Just checking this out for the sake of seeing the size of the photo and it will be nothing too stimulating or inspirational. I am very listless today, may be the comfort of my apartment versus going outdoors. Once outside I am fine, I just don’t like the transition. I see a new feature: spell check, that is a good thing. As soon as I post this blog I am going outside to see my friends, furry and otherwise.
I found it. I just had to close the media page. Duh! WordPress, I owe you an apology. I have no patience and was not in the mood to learn today-just wanted to post the blog.
by Jane Chesebrough
Come Out and Play
© Jane Chesebrough
Some nice new features on WordPress as well as annoyances. It goes with the territory when you are learning new things. I tried to edit my image then couldn’t get back to the writing.What I have written previously will probably show up later as a post. At least I found out how to make my picture larger.I am going out after being very lethargic for two days! Yes, it is warm and cosy here but I am getting nothing done except for drinking coffee with eggnog, eating comfort food and spending too much time on the computer!.
I will go out into the brisk fresh air and breathe and get some exercise. Of course I will take photos. Then maybe I will come back and with renewed energy, pull out my decorations from the closet and welcome the Christmas season. Happy December, folks! Just think, soon the days will start to get longer!
Raven on Icefields Parkway
Just thought that I would post this photo of a raven that I took last spring at a stop on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. Been inspired by some photos on the blogs . Thoughts are with the election tomorrow in the US. all the best.
©Jane Chesebrough
Rocky Landscapes
During my travels this summer, I was in the mountains and visited lakes, streams and rivers. There was lots of water and flooding due to large amounts of snow and spring run off. But another aspect of this country was the rocky landscapes that I so enjoy. They could provide warm places to lie out in the sun. They could shelter me from strong winds. There were places that inspired me to take closer shots than the usual mountain vistas.
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Visiting the Butterfly House
I went with a friend to the Devonian Gardens a couple of weeks ago and after a very deliscious ice cream treat headed over to the butterfly house. The heat and humidity just about knocked me out but i did get this photo of this large butterfly or moth.with a hint of its beautiful blue inner wings but found the markings on the outside fascinating as well.Devonian gardens is run by the University of Alberta and is north of Devon, about a half hour west of Edmonton. Does anyone know what this butterfly/moth is?
©Jane Chesebrough
Florals
I was so happy to see the blooms of paint brush and Western wood lilies decorate the sides of the highway when I was travelling through the mountains. I was inspired to buy a book on shrubs and flowers when I reached Nordegg and was I ever overwhelmed by the varieties! It is hard to determine which is which-so much information but I will try to keep it simple. I share with you the colours of the landscape with those blooms that I have identified as well as the rest of the “pretty flowers”. I am sorry about the blurriness of the first one but curious about what this is.
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Western Wood Lily
I took this high above Abraham Lake and like the colour of the lily with the aqua water in the background and the surrounding greens and oranges.I wanted to try something a little different from my typical snap shot. A lot of people call this the Tiger Lily and it is one of my favourites to see at this time of year.
©Jane Chesebrough
Changing Colour
This is a photo of Abraham Lake on highway 11 east of Red Deer, named after Silas Abraham a native resident of the Saskatchewan Valley in the 1900’s. I first saw this lake a few years ago and was astounded by its colour, a rich turquoise. It is more of an aqua colour at this time of year because of the silt from spring run-off but probably by the time of posting will have changed to a deeper tone. One of my favourite spots is Windy Point which is where I was when I took the photo. This is the calmest that I have experienced it in three visits. I like it because of the colours and I can get close to the water and see and feel the energy. Windy Point lives up to its name and I have had to do some serious cleaning of my sensor after being here because the wind blows all sorts of debris into my camera without taking off the lens. It is a long lake , 32 kilometers that stretches from outside Nordegg to the Sakatchewan Crossing at the mountains. man-made, and has a dam, the Big Horn, at the east end that you can see in this photo on the right.
