Looking into the sun at Pine Coulee Reservoir

            Yesterday morning, 19 October 2019, 10 of us set out on a day birding trip south of the city, to Pine Coulee Reservoir.  Each year, I never expect to come home with photos of birds, as they are always very, very distant.  However, I love that whole area, with its rolling hills and endless Alberta sky, but I have not yet driven there myself.  On day outings, we always carpool to be as environmentally friendly as possible.  We spent just over three hours driving around the lake, a distance of almost 24 km, making stops at various points to check for (mainly) waterfowl.  Several distant, sunlit Swans flew over, and an extremely distant Rough-legged Hawk kept our attention for a few minutes.  At one location, a few Swans were mixed in with Canada Geese and ducks - somewhat closer, but photos were not really worth posting.

We stopped at a campsite along the edge of the reservoir and did a short walk.  A lone Pine Grosbeak did what Grosbeaks like to do -  find a really tall tree and perch at the top of it.  I posted a photo of it, just for the record.  Hopefully, this bird will eventually find the rest of its flock or be able to join a new group.

As always happens, my camera lens turned to other things as well.  Scenic shots tend to be the main subject, including a few taken looking into the sun, along with some reasonably interesting skies.

At one viewpoint, I spotted a lonely caterpillar slowly making its way over one of the large rocks that edged a parking lot.   No idea what species of moth it will turn into.

Normally, we would have stayed out a bit longer, but our day was cut short as a few of us needed to get back to the city, ready to go to the annual "Banquet" in the evening.  This year's guest speaker was Dr. Robert Berdan, who spoke mainly about micro-photography.  Amazing what micro images and videos he captures.  I had first met him when he did some work for me.  The brand new National Museum of Qatar had requested to use 24 of my very old Middle East photos taken in Doha, Qatar.  They needed the photos to be scanned at museum quality, and Dr. Berdan did this for me.  Many thanks for the ride, Tony!  Appreciated so much, as I had planned to take a cab.  You did brilliantly, getting us out of the awful, tangled web of new roads/construction on the way home.  A total maze, even more so in the dark.  

Thanks for a very enjoyable trip, Tony, as always.  You guys did really well to find 41 species!

Taken on: October 19, 2019

Tags:

Alberta

Canada

Pine Coulee Reservoir

nature

landscape

scenery

lake

reservoir

water

sparkling

sunlight

reflection

hills

rolling hills

looking into the sun

sky

touch of orange

clouds

outdoor

fall

autumn

19 October 2019

Nikon

P900

Nikon P900

annkelliott

Anne Elliott « less

Sets appears in: • Pine Coulee Reservoir, 19 October 2019 • Nikon Coolpix P900 more » • 2019, my most interesting photos • Scenery 5 • Clouds, sunrises and sunsets « less

Groups appears in: • sky & clouds • clouds more » • Nikon Coolpixers • Landscapes 101 (Unlimited) • Beautiful Capture • Beautiful Expression • Landscape Beauty ! • Water, Snow, Ice and Frost • NIKON P900 « less

Camera: NIKON COOLPIX P900, f/5.0, 1/2000 sec, 5.4mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	NIKON COOLPIX P900
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/2000)
Focal Length:	5.4mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain down
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 12.0 Windows
Show full info

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