Elliston Park September 15, 2024

As the weekend approached and after checking my kilometres covered so far this year, I put a plan in place and went on a mission!  I was a few klicks shy of 1800 kms covered. My goal for 2024 is to cover 2024 kilometres. After being "out & about" today, I have reached 1810 kms. And I say "it's alright!"  

This was my first time for visiting Elliston Park!  I had an idea of what to expect after looking at a few photos.  It far exceeded my expectations! It shows as a popular place on eBird with more duck sightings than bird sightings.  I arrived with a few minutes to spare until sunrise. 

I waited!

I watched!

A new day has dawned bringing with it hope & promise for all that is good 

along with a lovely reflection! 

Before hitting the trail that circumnavigates the waters' edge, I admired the colourful surroundings.  I like shadow shots especially if they make me chuckle or in this case, make me ponder!  I examined it before taking the photo.  It looked odd, odd enough that I looked behind me to see if someone was there.  The dark shadow is me from head to toe and the light shadow above it is also of me but a short version from head to toe. A double shadow shot!  How does that even happen!  

Enough with the shadow shot, now it was time to walk the trail around the lake.  Talk about ducks!  Yes, let's talk about ducks!  They were plentiful, a good variety, some swimming close to shore, glowing in the sun, bright eyed with fancy feathers.  This is a Horned Grebe.

Ruddy Duck

with water droplets on its' neck and back

Lesser Scaup

Black-necked Grebe

with water droplets on its' back

Greater Yellowlegs

with water droplets coming off its' beak

There were a few other species of ducks but I did not get good photos.  When I entered the forest trails, the birds' songs were plentiful but I did not spend much time photographing them, I just watched and listened.  Soon the trails through the forest will have more leaves on the ground than on the trees and you know what that means!  Swish! Swish! Swish!

 into the forest I go, to......

on the verge of entering Autumn means colour galore

Oh my, another location with Siberian Larch trees!  There were a few here, from centre front and to the left. I may need to come back here within the next couple of weeks to witness the prime time show.

Sigh!  Oh Mother Nature, you work such wonders!

a beautiful line up

The shades of end of summer are such a tease of what is to transpire over the next couple of weeks! From the gorgeous sunrise shades to the duck sightings to the variety of trees' hues, I came away feeling the hope & promise for the new day was fulfilled!   And I say "it's alright!" 

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary : Lucky FRIDAY the 13th, 2024

On this Friday the 13th, as I walked the winding trail leading to the dirt paths at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, I noticed something and took it as a sign! This was my view!  Everything that was green was so green after yesterday's steady rain for hours on end.  The air was crisp, it was fresh, I wish I could attach the fragrance to my blog post!    

The highlight of today was the number of Yellow-rumped Warblers!  

They converged on The Sanctuary by the dozens, a multitude of dozens!  

They gathered, they enjoyed a frenzied feast, preparing for a long journey south!  

The Juvenile Bald Eagle was perched not far above shortly after crossing the Logjam Bridge.  The angle of the wind caught its feathers and fluffed them up causing it to appear short and plump rather than tall and majestic. It had lots to say, I am not sure to who or what!  

Maybe it was to me it had something to say!  

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Osprey

It is always a treat to see the birds of prey and I felt lucky to see three species today, but I receive more joy when I witness the little birds. There was a variety to enjoy starting with this Palm Warbler.  

House Wren

This is the same Yellow-rumped Warbler that appears in the photo near the top of this post.  It gave me numerous poses, lots with its back to me.  It was almost like it was trying to convey something to me!

Myself and another couple spent tonnes of time on the back trail where the majority of the Yellow-rumped Warblers were.  They were on the trail, in the trees and in the bushes, they were sitting on fence posts and also on the wires in between. They were feeding like there was no tomorrow! Did this one eat too much or what.....?

Dark-eyed Junco

Yelllow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Spotted Sandpiper

On this Friday the 13th, I felt so very lucky to see the many birds and ducks that I did.  The photos I shared here are just a fraction of what I witnessed.  Days like this are far and few between as each day passes.  The migration is in full swing, it may even be nearing the tail end.  As I entered the Sanctuary today, I wondered what kind of bird outing it would be and I hoped for lots to see.  As I walked the winding trail leading to the dirt paths, it was a heart formed by the clouds that I noticed and I took that as a sign that this Friday the 13th was going to be a lucky day with lots to love!  

over the Harvest Moon

The full moon for September is called the Harvest Moon and will be at its peak on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 8:34 PM Mountain Time.  Yet, you will be able to see it from the 16th to the18th.  Just like last month's full moon, September's full moon will also be a Supermoon.   A Harvest Moon is not associated with a specific month, it could fall in either September or October, it depends on the day the moon is full closest to the Fall Equinox of September 22.  The full moon nearest the Fall Equinox rises at nearly the same time as sunset for several evenings in a row. This full moon got its name due to the bright moonlight in the early evening being an aid to farmers for harvesting.