©Jane Chesebrough
Back Home
I am all showered and shaved now- really discovered the parts about myself that I don’t like and the parts I do like brought on by the fear of bears and heat and exhaustion. The trip brought out the best and the worst in me with sleeping in strange surroundings, the constant sound of rushing water as some hostels were beside turbulent rivers which was energizing at times and annoying when I wanted to relax and sleep at other times. There were bear warnings in a few areas which made me very vigilant and never felt comfortable enough to camp in a tent but did stay in wilderness hostels and went on short hikes. sometimes my knees swelled and I slowed to a snail’s pace. On the first day of the trip my muffler detached from the bottom of my car and I tied it on using wire and on the last night I locked my keys in my vehicle so it wasn’t stress-free. But no computers, no phones, just the occasional stop at a restaurant to recharge my batteries and quench my thirst really felt right and it was great to go to bed without street lights shining through the window or radios to distract me.
And photos! Oh boy…did I ever take a lot of photos. Some were well planned and others were expressions of my being snap-happy. A friend joined me on the first couple of days to shoot photos and I joked with her that I didn’t want to run into a bear but would like to see one from the car. We were armed with our bear spray and more afraid of using that stuff than running into a bear but we did practise pulling the lock out and putting it back on so that we knew how to use it. At one point we were in an area that had posted signs that stated it was grizzly country so we made some noise. I found myself humming then realised that the song was “Teddy Bears Picnic.” Ha! How ironic!
I got my wish when I took a road tour in the early evening specifically to spot wildlife on my last night in Jasper National Park. I spotted a black bear, cinnamon coloured just walking through the woods. I drove into an adjacent parking lot keeping a good distance and shot a couple of manual photos, noticed how dark they were so switched to program mode. I wanted enough speed to capture movement and open aperture to capture light.I also upped my ISO to get more light. In the end the ones shot manually were the best and I managed to lighten them up in Lightroom.
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Eagle’s Nest
Went on a new trail specifically to spot this nest and hopefully see the residents. Apparently there are eaglets there, however there was no activity when I came .Perhaps my timing was off-would be worth another trip. Just to see the size of the nest was awe-inspiring and it was the most I have walked in a long time 4 km return. It doesn’t sound far but I couldn’t even make it one city block a few months ago. It was actually hot outside , a true summer’s day.
©Jane Chesebrough
A Heart Warming Story with Questions
Last night I went to the pond to see what was there. I was photographing some young ducks when I met a couple watching them. They told me how they had seen a mother duck and her ducklings in a busy parking lot. I heard how they and /or other people tried to catch the mother duck, who panicked, and flew away, leaving her babies behind. Figuring that the mother had abandoned her young ones, the couple gathered the ducklings in a box acquired from a nearby liquor store and brought them to the pond.They had consulted a veterinarian and were told that touching the ducks did not mean they would be rejected and there was a good chance they would be cared for by another mother duck so they brought the babies to this pond a few miles away. Well,it happened. Another duck has adopted them and they have a couple of older siblings and appear to be an integrated family. The people were coming to check on the ducklings to see if they were all right.It is a heart-warming story, about baby ducks being rescued by caring human beings and I was touched by their compassion.
I know the parking lot that they spoke of and it is far from water but close to the river valley. I thought about it further and wondered, where did the ducks come from? Did she hatch her eggs near an apartment complex where there was a fountain? Did they travel far to get to this parking lot/strip mall? If people hadn’t tried to catch the mother duck would the family still be together? So many questions. Did this couple and probably others interfere too much? Could they have acted as traffic control so the ducks could have returned to where they had come from? Was the family looking for a new home? I wonder how the mother is doing?Are they going to be safe at the pond now that it is being cleared up for an upcoming triathalon? And finally, what would I have done?
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
More on the Goldeneye Duck
A most entertaining duck, the male Goldeneye has breeding behaviour that includes tilting his head backwards and letting out a squawk to get the female’s attention. The female seems more bold about coming up to people for a handout once she realizes that some are a food source.
They have positions and “looks” that are just downright comical some of which I may add later since I can’t find them now. See for yourself.
