Spring Bird Count : Day Two

     Today was my second session of spring bird count. Today I counted at a location called Slack's Slough. This is about 150 acres of water and then about 150 acres of riparian area. The soil around the slough is fairly alkaline so the general area has grass which grows under these conditions . Of course, there are no trees or brush. Most of the water's edge has a heavy growth of reeds. There are very shallow areas suitable for waders. 

The whole slough is rimmed by a heavy reed  bed.

    As you look across the slough there are 100's of birds. There is a wide variety of species. Since the distance is great and the reeds are thick there is a challenge to see some of the birds you hear. A good scope is really needed as further out I can not see the colors. I know that there are three species of grebes out there but I cannot identify which is which. I was lucky to find a beautiful Amereican Avocet right by the parking lot when we arrived. 

There are a few trees in some areas.

     So I picked up 17 species and hundreds of individual birds. It was a very pleasant two hours sitting on a viewing stand.

My friend Mike who called out the names of the species for me to record.

    

Spring Bird Count

     This weekend is our spring bird count at Red Deer , Alberta. I count in a area that I have done for about 35 years. Part of the area is the ravine shown in An Evening Bike Ride.   It's about 150 acres and has a lot of old growth forest. Piper Creek winds back and forth in the ravine bottom.


     I usually find  12 -18 species and 60 - 100 birds. I'm sure there are more species and if I had enough time and patience I would find them. For example, I know there are Downy, Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers in the area. I have seen Brown creepers but only every five years or so. You hear many Warblers but they stay in the canopy and unless you're really lucky you can't see them. I am not confident enough to identify them by sound. 


     Today my friend Mike came with me. When I bird I find them by sound more than anything else because this area is heavily forested. Mike and I like to visit. Since we are both in our seventies and somewhat hard of hearing we talk quite loud. I'm sure the birds heard us coming from a long way off and fled to safer areas. 


     We did find 16 species in 2 1/2 hours. We walked about 5 km (3 mi.)

Red, the birder taken a long time ago.

    We are also supposed to count any plant that is in bloom. Since birds don't pose too well and my camera is limited, I do have some flower pictures. I took these last year and didn't have to repeat them again this year.

Buffalo Bean (Thermopsis rhombifolia)

Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca)

Saskatoon Berry (Amelanchier alnifolia) 

Fairy Bells (Disporum trachycarpum)

      I apologize for not taking a picture of the dandelion!!!


      The weather was beautiful so we had a very pleasant morning.

An Evening Bike Ride

      I have been posting on cycling lately so I thought it was time to actually give you a ride. In our city of 100000 people we have around 80 km (50 mi) of bike trails. All of my riding is done on these trails.

Then I enter the bike trail and wind through the trees in a ravine.

Over a handsome foot bridge.

Then out of the ravine

Winding trails on the flat

Across another bridge on a more open part of the ravine.

Winding under the power line for three Km.

A two km straight stretch beside a busy road.

    Then I retrace some of the trails and I'm home again. 
     I find a 10 to 20 km bike ride in the evening to be a nice finish for the day.

Did You Ever Fall into Your Compost Bin?

    Well, I unfortunately fell into my compost bin a few days ago.
    
    Now before you can say, "What an idiot!" I can explain. Before you say, "Well, he'd make good compost!"  I have a reason. So I've covered all the bases for the "smart mouths."


    I was preparing a fence for painting the other day. The compost bin is close to the fence so there was not much room to maneuver. I was backing up and some rotten wood under my foot squashed and the next thing I knew I was falling backwards and very lucky for me I landed squarely in the compost. Now at first I thought , "Good , nobody saw me!" Then I thought , "How am I going to get out of this place?"  My feet were hanging over the side of the bin. I was in the bin. How was I going to get my feet under me? Well, I did get out in a few seconds.


    Now for the explaining. In a previous post I told how that I had been diagnosed with seizures. These are not the seizures with uncontrollable shaking. For seniors some of the being confused and not responding correctly  is due to seizures. There is a part of your brain where the activity is more rapid than normal. Now these seizures aren't a problem for me but the neurologist insisted I go on medication and I'm not going to argue with her. She says whether I have a driver's license or not. The biggest problem is the medication. They give the same medication for seizures as they do for schizophrenics and bipolar disorder. It doesn't make you feel very good. I have problems with balance on the stuff and that's why a fall. It also slows down your reaction time . So by the time you get your feet in gear to prevent falling into the compost bin, you're in the bin!


     However, I will take the medication if it prevents me from becoming confused or worse. I also know that I can't just stop taking it. There is a protocol for going off the medication.


    So there's my explanation. There's my reason. I also smelled like compost for the rest of the day. So my advice? Try really hard to stay out of the compost bin.

Golden Eagle: Close Encounter

      At one time I taught some outdoor education to middle school students. Mike was the leader of the team. We were always on the look out for suitable locations for field trips. Of course, we always had to quality test the location and maybe we were looking for a good excuse for ourselves to get out into the Rocky Mountains in an area called Kootenay Plains.


