View allAll Photos Tagged Prairie
One last set of Prairie Falcon shots unless I get something really special. Because of the property restrictions around the Alberta Government Terminal, it is impossible to get close to the action. Even so, it is a lot of fun to watch.
According to the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta, The Prairie Falcon is a bird of the dry open country. In Alberta it is found in the vicinity of canyons and coulees of the badlands, or above the cliffs of southern river valleys where it hunts in the adjacent grasslands.
The Prairie Falcon is as large as the Peregrine Falcon, but is much paler in colour. Its favorite prey is ground squirrels, mice, insects and birds. It may hunt from a perch or from low level flight where it flushes prey close up, or it may make a rapid vertical swoop. Most prey is taken from the ground.
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Activists for birds and wildlife
This is another series of Falcon shots taken yesterday and today at the Alberta Government Grain Terminal here in Edmonton.
The lead shot is my favorite even though I didn't get the Prairie Falcon's head in sharp focus
Today Glenn Parker and I were fortunate to observe and photograph a Gryfalcon strike on a Pigeon. Glenn got the actual hit. I missed it, but got shots micro-seconds later. The action is incredibly fast and very exciting.
The action was a bit far off, and these are quite cropped, but I was happy to get the shots posted in this set.
Edmonton, Alberta. January 25-26, 2013.
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Activists for birds and wildlife
A clump of prairie crocuses - always a welcome sign of spring. Crocuses grow wild on land that has never been broken.
#325 on Explore, April 30, 2009
Copyright smalltownSK, 2009. All rights reserved.
...And off somewhere a midnight train is slowly passing by
I could hear that whistle moaning, I'm so lonesome I could cry...
Songwriters
SAMPSON, DONALD R. / JACKSON, ALAN EUGENE
Taylor Ranch Wilderness Research Station, Big Creek, Frank Church River of No-Return Wilderness, Valley County, Idaho
20 September 2008
Class Reptilia
Order Squamata
Suborder Ophidia
Family Viperidae
Crotalus viridis
This snake was part of a radio-telemetry study of the effect of topography on rattlesnake movements by former Idaho State University graduate student Javan Bauder. The snake was recovering from surgery to remove a miniature radiotransmitter. He was released the following day.
This is my favorite kind of Falcon action shot at the terminal. The action is incredibly fast and difficult to stay with. The Falcon is often obscured by the flying Pigeons. The Falcon is just starting her lightning quick dive and caught a Pigeon moments after this image was taken. I missed the actual strike in the cloud of Pigeons. There are often hundreds of Pigeons in the air when a Falcon arrives to hunt.
Alberta Government Grain Terminal. Edmonton, Alberta.
Prairie Warbler - Dendroica discolor
Garret Mountain Reservation, Woodland Park, New Jersey
Larger view and EXIF data may be seen, here: www.greggard.com/songbirds/e2d57e66a
Feel free to share and use under the Creative Commons license: www.GregGard.com Prairie Warbler by Greg Gard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Based on a work at www.greggard.com/songbirds/e2d57e66a
Taken at the Columbia NWR near Othello, WA.
This is my first "acceptable" photograph of a Prairie Falcon. I've invested a significant amount of time trying to get something like this.
This stately old oak graces the Dayton Prairie on Curran Road (halfway between Sage and Spirea roads) in Bertrand Township, Berrien County, Michigan.
Prairie Warbler from Southern Ohio Captured earlier this Spring on a redbud limb..
The RedBud is the Ideal perch in that its flowers are small, they also grow close to the stem making for a great perch that's not overpowering but gives visual impact. Were so blessed to have these blooming here at the time frame the warblers are arriving on territory.
I know I said the Parula was the last Image, thought I would sneak this one in before leaving as well!
Turtlehead Flower?
The prairie of Governor Dodge State Park, Wisconsin, USA
Picked up from Lost Canyon Trail
Plates 1 thru 3 are adult plumages and 4 thru 6 are first fall immatures. The adult plumage changes little from spring to fall.
1, and 2 are adult male, with 1 taken in spring and 2 in fall. 3 is adult female. The adult male has a black mustache stripe (heavy black curved line below the eye), and a black eye line. The adult female (3) doesn't have much if any black in these areas, and her side streaking is generally less intense as well. Some rufous can be seen on the back of 2. The amount of rufous on the back varies from adult male to adult male but it is generally heavier for any given specimen in spring compared to fall. All of the non-adult male plumages may have some reduced presence of rufous on the back compared to a typical adult male. Some sources say the first fall female won't have rufous tones on the back, but I am not sure I agree that is always the case.
The first fall specimens in 4 thru 6 all have white arcs both above and below the eye, which is never found in an adult. I find that It is the surest/quickest way to identify a first fall (born this spring) bird. In my experience It is often not straight forward to separate first fall male from first fall female in the field unless the specimen falls into a more extreme category. If there is definite black in the mustache stripe, and relatively heavy side striking it is safe to say the bird is a first fall male (5). If there is gray rather than black in the mustache stripe, and the side streaking is very reduced it is safe to say the bird is a first fall female (6). Notice also how dull the yellow is in the first fall female (6). Many early first fall birds (end of July/early August) have increased and varying amounts of juvenile gray in the head and/or face area compared to later first fall arrivals, which has yet to be replaced by olive/yellowish feathers. 4 is a more extreme example of this. Based on the prominent side stripes it could be a first fall male, but the mustache stripe like most of the head is still quite gray so it is probably best left unsexed. Also notice the presence of varying amounts of gray in the auricular (face) patch of all three first fall specimens above.