©Jane Chesebrough
- ©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Baby Bobber Birds
The first ducklings on the ponds that I see in the spring are the Goldeneyes. My friend called them “Baby Bobber Birds” because after they dive, they pop up to the surface like those bobbers that are used for fishing. At first I thought the mother was somewhat neglectful as I saw her offspring spread out across the waters seemingly alone.Then I noticed what happens when another duck gets too close. The protective mother is on the attack. She can be quite aggressive and has a sneaky method where she dives under water a little ways from her target then comes up underneath her victim and bites them. In this series a mother Goldeneye is on a rock with two ducklings (maybe hers, or maybe two she has stolen).As she dives into the water one of them is knocked off the rock into the water.She attacks another female and after chasing her away, returns to the rock . All three are united , first on the rock then they go to shore. I want to share these photos so you too, can appreciate them.
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Summer Solstice
I just had to feature the pheasant on his own today, in celebration of all his beautiful adornment and think it fits in with summer solstice. This is a time when energy is high and things grow, are beautiful and bountiful. I hope all of us find the time , and I know we do, because we have an eye for the beauty around us, to be still , breathe deeply and be grateful. Blessings to us all and enjoy the day as well as the season ahead. May it be full of creative wonder, inspiration and celebration!
©Jane Chesebrough
A Fine Pair
A friend came for a visit today and we went to the park. As we passed the bird feeder we spotted two pheasant so pulled over and parked immediately.They were so busy eating birdseed that they didn’t sneak away as they usually do, so we had some time with them before they left. Here is a photo of the pair of them together. It was challenging because when one ‘s head was clear of the leaves, the other one’s head wasn’t visible or one, usually the hen, would hide. I kept changing my settings because the light was erratic but managed to get what I wanted after alot of useless shots. This was satisfying after more than one unsuccessful attempt in the past. I call that a good day out birding/photographing.
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Great Horned Owlettes
After an invigorating conversation about sightings of wildlife, the park staff kindly alerted me to the location of two owlettes. I went to look for them and was thrilled to find them. Their eyes are so piercing and the white fluff is either down or the floating fluff that comes from the poplars at this time of year or a combination of both. I want to protect them from harassment so am not saying exactly where I saw them. The branches were in the way except when there was a strong gust of wind, apologies for the poor quality.
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Reflections from a Prairie Landscape
This is the pond at the Ellis Bird Farm, very different from the mountains and not a typical prairie scene with an endless vista of grasses. It always helps to have clouds for variety and it was a beautiful bright day with challenges for taking photos of birds, you know bright light, sharp shadows. When I first came to the prairies 33 years ago(time flies!) I was surprised to discover that most of the trees out here are not native, but were planted by the settlers especially as wind breaks. I had never heard words like coulees, sloughs, buttes, etc. I was glad for the trees as I am attached to trees and water because I came from Ontario which has plenty of both. The prairies have taught me to notice the subtleties in the changes in the colours of the grasses and the wild flowers and of course an approaching storm can be seen for miles. In this area it is very picturesque with the rolling hills dotted with groves of Aspen and Spruce, hosts to many kinds of birds.
©Jane Chesebrough
The Ever Elusive Sora
This is the second bird that i was talking about in my previous post. I caught a glimpse of one last week thanks to a dog who “pointed” at it. The shot I took was blurred. Today I could hear them but was wondering if it would be another ten years before I got to see one. I crossed the road from one marsh to another and was sneaking along the shoreline, peering through the bushes. There it was! I got a few shots although the image is obsured by some branches. Not good quality but I am so happy that I got to see a Sora today. My next goal is to get a good shot of one ! 🙂
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Great Blue Heron
I went to Elk Island National Park today and saw two special birds. First the great Blue Heron. It was fishing on the shoreline of Astotin Lake and I tried three times in different spots to get close. It was very overcast and somewhat dark, I had my ISO up to 400 and sometimes used manual mode sometimes AV and some times TV-wanted to make sure that i got some photos.On some of the photos the colours were all grey and all the pixilation was concetrated in the middle of the hologram. That is ironic because I am studying about light and grey cards. Some are cropped some are not. Enjoy!
