Taken at 6:11 am, Sunday, 28 May 2023. The annual May Species Count for our area started at 6:30 am, but I managed to get to the area a bit early (around 6:10 am) so that I could check for Wilson's Snipes at one of the locations. Saw and photographed two and then heard a third one. Normally, I am never up and ready at such an unearthly hour! The secret for yesterday was that I simply stayed up all night. I had been busy on my computer till late at night and then was concerned that if I did go to bed, I would very likely sleep right through my alarm clocks that were set for 4:00 am.
Our group of three people stopped at seven different locations during the day, gradually working our way further west till we reached highway 762. One of our first stops was enjoying Barb's acreage. Though I didn't get any decent bird shots, I was happy to see an American Goldfinch and an Evening Grosbeak.
Quite a few of the birds were not seen by me - I just don't have the experience of spotting small birds flitting about in the trees. My knowledge of bird songs is extremely poor, too.
The weather was beautiful all day, apart from the very low cloud early in the morning. The two 'real' birders did a great job of finding 65 or 66 bird species. Perhaps the highlight -certainly for me - was finding two Bobolinks, though I only saw one of them. Far away, but I have posted a really bad photo just as a record of the sighting. A great day! There are a lot of much better images of these beautiful birds in my Bobolink album.
The Wilson's Snipe is one of my absolute favourite birds to see and photograph.
"These plump, long-billed birds are among the most widespread shorebirds in North America. They can be tough to see thanks to their cryptic brown and buff coloration and secretive nature. But in summer they often stand on fence posts or take to the sky with a fast, zigzagging flight and an unusual “winnowing” sound made with the tail." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wilsons_snipe/id
"Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a small, stocky shorebird. This species was considered to be a subspecies of the Common Snipe (G. gallinago) until 2003 when it was given its own species status. Wilson's Snipe differs from the latter species in having a narrower white trailing edge to the wings, and eight pairs of tail feathers instead of the typical seven of the Common Snipe. Its common name commemorates the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson's_snipe
According to Fisher and Acorn's book, "Birds of Alberta", "the common Snipe is both secretive and well camouflaged, so few people notice it until it flushes suddenly from a nearby grassy tussock. As soon as the Snipe takes to the air, it performs a series of quick zigzags - an evasive maneuver designed to confuse predators. Because of this habit, Snipes were among the most difficult birds to shoot (in the days when shorebirds were hunted for sport), and skilled sportsmen were known as "snipers" - a term later adopted by the military."
youtu.be/Z16CUdX2g5Q
Tags: Alberta Canada SW of Calgary May Species Count 2023 nature wildlife avian ornithology bird Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata adult standing fence post field bokeh outdoor spring taken at 6:11 am 28 May 2023 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2023 © All Rights Reserved
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This pathetically awful photo was the only Bobolink shot I got the chance to take yesterday. I am posting it only as a record. Checking through the various Bobolink photos I have in my Flickr album, 26 May (2019) was the earliest sighting of this species that I have seen.
The annual May Species Count for our area started at 6:30 am, but I managed to get to the area a bit early (around 6:10 am) so that I could check for Wilson's Snipes at one of the locations. Saw and photographed two and then heard a third one. Normally, I am never up and ready at such an unearthly hour! The secret for yesterday was that I simply stayed up all night. I had been busy on my computer till late at night and then was concerned that if I did go to bed, I would very likely sleep right thrrough my alarm clocks that were set for 4:00 am.
Our group of three people stopped at seven different locations during the day, gradually working our way further west till we reached highway 762. One of our first stops was enjoying Barb's acreage. Though I didn't get any decent bird shots, I was happy to see an American Goldfinch and an Evening Grosbeak.
Quite a few of the birds were not seen by me - I just don't have the experience of spotting small birds flitting about in the trees. My knowledge of bird songs is extremely poor, too.
The weather was beautiful all day, apart from the very low cloud early in the morning. The two 'real' birders did a great job of finding 65 or 66 bird species. Perhaps the highlight -certainly for me - was finding two Bobolinks, though I only saw one of them. Far away, but I have posted a really bad photo just as a record of the sighting. A great day! There are a lot of much better images of these beautiful birds in my Bobolink album.
Tags: Alberta Canada SW of Calgary May Species Count 2023 nature wildlife avian ornithology bird Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus male my 1st of the year poor image just for the record barbed-wire field outdoor spring taken at 11:46 am 28 May 2023 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2023 © All Rights Reserved
© All Rights Reserved
I had to slow right down to a crawl and drive very carefully, as visibity was zero while I drove through the low cloud over the highway. My photo doesn't do justice, though, as the whole area looked beautiful. Photo was taken at 6:03 am!
