Birds of Prey Centre

Going through Coaldale, Alberta?  Drop in to the Birds of Prey Centre there.  It's pretty fantastic....not that it was open when I travelled through a few days ago! However, I've been to it several times in the past.  This place looks after hawks, falcons, eagles, owls that have been hurt or orphaned.  Some are rehabilitated and returned to the wild, most are given life-long sanctuary in big, roomy quarters - well looked after.  (Check out the above link.)

Coaldale is maybe 20 kms east of Lethbridge, on Hwy #3.

The Old Man River

This is somewhere between Lethbridge and Fort MacLeod on #3; long been a favourite place to pull over and have a gaze at the scenery.

Awwww

(AP Photo/Keystone/Patrick B. Kraemer)

Prairie Sunrise

Very early yesterday morning.

Totally Envious

So I expect my moon photo from last night isn't going to win an astronomy photography prize.  However, this one did.

Blazing Bristlecone by Tom Lowe

Crescent Moon

There was the most beautiful moon last night.  A crescent moon, moving into the first quarter.  It was huge and very orange sinking below the horizon.

 Oh, okay, I fess up.....  a bit of photo subterfuge.......

  

 

 This is the real photo I took

History Lesson

The Writer's Almanac, a website hosted by the wonderful American humourist, Garrison Keillor, supplies a history lesson for today (and don't we all feel a little bit better for learning something - yes, we do too).

It was on this day in 1743 that the Treaty of Worms was signed in Worms, a city on the Rhine River in Germany. Worms is one of the oldest cities in Germany, established by the Celts at least 2,000 years ago. Its name is associated with several well-known historical events. The Concordant of Worms in 1122 was an agreement between the pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, who had been competing for power for years. The Diet of Worms in 1521 was an assembly of officials from the Holy Roman Empire, famous for condemning Martin Luther with a proclamation called the Edict of Worms.

The Treaty of Worms was signed to bring an end to the "War of the Austrian Succession." But the peace did not last long; it soon led to the Seven Years' War, of which a major battle and turning point was fought just outside Quebec on this day in 1759, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, between the French and the English. The British decisively defeated the French, though both the young British general, James Wolfe, and the French general, Louis-Joseph Montcalm, were killed.

The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West. Oil on canvas, 1770.

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham was the tipping point for the British army, and within four years almost all of France's territories in the New World had been taken over by the British. But even though Quebec was the setting for the battle that relinquished France's power in the area, it is the place in North America that has the most French influence today.

Around Here

Pheasant on the road....

Maybe I can...just...creep...up..closer...

Arghh!

Maybe next time.  Farther along the road were these guys.  Hello.

The Souris River  (old single lane bridge)

And ending up at the sewer lagoons checking out the birds (not much there, too much water)

This time of year there should be a few almost dry cells; really stinky but loaded with shore birds.  Not this year.  Only 6 Lesser Yellowlegs and about 15 peeps flying around but never settled long enough for a try at identification.  There were 9 Am. White Pelicans, about 50 Northern Shovelers, some Canadas and lots of coots.

Life is good. We are birders

The Birdchaser has written something very fundamental about why and how someone gets the birding bug and why one continues to grab the binoculars and go see what's out there.

He concludes :

Life is good. There are birds out there. They call to us and we respond. We are birders.

Read his entire post here

Across the Line

I live 17 kms or 10 miles north of the North Dakota border.  Most of us Canucks say "we're going across the line", or 'we're going to Crosby, or Minot or Williston" - naming the destination.  The USians living right south of the border come to Canada.  They don't come up to Estevan or Weyburn, they come to Canada, period.

Here's a photo from ND #5.  Montana is straight ahead.  Behind is all of North Dakota.  (click on photos to enlarge)

And thataway is Canada