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
That Ruddy Duck!
Finally! I found some Ruddy Ducks. I have mentioned in past blogs that it was the Ruddy Duck that first got me hooked on birding. I had a friend that shared that love with me and we would go on numerous walks together to count and observe birds. Every spring it was an unofficial contest to see which one of us would spot the first Ruddy Duck , then take the other to the site to share the findings. This is particularly special to me because my friend died as a result of complications from a car accident by a drunk driver. So I saw these ducks yesterday and said, as if she were there, “Here you go, Pauline. here’s our Ruddies.”
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
My How They Have Grown!
I went to the pond with a friend today and saw the goslings .They look like teenagers now. Twice the size. Saw some ducklings, too, both Mallards and Goldeneyes. Spent a long time observing them. I noticed that the goldeneyes especially seem to run across the top of the water and they are so light that they can walk across the top of the algea. Also, when they dive they don’t just dunk under the water but leap up into the air then dive-amazingly agile! The pond is full of yucky green stuff and fluff which doesn’t look nice in a photo but doesn’t seem to hurt the ducks and geese. I heard the parks people oil the eggs so they won’t hatch and I hear recordings of birds of prey and distressed chicks and it may keep some away but sure doesn’t fool all of them.I am happy that I can get so close to wild ducks and geese in the city parks because I could never get this close to their country cousins.
©Jane Chesebrough Swimtime
©Jane Chesebrough Mallards
©Jane Chesebrough Taking a Dive
©Jane Chesebrough The Older Goslings
Viewing Wildlife
I took these photos using my 70-300mm lens and from the safety of the car, both for my sake and the sake of the animals. This is stressful for them to have people approaching them and if one person doesn’t get hurt by this, perhaps the next one will. I was floored when I pulled over to a roadside stop and there was a photographer with a 300mm lens or more lying on the ground about 15 ft from this ram and his ewes. Probably because of the example he set, a family with young children was getting out of their van to take some photos. Sure, they were eating quietly but that can change in an instant-they are wild animals.
The elk was spotted across the road and I took the photo from the safety of the car. The cows are calving now and are dangerous because if they feel threatened they will charge.
The loon was a gift because as I approached the shoreline, I inadvertently flushed a pair out from the underbrush. I managed to get three shots of the one.
Horseshoe Lake Jasper NP
I decided to rendezvous with the other members of the Edson Photography Club at the Snaring River campground in Jasper National Park this past weekend. There is a lot of talent in this club that I initially joined when I lived in Edson but rejoined when I attended a workshop with Darwin Wiggett and Samantha Chrysanthou hosted by the club last fall. I slept in my tent and must admit it was chilly at zero and even moved to a friend’s trailer the first night but stayed in my tent the second night just to prove that I could do it. I have never camped this early in the year nor in bear country until now. Just a few showed up but we had a good time at the scenic spots and even met a traveller who spotted us with our cameras and joined us at the campground and on outings… It was very warm on Saturday which got the kinks out from the cold evening before and we visited roadside reflecting pools, Horseshoe Lake and Athabasca Falls before returning to the campground for steaks provided by the club and potluck-delicious! Will post my photos from Sunday’s stops on the slow way home via Maligne Lake and roadside stops in future blogs.
White-breasted Nuthatch
I saw a white-breasted Nuthatch recently while chasing the warblers and it was not in a tree where I usually see them but was feeding on the ground.These creatures are smart; observed one take a peanut, wedge it in between the ridges of the bark of a tree trunk and once secured, broke the shell open.This photo is getting posted because it appears to be the best. We had a couple of days of rain which mostly kept me indoors and am looking forward to getting out birding again but need to take my car to the garage . If I get it in early it may allow me time to go to the park. No more procrastination.
©Jane Chesebrough
My Heartsong 