The annual May Species Count for our area started at 6:30 am, but I managed to get to the area a bit early (around 6:10 am) so that I could check for Wilson's Snipes at one of the locations. Saw and photographed two and then heard a third one. Normally, I am never up and ready at such an unearthly hour! The secret for yesterday was that I simply stayed up all night. I had been busy on my computer till late at night and then was concerned that if I did go to bed, I would very likely sleep right thrrough my alarm clocks that were set for 4:00 am.
Our group of three people stopped at seven different locations during the day, gradually working our way further west till we reached highway 762. One of our first stops was enjoying Barb's acreage. Though I didn't get any decent bird shots, I was happy to see an American Goldfinch and an Evening Grosbeak.
Quite a few of the birds were not seen by me - I just don't have the experience of spotting small birds flitting about in the trees. My knowledge of bird songs is extremely poor, too.
The weather was beautiful all day, apart from the very low cloud early in the morning. The two 'real' birders did a great job of finding 65 or 66 bird species. Perhaps the highlight -certainly for me - was finding two Bobolinks, though I only saw one of them. Far away, but I have posted a really bad photo just as a record of the sighting. A great day! There are a lot of much better images of these beautiful birds in my Bobolink album.
Tags: Alberta Canada SW of Calgary Highway 22 going south
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The annual May Species Count for our area started at 6:30 am, but I managed to get to the area a bit early (around 6:10 am) so that I could check for Wilson's Snipes at one of the locations. Saw and photographed two and then heard a third one. Normally, I am never up and ready at such an unearthly hour! The secret for yesterday was that I simply stayed up all night. I had been busy on my computer till late at night and then was concerned that if I did go to bed, I would very likely sleep right thrrough my alarm clocks that were set for 4:00 am.
Our group of three people stopped at seven different locations during the day, gradually working our way further west till we reached highway 762. One of our first stops was enjoying Barb's acreage. Though I didn't get any decent bird shots, I was happy to see an American Goldfinch and an Evening Grosbeak.
Quite a few of the birds were not seen by me - I just don't have the experience of spotting small birds flitting about in the trees. My knowledge of bird songs is extremely poor, too.
The weather was beautiful all day, apart from the very low cloud early in the morning. The two 'real' birders did a great job of finding 65 or 66 bird species. Perhaps the highlight -certainly for me - was finding two Bobolinks, though I only saw one of them. Far away, but I have posted a really bad photo just as a record of the sighting. A great day! There are a lot of much better images of these beautiful birds in my Bobolink album.
Tags: Alberta Canada SW of Calgary May Species Count 2023 nature wildlife avian ornithology bird Canada Goose Branta canadensis family 2 adults goslings edge of pond Killdeer standing water grass field bokeh outdoor spring taken at 8:55 am 28 May 2023 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2023 © All Rights Reserved
© All Rights Reserved
This photo was taken at 6:10 am.
The annual May Species Count for our area started at 6:30 am, but I managed to get to the area a bit early (around 6:10 am) so that I could check for Wilson's Snipes at one of the locations. Saw and photographed two and then heard a third one. Normally, I am never up and ready at such an unearthly hour! The secret for yesterday was that I simply stayed up all night. I had been busy on my computer till late at night and then was concerned that if I did go to bed, I would very likely sleep right thrrough my alarm clocks that were set for 4:00 am.
Our group of three people stopped at seven different locations during the day, gradually working our way further west till we reached highway 762. One of our first stops was enjoying Barb's acreage. Though I didn't get any decent bird shots, I was happy to see an American Goldfinch and an Evening Grosbeak.
Quite a few of the birds were not seen by me - I just don't have the experience of spotting small birds flitting about in the trees. My knowledge of bird songs is extremely poor, too.
The weather was beautiful all day, apart from the very low cloud early in the morning. The two 'real' birders did a great job of finding 65 or 66 bird species. Perhaps the highlight -certainly for me - was finding two Bobolinks, though I only saw one of them. Far away, but I have posted a really bad photo just as a record of the sighting. A great day! There are a lot of much better images of these beautiful birds in my Bobolink album.
Tags: Alberta Canada SW of Calgary May Species Count 2023 nature wildlife avian ornithology bird Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus adult male side view vocalizing standing unseen fence post field bokeh outdoor spring taken at 6:10 am 28 May 2023 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2023 © All Rights Reserved
© All Rights Reserved