There is an event occurring to go along with the full moon!  I copied the following excerpt from earthsky.org. 

"People in the Americas, parts of Antarctica, western Indian Ocean, Middle East, Africa, Europe, Atlantic Ocean, and eastern Polynesia will see a shallow partial lunar eclipse overnight on September 17-18, 2024. The steady golden light near the eclipsed moon will be the planet Saturn.The whole half of Earth facing the full moon – that is, the whole half of Earth that’s in nighttime – will see the lunar eclipse. Of course, lunar eclipses are safe to view with the unaided eye. Binoculars and telescopes aren’t required to view a lunar eclipse, but they do enhance the view. At this eclipse, only a small fraction of the moon will enter Earth’s dark umbral shadow. For the most part, the September 17-18, 2024, lunar eclipse will appear as a penumbral eclipse of the moon. In other words, as the eclipse progresses, you should notice a dark shading on the moon (Earth’s penumbral shadow), followed by the barest of dark bites (Earth’s dark umbral shadow) taken from one edge of the moon."

This is my watercolour painting of the Harvest Moon and will represent September in my 2025 Calendar.  I had an idea of what I wanted the painting to look like but I had no photos of my own to use as references. I googled how to paint a little barn and how to paint rows in a field.  I put my ideas together to create this image.

While I had no photos to use as references for the painting, I did find these photos that were all taken during September in Nova Scotia and looking at them got me in the harvest mood.  The full moon was taken from a vantage point at a beach.  The rows are grape vines at a vineyard in the Annapolis Valley.  I am standing in front of a corn field in the Annapolis Valley.  

Wherever I am on the night of September 17th, 

I will be over the moon if I get to witness the full Harvest Moon!

Confluence Park September 9, 2024

With a plan in place, I ventured across the way to Confluence Park to frame a few hours this morning!  The forecast for later in the day was the wind would pick up and bring in wildfire smoke along with rain.  I welcome rain but not the wind nor the smoke.  After meandering along a few trails throughout the Birth Forest, I popped out into the open to a beautiful sky and a welcoming wildflower!  

While following the path east that would lead me down to the creek, this caught my eye just before beginning the descent! It has been ages since I was "plane spotting".  What a sight!  I used my full on zoom and then some to capture this photo.  I now had a task ahead of me when I got home!  This plane arrived in Calgary from Belgium on August 31st carrying the worlds' 66 top show jumping horses.  Also on the plane were support staff, 3 tonnes of dutch flowers and the Rolex Grand Slam Trophy.  The Spruce Meadows Masters ran from Sept 4th to Sept 8th so soon the precious cargo would be back on the plane to depart Calgary.

I reached creekside and hiked along it in a westerly direction.  I noticed a change in the atmosphere and the view ahead.  I saw two bike commuters up on the hill, stopped and taking photos.  When I turned around to see what they were photographing, this was what I saw!  Oh no, it could only mean one thing!  Yes, just like that, the wildfire smoke began to settle in over the city. 

Now I would be framing the morning in a way I was not planning to!  In a way, it was time again to "save the day"!  The sun became my focus and I played with it!  Here it is being supported by a narrow bush. 

the sun being framed by another narrow bush beside the one in the above photo

The pink sun cast a pinkish hue to everything!

the erratic rock with a bird sitting on it

a view of the sun beside the erratic rock

the sun reflecting in the creek

Birds were not my focus but I could not help but listen to the beautiful tune of the Song Sparrow. 

The Vesper Sparrow sang its sweet song!

At least with the close up photos of the birds, the wildfire smoke was not obvious.  With the grey dull colouring, a bright spot stood out in the far off distance.  In total full zoom mode and then some, I was able to see the goat camp and the goats up on Nose Hill.  I watched through my lens and saw the goats work their way down the hill. I could also make out the dogs working to keep them as a close group.  

By the time I made it back up to the Birth Forest, I could see a dividing line between the blue sky and the wildfire smoke. Soon thereafter, the smoke took over the full sky.  Now that we are well into September, soon "larch watching" will begin.   The larch trees in the city are different than the larch trees in the mountains.  The city larches change later.  There are a few Siberian Larches in this photo, at the far left in the back, the smaller tree at front beside the first tall tree and a few are tucked in behind.  Some of the larches died last season.  I will be watching this section over the next few weeks, along with checking out a few other city locations with larches and of course a mountain trip or two to see the larches at prime time.

"The Goats" Nose Hill Environmental Park September 8, 2024

As I mentioned in my blog post dated September 3rd, the Goats are back at Nose Hill!  In recognition of that, I followed a tutorial on how to do a watercolour painting of a goat.  This is the outcome of what I learned!  I attempted a painting of a full body but gave up and decided to just learn how to do the head and neck.  