      We had looked a a site that we called Whirlpool Point Ridge. It looked like there was a long ridge that went up to a peak. So on a Saturday morning we drove to the area prepared to scale the peak. A huge Golden Eagle gave us a close look as it was sitting in the top of a very large spruce tree.We were able to park along the highway. We didn't find a trail so just went off in the general direction of the peak. We found the beginning very steep and had to scramble to get to the ridge. After that the ridge walk was pleasant with only the odd steep part. For the last 300m (900ft) to the summit it was very steep and required scrambling. This means using hands to maintain balance. By this time we could see that someone had built a cairn on the peak. Each man picked his own route through the large boulders. Mike is much faster than I am  and summitted before me. I happened to be watching as he made the summit. I saw his arms go up and he appeared to dodge something. Then I saw a huge Golden Eagle rise over the summit and cairn just a meter over Mike's head.


     After this major surprise we pieced the scenario together. The eagle had been using the cairn as a perch which gave him an awesome view over the valley below. Mr Eagle had been flying up to his perch from the other side of the ridge and did not see Mike until he reached the peak. Mike could not see over the peak until he got to the top. So these two creatures surprised themselves far out in the wilderness when they met simultaneously at the top of the ridge. .


     We discovered that the peak was only the end of a ridge. From the road it looked like a summit. A ridge continued on for several km. Of course, we had to continue. In  places the ridge was only a meter wide and steep drop offs on either side. You don't want any wind in a situation like that.


     We led many field  trips up Whirl Pool Point Ridge after that. I made it to the top one more time. Only the most fit students made it to the top. Sometimes it was just too windy to go to the top.


    The story we talk about most is the time Mike had a close encounter  with a Golden Eagle. We never saw another Golden Eagle in that area after that.


    I was so moved by this experience that I wrote poem.


             The Summit


  Panting grunting exhausted man
  with relief and excitement reaches the
    hard won summit.


   The Eagle, cruising updrafts
   rises to light on a favorite possession,
    the pinnacle.


    Startled climber...Eagle surprised
    to find his high altitude perch occupied
     ...meet.


   Eagle veers wildly , dives down
   the opposite cliff 
   and screams his escape
   to the valley below.


    The unsettled intruder has again
    missed the photo opportunity of a 
    lifetime.

Web Cam Updates

    As you know I have three links at the top of my blog for web cams. Two are for a Peregrine Falcon nest and one is in a beaver lodge.


    The beaver lodge web cam has been a disaster. More has to be learned about beaver activity for a web cm to be successful. The beaver keep on mudding up the camera and filling the hole made by the camera. I guess the beavers can tell there is a hole in the lodge and they try hard to plug the hole. As a result I will take off the link for the beaver web cam.

Beaver out enjoying a delicious green lunch.
Photo by Judy Boyd

    The Peregrine Falcon web cam is much more successful. They have laid three eggs and that's all there will be. The eggs should hatch about the end of May or early June. There is an excellent chat room on this web cam site. One of the ladies who lives right next to the tower has taken a great interest in Peregrine Falcons. she's a walking encyclopedia on these birds. She goes out of her front door and looks up to the top of the tower with her field glasses. This chat room is very active and the moderator is excellent. The Telus Tower is 100m ( 300ft) high. The regular maintenance crew hauls up the nest box and other gear. They attach the cameras and plug into the power source at the top of the tower. The platform on the top of the tower is about  4 or 5m (20 to 25ft) square.  It can get pretty windy at that altitude and it's amazing to see the birds cope.

300 m not counting the tower on top.
Photo by Judy Boyd

    So there's some good and some bad on the web cam front.

Happy Mothers' Day

       Happy Mothers' Day to all Moms and in particular those Moms who follow my blog. On this day I hope you find appreciation, admiration and love from those you care so much about. I also hope a few treats and kind treatment are thrown in to your day. 


      I am fortunate to have had two Moms. I had my Mom for 34 years and one month. I had my step mom for 30 years and 5 months so it was close to 65 years. I can say that I was fortunate.


     My Mom was born in 1914 and died in 1973 at age 59. My Mom had a very hard life as she married a farmer and she was not from the farm. The farm was primitive so water came from rain barrels in the summer and blocks of snow which melted in a barrel beside the stove in the winter. Clothes washing was a difficult and long chore. The little house they had was cold. To complicate matters she had three children in two years and two months. There are many things my Mom did for us because she loved us . Mom usually read to us before we went to bed. The four of us would snuggle into the bed and be completely engrossed  in the story she read. When she was finished we went off to bed. My interest in birds comes from my Mom. Yes, she got angry once in a while and freaked out but then most people do. My Mom cared very much about us after we left the house. When she got daughter in laws she welcomed them to her family and was proud of them. Grand children were a bonus to her. 


    I got my step mom in 1975 and she died in 2005. We were adults when we met her and had an adult relationship with her. She did care for us and welcomed the grand children. She was very astute as when my Dad was nearing nursing care she talked to his four sons and had us on her side. Then she could say to my Dad, "The boys say..." It worked like a charm.


    So I feel fortunate that I had two Moms who first of all put up with me and also loved and cared about me.