There are hundreds of thousands of Snow Geese around here ... or there was as of this past Friday. We've since got some snow, and Snow Geese really don't care for snow.
That same day, huge flocks of Snows were heading south-east all day long. I've mentioned before that our vehicle license plates say "Land of Living Skies". It was one of those days.
Spectacular sight.
The Autumn is absolutely the best time for beautiful, colourful sunrises and sunsets.
Last night I was too lazy (and too late) to walk down to the valley to catch the sunset. This morning, however, the sunrise was just as splendid....as seen from my house.
And
Just a few...thousand...Snow Geese
This past Sunday, I met my birding buddy & friend, Guy Wapple at Muskiki Lake for some Whooping Crane (Grus americana) viewing.
We were fortunate in that 4
of the reported 16-17 Whoopers were relatively close to the road into
the area. This is all private land; the farmers are indulgent of
birders coming to look. We stay on the road and try not to bother these
fantastically beautiful and very endangered birds.
In total, we counted 16 adults and 1 juvenile. The rest of the flock were farther away grazing around a small slough - good viewing with scope or bins, but too far for my camera lens. Sad that there was only one young bird in this group.
These Whoopers are part of the only wild, self-sustaining flock that summers & breeds in Wood Buffalo National Park, which spans the Northern Alberta and North West Territories border. Muskiki Lake is in South-Central Saskatchewan, about an hour's drive east of Saskatoon. Depending on the weather,
these birds might stay around the area for another week or so. They
will winter at Aransas NWR in Texas.
This day we were thrilled to watch the big white birds walk and graze; a few hopped and danced a little bit. We also heard the 'whoops' and watched them in flight.
Saskatchewan Birding at its Finest.
About a week ago I went to Last Mountain Lake in South-Central Saskatchewan.
The land surrounding the shallow north end of this long, glacial lake is a bird/wildlife sanctuary. In fact, it is Canada's first federal wildlife reserve, created in 1887.
Thousands and thousands of Sandhill Cranes congregate here in the Fall (sometimes Whooping Cranes as well).
This morning I went out to check on the egrets northeast & northwest of Estevan. The nights are quite cold now, the days getting shorter, and I am really curious to know about when all these Cattle Egrets will suddenly decide it is time to move on.
Not yet...
There are approx. 150 birds in this group - a few stragglers on either side, plus 8 across the road.
Oh, and THIS is also going on across the road.
It's the Bakken Field - there are no quiet, secluded places around here anymore.
M51 or the 'Whirlpool Galaxy'
The image is by Martin Pugh who won the Royal Observatory Greenwich's Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2012.
From the Royal Observatory link above:
M51 or the Whirlpool is the archetypal spiral galaxy and for
centuries astronomers have studied it in order to understand how
galaxies form and evolve. Here the photographer has made use of
exceptionally stable atmospheric conditions, minimising the twinkling or
‘seeing’ caused by air turbulence to produce a sharp, clear image in
which every detail of the galaxy is visible.
M51 has been drawn and photographed many times, from the sketches of
astronomer Lord Rosse in the 19th century to modern studies by the
Hubble Space Telescope. This photograph is a worthy addition to that
catalogue. It combines fine detail in the spiral arms with the faint
tails of light that show how M51’s small companion galaxy is being torn
apart by the gravity of its giant neighbour.
What the judges say:
Melanie Grant says: The depth and clarity of this photograph makes me
want to go into deep space myself! A breath-taking look at the
Whirlpool Galaxy.
Will Gater says: This is arguably one of the finest images of M51
ever taken by an amateur astronomer. It’s not just the detail in the
spiral arms of the galaxy that’s remarkable – look closely and you’ll
see many, very distant, galaxies in the background too.
The days are getting shorter. The sun isn't up until after 7:00 a.m. and sets all too early in the evening. We had the first frost last night.
I love the glory of autumn colours that we get to enjoy for a little while before the long, cold white.
Some cattle and some Cattle Egrets
I'll post more about Cattle Egrets shortly
Let me just say that the plural of Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is 'Canada Geese', not 'Canadian Geese'....of course, if I happen to be wrong on this, I will apologize.
And while it is true that many of us, perhaps, act like geese, we don't ALL say "eh?" or "aboot". Nearly all of us do say "Sorry" a lot - and I personally think that is a good thing. Nothing wrong with being nice, eh?
