Birds Archives - Page 5 of 13 - Sean Phillips Photography

Red-tailed Hawk Perched on a Bale

I haven’t seen very many hawks lately (mostly my fault for not getting out to look) and so I was happy to find several shortly after I started looking.

It was an extremely windy day and I actually saw several of these beautiful birds perched on bales in the same area as this one. Because of the wind none of them were in any hurry to fly away. Rather they seemed to be very happy to stay perched in a comfortable location.

This one was no different and although it didn’t ignore me, it certainly showed no interest in leaving either.

Bald Eagle at Vermillion Lake

During a recent family camping trip in Banff we rented a canoe and paddled into the first Vermillion lake. It was one of those beautiful blue sky days that we haven’t seen nearly enough of this summer. We were lucky to see a large adult Bald Eagle perched in a tree near the edge of the lake. We were able to paddle all along the shore past the tree and then loop back through a channel to get to the sunny side. The eagle calmly watched us the entire time.

I spotted another Eagle high up in a tree on the far side of the lake so we gradually made our way across to get a better look. We came upon a Belted Kingfisher perched on a log. We didn’t get very close before it launched… We also saw a deer resting under a large evergreen tree, but it was mostly obscured by the long grasses surrounding the lake.

I’m always amazed by how many more birds and animals you can get close to while in a canoe than while hiking. I’m going to have to get one of my own!

Dramatic Skies over Canola Fields

I’ve been happily watching the canola fields gradually turn yellow as the summer slowly passes by, but I’ve been waiting for just the right opportunity to make some great images. I love to see dramatic skies hanging over the prairie landscape and so I had to take advantage of this great combination. It’s amazing how vibrant the yellow Canola flowers really are and the contrast between the dark skies and the bright fields is even more amazing in person. The flowers are already starting to drop so the show will be over in the next week or two. If you live anywhere near the Prairies and you haven’t had a chance to see the Canola yet this year you really should try to get out before it’s gone!

More Birds from the Bow River Weir

Most people that I talk to in Calgary know about the Pelicans that live on the Bow River, but many of them have no idea that there are some other common residents on the river too. For example there are always Cormorants swimming in the churned up water below the weir alongside the Pelicans. These beautiful birds are incredible swimmers and they often disappear below the surface for minutes at a time. You’ll never know when or where they might come back to the surface.

Weird fact: Cormorants don’t have water repellent plumage as most other ducks and water birds do, so they must dry their wings after going for a swim or a bath… They can often be spotted perched on the wall at the East end of the Bow River Weir with their wings spread wide to dry in the breeze.

Many species of ducks can also be commonly spotted in the churn below the weir. Mergansers are very common, however they are normally quite elusive. It was very fun to see this juvenile bird completely oblivious to the people nearby as it splashed and hunted for minnows in the shallow waters near the shore.

American White Pelicans at the Bow River Weir

I drove by the weir on the Bow River in Calgary several times over the past week and each time there have been hundreds of Pelicans floating below the weir. There were many more than I’ve ever seen there at one time before so I was pretty excited to get out to see them. I finally had a chance to go after dinner tonight, and it was quite a sight. There were only about 60 there tonight (compared to easily 200 earlier in the week), but even that is a whole lot of birds!

The best thing about going down to the weirs in the Calgary area (there are 2; one at Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park and the other at Pearce Estate Park in SE Calgary) is that you can get right down on the rocks at the rivers edge. The Pelicans are so focused on fishing that they generally ignore the people nearby. Unfortunately that has all changed at the Bow River Weir in Calgary due to the ongoing deconstruction of the weir (part of the Harvie Passage project). It is now quite difficult to get close to the water because of the equipment and materials that have been abandoned there for the summer. The good news is that there are so many birds hanging out that it is still pretty easy to make some good images!

Here are a few shots of the Pelicans from tonight.