QUESTIONS TO ASK WITH A SPRING PRARIE TO AID SEXING:
1) Is the mustache stripe and eye line solid black or not?
2)How prominent is the side striping? (if none is present think of alternative warbler species).
QUESTIONS TO ASK WITH A FALL PRAIRIE:
1) Is there white eye arcs or not? (if the eyeing is complete think of alternative warbler species)
2)Is there definite black in the mustache stripe?
3)How heavy is the side striping?
As you might guess form the five photos I have posted this morning, it is back to the archives again. All are from sometime in 2016. Under each one, I will add the description that I wrote under other photos taken on the same trips.
"My thoughts continue to be with all the people of Fort McMurray, Alberta, who are being devastated by a massive wildfire at the moment. All 88,000 people were forced to flee the city, many leaving everything behind. Now, much-needed rain and cooler temperatures are helping.
"Monday, May 9, 2016, 7:28 AM - After a week of fighting a devastating wildfire that sent thousands of Fort McMurray residents fleeing, it seems firefighters have been holding the line -- and the weather has actually been cooperative." From The Weather Network.
www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/weather-factoring...
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These Prairie Crocuses are the first flowers to appear each spring, often appearing around the end of March and sometimes as early as mid-March. No wonder they need to wear their furry winter jackets : ) However, this year, after an incredibly mild winter, the first report I heard of was from 3rd March. On 13 April 2016, after a volunteer shift, I finally got as far as the usual place I go to when I want to find and photograph them. Unfortunately, I find them on a steep hillside, which is sometimes a bit windy, and my balance is never particularly good. So glad I went, though, as I was already almost six weeks 'late'. I also noticed a patch or two of small, white Phlox flowers and a single patch of small yellow flowers. Will have to remind myself of their name later today. Early cinquefoil?"
"This furry little perennial is actually not a crocus, which is in the Lily family; it’s really an anemone, in the Buttercup family."
plantwatch.naturealberta.ca/choose-your-plants/prairie-cr...
"The prairie crocus (Anemone patens), is the first plant to bloom on the prairie each year. The true harbinger of spring, its mauve, petal-like sepals dot the still drab prairie landscape, often before the last snow of winter has melted. By blooming so early, the crocus assures itself of the complete attention of available pollinators - small bees and other insects. Its seeds can then ripen by early June and if moisture is available they will germinate right away. If the prairie is too dry the seeds will go dormant, then germinate the following spring.
Tufts of much-divided leaves emerge once flowering is finished and the risk of severe frost is over, but still well before most other prairie plants.
The saucer-shaped construction of many spring flowers like the crocus, is no accident. Neither is the fuzzy centre of the crocus (composed of numerous yellow stamens and a tuft of greyish pistils - that become plumed fruit), nor its highly reflective petals. It all adds up to solar heating . . . Crocus Style!
The sunlight that reaches the crocus' shiny petals is reflected into the flower centre. This energy is bounced around between the stamens and pistils warming these vital reproductive parts of the flower. On a sunny day the temperature inside a crocus flower can be as much as 10 C (18 F) warmer than the temperature of the surrounding air. Not only does the dish shaped flower concentrate the sun's warmth, it tracks the sun across the sky, maximizing the length of time each day that it can stay warmer than the surrounding air." From naturenorth.com.
www.naturenorth.com/spring/flora/crocus/Prairie_Crocus2.html
A rare sighting of a black bear south of the parkland areas. This one had almost ventured into the prairie.
Near Togo, Saskatchewan
August 2023
This shot is certainly plain and has few elements to compose but is still awfully stark, except for the apparent crenelations on the fire brick silo. I see no reason for them. I am beginning to think that the Longmont Brick and Tile Company, long gone, had a "fire" sale on their tile at some time past. I just drove out southwest of town and found more flood destruction on Nimbus Road west of Niwot at their cemetery. I caught this across the road from the cemetery. The bridge over Lefthand turned the flood waters down the road so I had to walk across a lot of sand to get this shot. I kind of like the afternoon light that streams over the mountains on the right. It augments the dying of summer life for the tree. I also like the prominent and imposing bare tree, with one side stripped bare. It almost looks like a parachute, catching the last rays. I had already hit Golden Ponds (only partly open), Thompson Park and the Longmont cemetery. I got caught up in a project chasing autumn leaves falling in a breeze. My first shot was at Thompson park when I missed a pretty good show in the breeze... by two minutes. We've had pretty good color and pretty good breezes but I never have hit both in the perfect "fall." In fact, this is next to the Niwot cemetery and I waited for quite a while with another photographer as the breezes started to flag. I'd say autumn shots were gone but the cottonwoods match the stark.
Strangely, we had a summer that was closer to normal, if high in humidity, but I don't think ignoring climate change or pumping petroleum will make rougher weather go away. That is at least until the looming petroleum wars are settled and the Koch Brothers and their political tea purchases are put away in their place. Until then CO2 levels in the atmosphere which are at an 850 million year high, will not be turned around. Actually, all anti-fraccking proposals passed in Colorado.