Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park

There are still a handful of locations that I would like to crocus hunt at but Glenbow Ranch will be my last where I purposely go just for that reason.  The crocuses are at their prime right now but I have other places to go and other sights to savour.   We are experiencing unusually hot weather for being on the cusp of the end of April.  It has not been this hot since the early 1900's.  It is tinder dry locally yet the snow level is deep in the mountains with extreme avalanche warnings remaining in place.   

Yodel is closed off due to cows grazing & birthing so I headed west and descended down Tiger Lily.

The only reason I am wearing a hat is to keep my hair in place on this windy day.  I was ready to downgrade to shorts and a short sleeve shirt shortly after snapping this selfie.  

Along this stretch of the trail, the crocuses were in abundance.  

Never have I ever seen so many so close together.  

I learned that they multiply each year.  

a photographer's dream

a few of my favourites

After capturing more crocus photos than was necessary, I just passed on by the multitudes that still faced me.  There were other sights to see and that was where my focus turned to.  Besides, I was getting lazy and had enough of getting down on the ground and up again, over and over and over.  From the gorgeous clouds to spring buds, to ground squirrels building nests, to deer hair caught on fences, to the snow capped peaks and landscape in general, this was a very satisfying day to be out enjoying nature. 

spring in full bloom

Spring being in full bloom means many things!  A variety of birds are arriving from the south on a daily basis, crocuses are in their prime and other wildflowers are beginning to appear.  What it also means is that  in the city along with the rain comes snow yet it is all snow falling in the mountains.  Avalanche ratings are high or extreme and the warnings are out.  

For bird sightings I visited Dale Hodges Park then Bowmont Park for the crocuses.  This is my first sighting this season of a Yellow-Rumped Warbler.  I was surprised how close I was able to get to it.  I also saw one Yellow-Headed Blackbird, a Killdeer and dozens of Male Red-Winged Blackbirds. What I learned from the last course I took, was that male birds migrate first and look for a good spot for females to lay eggs.  When the females arrive the males woo them with their nesting locations and the female will pick the male that presents the best nesting spot.

There are numerous bridges and dirt paths throughout the wetlands section of the park.

Today's sights and sounds presented spring at its best!

🌤🌤🌤🌤🌤

There was a section of Confluence Park that I had not gone to yet to hunt crocuses.  They were so delightful on this day.  The backdrop of a beautiful sky certainly helps were their presentation.  There were so many in various stages of life, scattered everywhere on the slopes and in the middle of meadowy areas.  Many were fully or partially poking through ground cover.  I became picky and went for those that were fully exposed.  It was less work to photograph them.

Phlox Hodii

On my way back through the park, I came to a section were the birds hang out.  This is a Brown-Headed Cowbird, my first sighting of the season for one of these.  It was on its own sticking very close to three male Red-Winged Blackbirds.  

Song Sparrow

My motivation to be "out & about" has improved immensely.  

That's also something that comes with spring! 

celebrating nature and earth every day

 What is it that makes me appreciate nature more and more as time passes? 

The last time I was at Carburn Park, skating was still in full swing.  A small portion of the pond is now open water yet a large part remains covered in ice and snow.  From my memories of being here last spring, it is a popular place for the birds to hang out during the warmer months. My hopes were to see some new seasonal visitors.  

the small section of open water on the pond

Many kilometres can be covered if you head north along the Bow to Beaverdam Flats which is what I did.    The trails are clear of snow and ice and mostly dry especially earlier in the day.  I did encounter mud on the return hike.  

My intentions were to watch for birds.  I had some luck with that seeing many Black-Capped Chickadees, Northern Flickers, Robins, a Bald Eagle and a Cooper's Hawk.  It was the ducks though that really caught my eye.  While performing surveillance when following along the Bow, I spotted something that looked a little different than all the other ducks that were out there.  Seeing this Common Loon was so unexpected and I cherished many many minutes watching it.  

A little while later I had another unusual sighting!  A Red-Necked Grebe!  I saw a Red-Necked Grebe two years ago but it was from a distance and the colours were not clear.  Today the Grebe was closer and it is obvious why it is called what it is called. 

This young buck was settled in a sunny spot.  When it breathed I could see its breath.  Those are icicles hanging from the chin.  I kept my distance and zoomed in to capture this photo.  It must have been a very comfortable spot because he was still there two hours later when I was returning along the same route.  For a few seconds I did wonder if it was OK or maybe he went about his morning routine for a couple of hours and then returned to the same spot.    

The highlight for today was seeing the Common Loon.  

What a gift to be presented with on Earth Day!

