Mountain Bluebird / Sialia currucoides, female

            A few more odds and ends from the last two days.

Saturday, 30 May 2020: our temperature early this afternoon is 24C (windchill 24C), and it is supposed to reach 27C later this afternoon.  Sunrise is at 5:27 am, and sunset is at 9:40 pm.  Sunny with clouds.

It feels strange - I feel free, at least as far as my car goes! Three days ago, 27 May 2020, I collected my car from being repaired and it has hopefully been fixed this time, with a new push-start button installed.  I am SO excited at the thought of being able to get out again, after just over three weeks of not risking driving in case the car died a third time since February, leaving me stranded, especially if I go out of the city.  

After I got home, I decided to drive to a local pond, more to test out my vehicle than to look for birds.  However, I saw enough to take just a handful of quick images, mainly of a Red-winged Blackbird female and a Red-necked Grebe.  I have barely had my camera in my hand the last two and a half months, and it felt a little strange.  It also felt strange to actually be outdoors!

The next day, yesterday, I decided to do a short drive SW of the city, travelling along just a couple of my usual backroads.  Again, this was mainly to see how my car was behaving.  I also wanted to call in at a small cafe, as it is so important to support small, local businesses.  The cafe was not open, but the other adjoining part was open for take-out.

Birds seen were mainly just some of the usual - Mountain Bluebirds and Red-winged Blackbirds - but I was very happy to come across a beautiful, close Cinnamon Teal and a Western Kingbird.  The usual Kingbird we see here is the Eastern Kingbird and I have only ever seen a handful of the Western birds.  I almost missed the Western, as at first I thought it was a female Bluebird.  It was perched on barbed-wire with its back to me, and I was puzzled as to why the tail feathers were so dark.  Then I spotted the tiniest bit of yellow peeking round the side of the bird and I knew for sure that it was no Bluebird.  Unfortunately, I could only get a couple of poor photos before the bird few off, but good enough for ID purposes.

Taken on: May 28, 2020

Tags:

Alberta

Canada

nature

wildlife

avian

ornithology

bird

Mountain Bluebird

Sialia currucoides

female

back/side view

perched

fence

barbed-wire

field

bokeh

outdoor

spring

28 May 2020

Canon

SX60

Canon SX60

annkelliott

Anne Elliott

Sets appears in: • Short drive SW of Calgary, 28 May 2020 • Canon SX60 more » • Birds of Alberta 11 • Mountain Bluebird / Sialia currucoides « less

Groups appears in: • Bird Lovers • PHOTOGRAPHERS OF CANADA more » • Beauty of Nature • *I Love Birds* • Nature, wildlife, and the great outdoors • Canadian Animals and Wildlife • Bluebird • BIRDS ARE BEAUTIFUL. • Birdshare • Birds of the world/ Oiseaux du monde • Canon SX40 to SX70 and other Canon SX Bridge Cameras • Yes a Canon Can « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX60 HS, f/6.5, 1/250 sec, 247mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX60 HS
Lens:	3.8-247.0 mm
Aperture:	f/6.5
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	247mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 12.0 Windows
Show full info

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