BT Edmonton Blogs

Duck! I mean Nuthatch!!

LaVerne has a sharp eye with a steady finger on the shutter:  A White-breasted Nuthatch in flight.    This is a bird I don’t see very often and I managed to capture him as he was flying towards the birdfeeder.   I thought this was an interesting and special way to photograph a bird!    Agreed LaVerne – and thanks!

DID YOU KNOW?    White-breasted Nuthatches get their name because they jam large nuts and acorns into tree bark, then whack them with their sharp bill to “hatch” out the seed from the inside.      They are active, agile little birds with an appetite for insects and large seeds.    Small in size but not in song.    Their voices are loud enough to lead you right to them.

SO.    EYES AND EARS PEELED – CAMERA AT THE READY.    YOUR ASSIGNMENT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT WILL EARN YOU A PLACE IN BT AND BLOG HISTORY.    DON’T WAIT, UPLOAD YOUR FRESH AIR PHOTO TODAY!

Barking up the right tree

Simple and wonderful.    Terri Lynn has a creative eye and respect for nature – she’s a wildlife biologist by trade.    She writes:  “One of my favorite natural areas to visit are stinky beaver ponds – so much life.   While visiting one of my favorites between Edmonton and Whitecourt, I came across a dead tree that had beautiful peeling bark.”

DID YOU KNOW?    Our First Nations People were master crafters at building birchbark canoes with the frame of wooden ribs covered with the lightweight bark of birch trees.    The design has stood the test of time for thousands of years, ideal for raging rivers, white-capped lakes or easy streams.    Birchbark was the perfect choice because it was lightweight, smooth, waterproof and resilient.    The joints of the canoes were held together by the root of the white pine and then made waterproof by applying hot pine or spruce resin.

The PM ... as in Purple Martin

Purple Power in Saskatchewan!    Gabe writes:  “Photo was taken at Maidstone, Saskatchewan about 57 kilometres east of Lloydminster”.    Gabe supports The Purple Martin Conservation Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of Purple Martins.         http://purplemartin.org/

They like to nest in colonies and that is why they are so grateful to humans for constructing the multi-compartment Purple Martin houses.

DID YOU KNOW?    Purple Martins are called aerial acrobats – showing off how great fliers they are.    When coming in for a landing at their bird house, they will dive very fast with their wings tucked.    Agile hunters as well, they catch insects in the air.

HAVE A PHOTO YOU’D LIKE TO SEE ON BT AND THIS BLOG?    GREAT!    OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY – UPLOAD IT TODAY!

Book ends

Dave knows the meaning of the phrase:  Do Not Disturb.    “It was August of 2009, I was taking a stroll through the bush at Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan while attending the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party.   I was there for The International Year of Astronomy with a few days of rain”.

DID YOU KNOW?    Dave also has our knowledge nugget of the day:  Cypress Hills is a Dark Sky Preserve and it is the highest point of elevation between the Rockies and the Atlantic.    And now I offer a nugget about those fawns you see:  When a fawn is first born its mother licks it clean until it is almost free of scent so predators will not find it.    Their spotted coat matches the patches of sunshine and shadows so when hungry animals prowl, the spotted fawn looks like part of the speckled woodsy scenery.

WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A LONG LENS SO YOU DON’T DISTURB THE CRITTERS!    AMAZE AND IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS WHEN YOUR FRESH AIR PHOTO AIRS ON BT AND EARNS ITS PLACE IN BLOG HISTORY.    UPLOAD YOUR PICTURE TODAY!

If you need a good laugh today (and who doesn’t) , check out Anne Hathaway’s rap hating on the paparazzi.

http://www.x17online.com/celebrities/anne_hathaway/anne_hathaway_paparazzi_rap_conan_video_081711.php

Flood plain

Do you remember June?    The calendar told us that summer had arrived, but we had cool conditions with heavy rain – day after day after day.    You most likely “had it up to here” .    In fact in Edmonton between June 18th and 20th — we had up to 90 mm of rain.    That’s more than we usually see for the whole month!    So when Paul took this photo of the North Saskatchewan River – there was flooding in all low lying areas.    But Mother Nature still offered up a reflective reward:  This sunset photo was shot at Legends Golf Course at Township Road 230.

DID YOU KNOW?    The 90 mm of rain wreaked havoc in Edmonton.    The North Saskatchewan River was raised three metres.    A main road was closed because of the risk of disappearing vehicles!    And people scrambled to pull sopping wet belongings from flooded basements.    In the future, the City of Edmonton reminds you that flooded basements are the homeowner’s responsibility, including insurance.    There is a subsidy you can check into though.     Call 311 to ask about the installation of backflow valves to prevent flooding because of sanitary sewer backup.

GET THAT SHOT BUT PLEASE BE CAREFUL – WE WANT OUR FRESH AIR PHOTOGRAPHERS SAFE, SOUND, AND DRY!    UPLOAD YOUR PICTURE TODAY, SEE IT ON BT AND THIS BLOG TOMORROW!