JoLoLog
Hitchcock would've loved it
South of Ralph Klein park, Southeast Calgary, Alberta, Canada
January 28, 2012 • Taken by Raya
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Photos are © 2005 and on to Raya, Joe & Moshe, JoLoLog. All rights reserved. You may not download or copy anything from JoLoLog, unless you E-mail us, ask first and get our written permission.
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A few days ago we saw a report on our local TV news channel regarding birds. It talked about ducks and geese being confused by the crazy weather we were experiencing around Calgary for a while now. According to the Christmas count from the end of the year, many ducks and geese decided to spend the winter here in Calgary instead of flying south. We're talking about more than 10,000 birds that stayed in the area.
Hundreds of the birds are calling Ralph Klein Park home, said the reporter. This is the newest city park, named in honor of Ralph Klein, former premier of Alberta. The reporter said the birds made this park home for now since they found food there, and are feasting on what is left of a grain pile. They also needed open water and found that there too, as ponds near the park remained unfrozen and temperatures stayed above zero until not too long ago.
Jerry Brunen from Ralph Klein Park said that "right now the ducks he is seeing are healthy and that is probably because there are a number of predators who monitor the flock and feed on the sick".
So, of course, we decided to drive over there and see what we can find, and maybe shoot... and boy, did we ever find them *s*. Joe said there were at least 2,000 ducks there, according to his estimation. I couldn't estimate their numbers, but when we approached the area, I guess the car startled them a bit, and a swarm of birds went up to the air.
Boy, that was so amazing! I went outside the car and followed the birds with my eyes. Joe was busy taking his camera out. "What are you doing?", he said. "Take out your camera, what are you waiting for?".
I just wanted to look at this amazing sight, but turned and took my camera off its case and started shooting. As you can see, the sun was low, the part of the sky that was clear was getting great colors, and the rest was covered with dark clouds. There were ducks everywhere, flying in all directions, and their wings made a sound which was... mesmerizing.
Later, we saw what looked like a bird of prey attacking one of the ducks who didn't manage to fly. When we started leaving the area, we came closer to this bird. It was a successful hawk, who was enjoying his dinner. He didn't even look once in our direction. Nature, in all its glory, unfolded in front of us this afternoon, and that was one hell of an experience!
Hitchcock would've loved it
South of Ralph Klein park, Southeast Calgary, Alberta, Canada
January 28, 2012 • Taken by Raya
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Photos are © 2005 and on to Raya, Joe & Moshe, JoLoLog. All rights reserved. You may not download or copy anything from JoLoLog, unless you E-mail us, ask first and get our written permission.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
A few days ago we saw a report on our local TV news channel regarding birds. It talked about ducks and geese being confused by the crazy weather we were experiencing around Calgary for a while now. According to the Christmas count from the end of the year, many ducks and geese decided to spend the winter here in Calgary instead of flying south. We're talking about more than 10,000 birds that stayed in the area.
Hundreds of the birds are calling Ralph Klein Park home, said the reporter. This is the newest city park, named in honor of Ralph Klein, former premier of Alberta. The reporter said the birds made this park home for now since they found food there, and are feasting on what is left of a grain pile. They also needed open water and found that there too, as ponds near the park remained unfrozen and temperatures stayed above zero until not too long ago.
Jerry Brunen from Ralph Klein Park said that "right now the ducks he is seeing are healthy and that is probably because there are a number of predators who monitor the flock and feed on the sick".
So, of course, we decided to drive over there and see what we can find, and maybe shoot... and boy, did we ever find them *s*. Joe said there were at least 2,000 ducks there, according to his estimation. I couldn't estimate their numbers, but when we approached the area, I guess the car startled them a bit, and a swarm of birds went up to the air.
Boy, that was so amazing! I went outside the car and followed the birds with my eyes. Joe was busy taking his camera out. "What are you doing?", he said. "Take out your camera, what are you waiting for?".
I just wanted to look at this amazing sight, but turned and took my camera off its case and started shooting. As you can see, the sun was low, the part of the sky that was clear was getting great colors, and the rest was covered with dark clouds. There were ducks everywhere, flying in all directions, and their wings made a sound which was... mesmerizing.
Later, we saw what looked like a bird of prey attacking one of the ducks who didn't manage to fly. When we started leaving the area, we came closer to this bird. It was a successful hawk, who was enjoying his dinner. He didn't even look once in our direction. Nature, in all its glory, unfolded in front of us this afternoon, and that was one hell of an experience!