Pheasant, Flicker, Osprey (20140508) Waiting for the Car.

It is time to roll the winter tires off and put the summers on here in Aberta, so I made the appointment to take the bride's car in to have the tires changed over. The tire spot isn't too far from FCPP so I took the camera along to kill some time. It was a pretty slow morning but I did spot this flicker singing.

 Next I spotted this rooster pheasant and spent a fair bit of time trying to maneuve into a spot where I could get a clear shot  at him. He "crowed" once while I was watching him but I wasn't in focus on him at the time. He is what I think is my best effort of the day.

While I was chasing the rooster this Say's phoebe popped up. It was tough trying to sneak up on two birds at the same time.  This is my best phoebe shot so far.

Next up was this pair of Goldeneyes. I thought her behaviour of laying her chin on the water was a little odd.

The answer was soon evident when he joined her and looked like almost he was drowning her:)

This next shot is of a bird I seem to be finding everywhere I go right now. These small flocks of whitecrowned sparrows are welcome as these birds are quite approachable.

A check in at the "frog pond" shows that some of the tadpoles are starting to emerge from their eggs. What a difference a nice sunny day makes.

Headed back out of the park this redtail did a fly over. It was quite a distance up.

The second predator I found was a screaming osprey. I think it was telling its mate

it was bringing lunch home.

That wraps up my walk and post for May 8th. All it takes is a little time and willingness to stop and look and move slowly.
Turbo