I ventured up to Nose Hill this morning to see the goats working but I was too early and they were still in the pen.  With the electric fence in place, I was not able to get close to the camp.  I was early enough that I did see the Shepard out doing a yoga routine.  I almost felt like I was a spy or an intruder so went on my way.  So you know what I am talking about, I copied this article from a local news story to share in case you are interested in learning more:

Canada Thistle, Sow Thistle, and Knotting Thistle are among the invasive species that threaten the largest intact rough fescue grasslands in North America. Ensuring that those native species remain as part of the ecological landscape at Nose Hill Park is the City of Calgary’s targeted grazing program. This year, 800 goats from BAAH’D Plant Management and Reclamation will be grazing on the eastern slopes of Nose Hill along 14 Street NW, chomping on those invasive species while also helping to restore the land for native grasses and flowers that would have grown there during the days of the buffalo.

“Without any sort of natural disturbance, like grazing or burns—which the [vegetation on the] hill would have naturally evolved with—we would see that the woody invasives would end up taking over, and we’d see a shrub land and a forest here. We would lose our grassland,” said Andrew Phelps, an ecologist with the City of Calgary. “The reason we have selected this area, which is the Rubbing Stone Management Area, is because there is a high concentration or abundance of our native grasses here, and rough fescue is primarily the one that we’re interested in. It has been dwindling across the Great Plains and Alberta as a whole.

The city has been using goats as an all-natural plant management solution since 2016. “I think the beauty about them is that they’re not just here for biomass removal. There’s many other value-added services that they provide. They provide aeration and soil tillage, which helps our native species establish, and that’s when the goats walk across the landscape they till up that soil,” said Phelps. “They also provide fertilization, which helps cycle that vegetation back into the landscape.” He said that the goats also engage the public in the work of ecological conservation at Nose Hill, which then increases the public’s ecological literacy.

Jeanette Hall, a shepherd and owner of BAAH’D Plant Management and Reclamation, said that each of the 800 goats can eat around eight pounds of biomass per day, and that the goats have been trained over 30 years to be particularly interested in invasive species.

“All herbivores learn to eat from their parents. So, because this herd has been doing it for 30 years, they’re trained on certain weeds. They’ve been exposed to lots of weeds. So we know we can guarantee to our clients when we show up, we are going to eat the weeds,” she said.

Beyond that, she said, there is a ton of science that goes into using goats for land management “There’s a ton of thinking and planning that goes into what we’re actually doing because we are just mimicking how Bison would have worked on these sites. We’re doing what you’ve got to imagine millions of pounds and feet of bison doing tromping over this hill. They graze it right down, but they leave. That’s the important thing, is that they leave. So more animals the better. Shorter the better,” Hall said. 

The goat herd will spend two weeks on Nose Hill, and during their stay, they will be living in goat pens at night right on the hill itself.  Hall said that to manage that many animals, and to protect the other animals that live on Nose Hill—including predators like coyotes, hawks, and crows—there will be dedicated guard dogs surrounding the herd. Those dogs will serve as a deterrent to predators, and as Hall likes to point out, she has never lost a goat to a predator despite working in environments with other ones like bears, wolves, and cougars.

In turn though, the City of Calgary and Hall are asking the public to stay away from both the herd and the working dogs during their stay at Nose Hill. “We have trained livestock Guardian dogs that can be at large. So, they are trained to bark and scare and alert us if there is someone who they perceive as a hazard. If people are screaming at our dogs, or yelling at them, they’re only going to make those dogs bark more.”

Signs are posted at the entrance to the Environmental Park.

I zoomed in quite a bit to capture this photo. It's the camp where the Shepard stays at night with the pen full of goats just outside the trailer.  I could see the doors to the trailer were open but the Shepard had not yet come out. 

Zoomed in even further.  It was just after this when I saw the Shepard come out and head to the side to do yoga.  The goats were milling about in the pen. I could not see the dogs but I did hear them barking and I wondered were they barking out a warning for me to move on.  

while moving on, I followed along side the electrified fence

it covers a very, very, very large area with many warnings and lots of trail closures

The following three collages show photos I took when the goats were here in previous years. When the goats were here on Nose Hill in October of 2022, I was invited by the Shepard to mix in with the goats.  I enjoyed that opportunity!  During the goats' stay at Confluence Park in 2016 (their first work term in Calgary), in addition to being herded by dogs they were also herded by horses.  The day I stopped by that Park to see them, we were permitted to stand by the fence and watch while they worked.  

The City is creating trading cards of the goats!

After hiking around for 12 kilometres up on Nose Hill this morning, I did not feel like going back to where the fenced off area was with the camp, goats, Shepard and dogs.  I may or may not make another trip up The Hill while the goats are still there.  Their work contract lasts until September 19th.