Birding - With Camera

I’ve been privileged to have the use of a friend’s telephoto lens for yet a bit longer.  After some success photographing geese close to home, I wanted to challenge myself further.

Frank Lake is a bird sanctuary out on the prairies, located near High River, Alberta.  It is a wetland complex, with thick vegetation along the shorelines.  The surrounding landscape is mostly agriculture and pasture land.

This location attracts several animal species: a total of 194 bird species and 16 mammal species have been recorded here.  It is a stopping point for many migrating birds as they make their way north in the Spring and south in the Fall.

I was told that most of the migration for this Spring was over, but learned that there are many species nesting there and I would have lots to photograph.

I’ve been waiting for our Spring rains to abate and my calendar to free up.  Last week I had my chance so off I went.  I wanted to get there early, as that is when most birds are busy; however, I couldn’t pull myself out of bed at 5 am, so I arrived at the lake around 8:30 am.  I was the second person to arrive and was out looking about in short order.

Being a much older man, I first noticed that there were two portable toilets by the parking lot.  As this location is on the wide open prairie with nary a bush or tree in site, that is a thoughtful addition to this location.

The sounds of the birds I found overwhelming, but wonderful.  There were a few species that I recognised: Canada Geese, Yellow-Headed Blackbirds, Red Wing Blackbirds, California Gulls, and Mallard Ducks, but there were many more that I didn’t.

There are two viewing areas, one at the end of the access road and one part way along the access road.  The first one I stopped at was the one at the end of the road—it is the most popular.

The location has lots of open shore line to access and there is a permanent bird blind set up. I saw the most variety of birds there.  Following are those that I managed to photograph at that location:

This American White Pelican looked graceful, skimming along, just above the surface of the lake

The Yellow-Headed Blackbirds were constantly nattering at me as I walked by.

These parents had two goslings to tend. One always was on the lookout when the other was feeding.

Something else I noticed were several photographers fitted out with incredibly competent equipment.  This chap was one of many.  That ‘shopping cart’ with rollers, was what he used to haul his tens of thousands of dollars of equipment around.  I didn’t see anyone with this sort of equipment tracking birds in flight—understandably.

I kept looking for an opportunity to photograph a goose or geese landing in the water.  This is a wonderful display of grace and coordination, with their feet pushed in front creating a spray of water as they land.  I waited at what I thought was a good location, but after about 2 1/2 hours at the main site, I gave up.  I returned to the car, packed my camera in its bag, closed the trunk and headed for the driver’s door.  That was the moment that a medium size flock of geese rounded a corner of tall grass nearby, nattering to each other, and landed exactly where I’d been waiting.  Do they do this on purpose?  Given the number of times it happens to me, I can’t help but think there is something to this idea.    I’m sure there isn’t, but I can’t help but wonder.

I couldn’t do anything more than laugh, get in the car, and drive to the other location.  That area turned out not to have as many varieties of birds, but there were many geese, gulls, and meadow larks.  The pictures I captured there are below.

California Gull

This chap seemed to be as annoyed with me as the goose in my last essay.

This is my favourite of the day. It definitely deserves to be framed on our walls

Finally, one of my prairie favourites, the Western Meadowlark. Actually, I'm wrong, this is my favourite bird...period!

I didn't notice, until I pulled up this image on my computer, that this bird is showing only one leg. Either it was damaged in some way or this meadowlark just liked standing on one leg.