2025

Calgary's winter has continued to be pretty mild. The sunsets also are coming early in the evening, so I have been able to photograph lots of sunsets.  My favourite bird picture of the month is this Red-breasted Nuthatch. I took this picture during one of my shifts at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It's amazing that such small birds can survive our cold weather, but many stay with us the entire winter. 

My favourite scenic of the month is this sunset. This picture was taken from the top of Tom Campbell Hill in the Bridgeland area. The sun is setting behind the two towers and I love the glow of the sky and the silhouette of the mountains in the background. 

My computer has folders for Birds, Scenics, and Other. This Coyote picture was a favourite for the month. It is close to being "the picture", but the coyote's tail is matted and reduces the impact of the picture -- a bit. The coyote was seen on the Bow River in the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. 

The following four pictures are my almost favourites in each of the categories. First are two bird pictures. The first is a Great Horned Owl and the second is a mated pair of Hairy Woodpeckers. The woodpeckers are performing their mating dance when the picture was taken. Both bird pictures were taken at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.

This sunset from the hill north of Bridgeland is one of my favourite scenic pictures from January.

These White tailed Deer deserve a place in my favourite pictures for the month.

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photoraw 2025.

Best of December 2024

December was a month of contrasts. We had some beautifully clear skies in December and closed the month off with some overcast and snowy days. The month was also highlighted by a wonderful chance to volunteer at Plaza Palooza with the City of Calgary

The first picture is from the first day of the month. Usually on the morning walks I cross the Bow River twice and the Elbow river once. A little river time is a good way to start the day. This was taken from the Skip-stone bridge by East Village. 

On the same walk, I was completing my circuit by crossing the Bow River on the Zoo bridge into Inglewood and took this skyline picture of downtown Calgary.

On a walk about a week later I took this picture of the City of Calgary art on Saint Patrick's Island. This art piece is made up of the different styles of street lights that the City has used through its history. It is a unique piece and is ideally situated to be highlighted by the morning sunrise. 

On the same walk, just a few steps south on the same bridge, I took this picture of the sunrise and the Bow River.

The next few pictures highlight the clear skies we had for most of the month.

With Plaza Palooza, the City held a party for four weekends in a row. The Olympic Plaza downtown will be changing and the party was to let Calgarians come together to celebrate the plaza and say goodbye. It was a chance to have pictures on the stage that held the medal ceremonies for the 1988 Olympics and has celebrated a lot of events since that time. The following pictures are from the party. I volunteered helping Calgarians take self-pictures in the plaza. It was a lot of fun!

The month ended in the cold, with overcast days. For winter, it was a pretty good weather month. The ending weather helped add to the holiday spirit of the season.

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Best of November 2024

The wonderful Fall weather in Calgary continued to the middle of the month. November started off clear of snow and wonderful sunrise mornings and sunset evenings. The last two weeks of the months were magical winter moments.  

On the first day of November I was taking a picture of a muskrat at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary when I heard some steps behind me. As I looked over my shoulder, I saw a Mule Deer buck headed my way, using the bridge as a shortcut. He watched me for a while and then calmly walked past me. Those are my first two pictures for the month review.

On the same day, a cute Mountain Cottontail posed for me by the Colonel Walker house. It seemed like it was "mammal day" at the bird sanctuary.

It was a misty day at the sanctuary that first day of the month, and I love how the lagoon looked that morning.

This sunrise is from the LRT station in Bridgeland early in November.

By mid-month we were in magical snow times. I love the picture of the Colonel Walker house at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.

The next couple of pictures are of the fog and frost at the end of the month. These are from the Bridgeland area of Calgary.

November ended off with high contrast days of blue-skies and snowy trees. These are from the Rundle area of Calgary.

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Best of October 2024

Our beautiful fall continues into October. There were lots of beautiful sunrises and sunsets. This first picture captures some reds; not that common in Alberta. This picture was taken along the north side of the Bow River, between the Bridgeland/Memorial C-train station and the Skipping Rock pedestrian bridge.

Toward the end of the month I was lucky enough to travel with an expert birder to Pine Coulee Reservoir, west of Stavely, Alberta. The next two pictures are of the reservoir.

 

There were not that many birds on the reservoir, but the northern loop around the reservoir did not disappoint. A few of the sloughs had an abundance of birds and we saw over 500 swans. These were mostly Trumpeter Swans, but we also saw some Tundra Swans. The first picture is of Tundra Swans.

The next two pictures are of Trumpeter Swans.

The month ended off a little cloudy, but for October -- amazing.

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Pictures September 2024

There were big changes in September. I moved to the inner-city mid-month, and the scenery on my walks changed -- dramatically.  These are some of my favourite pictures from my walks around the neighbourhood. One of my first walks was along the ridge north of the river and I took this picture of the Lion overlooking the Centre Street Bridge.

One Calgary's iconic images is the Peace Bridge by 10th Street NW. On a rainy day I took this picture.

A couple of days later I returned to get a picture of the bridge with the sun in the background.

Early one morning I was able to take this picture facing west from the top of the LRT station in Bridgeland.

Moving took a lot of my time and I didn't do as many birding trips. This Common Merganser was seen early in the month. Its amazing to see the serrated "teeth" in its bill that are sloped toward the back of the throat so that fish can't easily escape. 

This American Kestrel was seen on a birding trip toward the end of the month near Carseland. I love the colours on this juvenile male.

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Best of Summer 2024

Over the summer I took a bit of a break from social media. I also wanted to leave the last post of Maria's paintings first online for a while. As the summer is ending, this post will include the best of my summer pictures. This Great Blue Heron is one of my favourites. This was taken at Frank Lake and the bird was backlit. I thought that I would just go with it and create a silhouette of the GBH in post-edit.

This Cedar Waxing was photographed at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and I love how the blurring of the background separates the waxwing and helps it to stand out. There was a lot of waiting until the waxwing moved around the tree and finally posed in the right spot. They are such a beautiful bird. 

This Cliff Swallow was photographed at Ralph Klein Park in SE Calgary. Despite being in the shade under the visitors' centre, the detail and colours really stand out. 

My favourite scenics of the summer include this picture of Saint Patrick's Island in downtown Calgary. I was co-leading a birding group for Nature Calgary and stopped to take this picture with my phone.

On one of my shifts as a volunteer steward at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, this Calgary Fire Department rescue boat was heading upstream. 

We have lived in Rundle since 1995 and I have taken many pictures of sunrises. This picture was taken during one of my morning walks. It is always good to have a camera with you.

While driving to a wedding and reception in Cranston this summer, I dropped off some donations at the Women in Need Society and swung by the ridge on 26th Street South East. The ride has some great views of the city skyline.

In my file system, I categorize pictures by subject. In a miscellaneous grouping, is this picture of a Boreal Chorus Frog taken this summer at Frank Lake.

Finishing off my summer favourites is this picture taken in Edson while attending a wedding. This horse is a year old and was born during the forest fires in Edson. She is aptly named Ember.

Those are some of my favourite summer photographs.

 

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photo Raw 2024