posters Photography
Alberta Sharp-Tailed Grouse Lek Dance
Watching and photographing the sharp-tailed grouse on Monday morning strut there stuff on the lek is something you have to see to appreciate and thats what I did for the second time today. I was invited by a good friend and fellow photographer Mark Williams to watch the sharp-tailed grouse do there thing on the prairie lek.
Swainson’s Hawk’s Return
The Swainson’s hawk’s are back from migration and can be seen not only in the prairies but also within the city limits of Calgary Alberta. The last few days have been exciting for me as I love to find and photograph raptors! Over the last few days I have photographed all kinds of birds of prey.
Solitary Sandpiper - Shorebirds
nteresting little shorebird, I photographed this Solitary Sandpiper while it was wading the banks of a pond in Calgary. These birds are small, about 7 inches including the long beak and can be seen cruising the shores of lakes, rivers and ponds looking for food.
Coyote Up Close Encounter
I noticed a shadow off the path right beside me, there looking at me was this adult male coyote no more than ten feet away. The coyote was on a lower elevation than I was so I kept walking, maybe another ten feet or so until I was out of site. I then stopped, turned and crouched waiting for him to return, and return he did!
American Avocet
From a quick outing today I photographed this American Avocet looking for lunch along the shoreline of a slough. Good to see the shore birds back from migration, but I am sure this American Avocet is looking at the ice wishing he/she waited another week or two.
Canada Goose Portrait
On the left, a close up portrait photo of a male Canadian Goose, the blue background is water in very low light. Right now his mate is on eggs trying to keep them warm, not an easy task after last nights dump of snow.
Hooded Merganser In-Flight
Another evening with crappy light, total cloud cover but I went out (again) anyway but this time I got lucky, was at the right location at the right time when a male hooded merganser decided to take flight!
Western Meadowlark
I photographed this western meadowlark a few weeks ago on April 4/09 when we still had lots of snow on the ground. The meadowlarks bright yellow chest is a welcome sight this time of year when everything else is dressed in dulls winter browns.
Male & Female Goldeneye Ducks
Lots of these goldeneye ducks around this spring and right now they are partnering up. Here are few very recent photos of both the male and female goldeneye in flight.
Spring Time Canada Geese
The difference between the spring Canada geese and the more relaxed summer Canada geese is large. These spring time geese are very territorial and protective of there mate and there staked property.
Wood Ducks In-Flight
Was lucky to capture a few male wood ducks flying this morning, always fun photographing birds in-flight, especially wood ducks! Here are a few from the wood ducks in flight series, or from this morning duck shoot. I captured about 25 sharp pictures of these guys this morning and some good close-ups.
Male & Female Wood Ducks Photographed
They don’t look real, the colours of a male wood duck is nothing short of amazing and this wood duck almost looks sculpted it so beautiful. Spring birds are starting to arrive in numbers from there winter migration here in Calgary, Alberta, including this pair or wood ducks I photographed tonight.
Bohemian Waxwing Eating Berries
Lucky me, what a treat, eye level bohemian waxwings posing for my camera eating red berries and in total I have around 80 photographs from this session! These are stunning birds, the colours are unreal and right now they are just passing through Calgary on there way to there boreal forests nesting grounds.
Mountain Bluebird at Fish Creek Provincial Park
I was stumped on the I.D., I knew it was a bluebird I photographing but what species of bluebird, a Mountain Bluebird or a Western Bluebird? It turns this little bluebird is a first year male Mountain Bluebird, thanks Gus for straightening that out for me and a few other photogs!
Winter Deer Photographed
Since winter is officially over (hard to tell with all the snow on the ground), it is spring here in Alberta right? I decided to post a few of the deer I photographed over the past winter including a few good size bucks. I have about 150+ images of deer from this winter, here are just a few.
Red-Shafted Flicker
These male northern red-shafted flickers have been busy trying to impress the females and I caught two males jousting in the snow. Either a territorial thing, or some kind of spring mating ritual, not real sure.
Pond Life - Beavers, Ducks & Canada Geese
A quick visit to a nearby pond was worth it as I had lots of time to photograph this beaver munching on some assorted branches. He didn’t mind me watching him at all, the evening light was perfect but it was still cold outside.
Old Places - Interiors Of Old Buildings
Adding a new category to my blog, old interiors & exteriors, ruins, rundown places that are dirty, rusty but interesting leaning architecture to photograph. This is the first set of images for the category and I hope you like them.
On the left is an old abandoned farm house found in the Alberta prairies, looking in through the door you will notice a few bed springs rolling around the floor and lots of pealing paint and what looks like wall paper?
Goldeneye Ducks, Deer & Spring Beavers.
Only a few days ago it was -20c, the next day +10c and again today was well above freezing, spring is in the air! What a beautiful day to be out, and I was out this afternoon soaking up the sun and photographing some of the wildlife.
Black-Capped Chickadee
I asked myself before taking this shot, how many times have I photographed a Black-Capped Chickadee? The answer, too many times, or just the right amount? I don’t need another photo of a Black-Capped Chickadee, really I don’t, but then again I liked this photo from today and am glad I took it. 
Foggy Prairie Landscapes
eaded south east of Calgary this foggy morning into the prairies to see the town of Mossleigh Alberta and some old buildings in and around the area. The fog was very thick so my landscape photos are limited to a few old abandoned farm buildings and one of the 3 Mossleigh silos (below) was photographed. Click to enlarge photos.
Great Horned Owl Photographed
You don’t have to go far to find wildlife in this city, this great horned owl was photographed within the city limits of Calgary, not bad eh? Not only did this owl sit for few seconds for a photo, myself and friend Bayar saw plenty of deer, three coyotes and lots of ducks! Hope you all are not sick of owl photos (if thats possible!) as I seem to keep finding them lately.
Hawk Owl Portrait
These are full frame photos of the northern hawk owl, to the left shows the hawk owl sitting on a fence post in a snow storm, photo taken last week.
Hawk Owl Action Photos
A few action shots of an in-flight hawk owl hunting over farm fields in Alberta, the hawk owl here is photographed moving fast along a fence line on his way to dinner.
Alberta’s Great Gray Owls
Yes, more photos of the wild great gray owls that roam the forests of Alberta Canada! These are not fresh photos, but are a few weeks old from other owl outings, some posted here on the site.
A friend of mine, and fellow photog David Lilly went looking for the owls again today, second time in a row and we got skunked, again! Nothing, not even a glimpse of the gray ghost. Oh well, better luck next time.
Northern Hawk Owl In-Flight
I photographed this Northern Hawk Owl in-flight last winter and met a few new friends while at it, in fact, they pointed me in the right direction for this northern hawk owl. Here is a sequence of photos of the owl hunting and capturing his dinner, in this case a mouse!
Great Horned Owl
I saw a total of three great horned owls the other day, here is a photo of one found along the banks of the Bow River in Calgary. I also viewed plenty of eagles roosting in trees, at one point there must have been 20 or so in one tree, but too far off for a photo.
Great Gray Owls, Alberta
Finally, I got a chance to see and photograph the great gray owl! Today I went looking for the great gray and found two of these owls hunting along a fence line north west of Calgary, what a thrill!.