🌎🌏🌍

All the snow that fell near the end of last week worked wonders for the crocuses!  On this day I went hunting again and came away with the feeling of crocus overload.  If I knew better, I would have brought my coffee, breakfast and a blanket, settled in one spot and I would have come away with dozens of gorgeous photos from that one area.  Bouquets are now in abundance!

I felt like I was looking deep into the soul of this crocus!

Most of the bouquets had large amounts of grass around them and on top.  I found a few bunches where I was able to hold the grass aside or down while snapping the photograph.  These will be fully open in a day or two.

being one with the earth is necessary to capture this angle

I picked out a few more, from my two hundred photos, to create this collage.  

While it did feel like I was overloaded with crocus sightings today, 

there are more locations to check out. I think I still have room within to do more savouring.

🌏🌍🌎

Regular visits to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary at this time of year come with new varieties of sights and sounds each time.  That proved to be the case on this day.  My welcome this time was from two Northern Flickers performing their mating song and dance routine.  

The bright spot tucked high in the branches of the tree was a Dark-Eyed Junco.  This was my first sighting of one this season.  It was quite content staying there and checking out the area, that was until my phone beeped.  Even though the beep was so very quiet, the bird heard it.  I quickly turned off the sound.

Oh my neck!  This is what it took from the House Finch to get a clear vision of what I was.  There were a few males and females on the ground foraging for food but it was this guy that I paid attention to as he monitored me. 

Work continues at The Sanctuary.  It will be ten years this coming June since the flood ravaged Calgary and other parts of Southern Alberta.   This area has come a long way but there is still lots of work ahead.  

With a few sections closed off for construction, a couple of other areas have opened up.  

This is the view from a path I have never been along.  

Like every other time I come away from The Sanctuary, once again I came away feeling soothed.  

This is a protected place full of so much nature to appreciate.  

Wintry Crocus Collection

While being blasted with a day like the dog days of winter, I still went crocus hunting!  Why?  Because it's crocus season!  While slip sliding down the hill while trying to go up, I wondered whether this snow might work wonders for the crocuses in the long run.  I reached a location where I knew the wildflowers bloomed in previous years and there they were!  Each flower was dressed in flakes of snow.

here and there were pieces of purple poking up through the winter white

Taking photos of the crocuses in these conditions was not easy.  It was a challenge to keep my lens free of flakes and I wish I had pants that were water proof at the knees and rear.  It was cold enough that the snow accumulated.  As my search went on, more and more of the crocuses became totally covered.  A few that I could see some colour through the snow were worthy of flicking some flakes away.  

The snow was wet and heavy yet the crocuses remained upright.  

There is so much that I love about this particular crocus!  

The blue shade in the middle is gorgeous.  

When I look closely, I can see some of the snow flakes are in the shape of a star.  

More crocus capturing opportunities are still yet to come.  

Today's Crocus Collection

After a couple more hours today covering eight kilometres, I came away with another beautiful collection of crocuses.  The klicks go by slowly when I am on the hunt.  I had insider information the crocuses were now plentiful here so off I went to verify the truth of that statement.   

the beauty within

notice all the buds at the base

wispy clouds radiating from the petals

a bit of a balancing act

I like how the dark twigs make the crocus look so bright

beauty in a bunch

so vibrant at the base of the petals

My focus today was mainly one dimensional yet I could not help but notice the songs surrounding me.  I recognized the tune then followed the music to the location.  This is my first sighting of a Song Sparrow this season!  

Don't worry, I am crocus hunting not coyote hunting!

There are a few more locations that I know about where crocuses thrive.  

I have so much more room to fill before I will be content with this season's hunt.   

Crocuses Galore

🎵 🎶 You're just what I've been looking for ! 🎶🎵

Then, just like that, it's watch where you step season!  It's been a long time coming this year and will only get better for the next couple of weeks as each day passes.  My first crocus sighting this season was on April 10th and the second was on April 11th.  They were very young, not much more than buds and barely noticeable.  I waited patiently for the display of beautiful abundance, and during those days, I learned more about the Prairie Crocus by creating this nature journal spread.  

this is the sighting from April 11th and the reference used for the journal page

My thought this morning was surely by now there should be more crocuses!  A few days had passed since I last went on a hunt, the temperatures had been nice with lots of sun.  It was maybe fifteen minutes into my search when I spotted those pretty purplish pinkish petals.  The sightings became never ending!  I was elated, finally, spring has arrived!   The crocuses were on the small side and were mostly singles and doubles.  There was the odd threesome yet hardly any big bouquets.  

I learned about the life cycle of the Prairie Crocus but I have yet to learn about the parts of this wildflower.  The part that caught my eye in each of the following photos, is where the light shone on and lite up the top of the stem (not sure yet if it is even called a stem). 

I saw so many tiny spots of beige fuzz barely visible in the ground cover 

which gives me hope for a sight soon to be seen!