Uploads from Ronaldok, tagged project365, with geodata

Abandoned House - Project 365 Day 284

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:49:26 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 284 of 365, this old abandoned house is SE of Calgary, out near Indus.

81 to go!

Family Portrait - Project 365 Day 245

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:53:44 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 245 of 365, today turned out to be Swainson's Hawk Day. Everywhere I went, practically every road I went down, there they were, so, needless to say, I took a lot of shots of them today.

First thing I saw today was this trio of youngsters on a fence rail next to the road south of the 22X. This is the second set of three I've found in the last week. Exposure isn't quite right, but I wanted to post a pic of these guys. The sun came out 10 minutes later, but this pose was long gone by that time. Would have been nice to get this shot in good light.

I wonder how usual it is for Swainson's to have three young, I usually only see two.

Little House on the Hill - Project 365 Day 244

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:22:17 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 244 of 365, worked til 7:00 this morning so I took a quick run SW of the city to get my shot for the day. Went up on 85th St to check on the Swainson's and finally took a shot of this house/shed/barn on the hill. I've probably driven past it 244 times so I figured I'd make my shot for day 244.

Run Down Barns - Project 365 Day 240

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:50:29 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 240 of 365, these barns/sheds south of Nanton have seen better days.

Prairie Scene - Project 365 Day 238

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:02:16 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 238 of 365, typical prairie scene taken out towards Indus.

The Kid's are Alright - Project 365 Day 235

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:50:17 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 235 of 365, wasn't going to do another juvenile Swainson's shot today, but it turned out to be Swainson's Hawk day today. I went south towards Indus and then over towards Langdon and saw them everywhere, especially juveniles. Gotta love the juvey's, they aren't too wary of humans yet and will often let you get quite close.

I was taking some shots of one of these two and when it got tired of the paparazzi, it flew up to this tree to hang with it's sibling. Lucky for me, they gave me a minute to get a family portrait.

Leavin on a Jet Plane - Project 365 Day 234

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:23:27 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 234 of 365, did a night take-off shot the other day for my 365 so I thought I'd throw in another, but during the day.

Take-off at Night - Project 365 Day 232

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 03:01:52 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 232 of 365, have been meaning to go up to the airport and try this ever since Flickr friend Luke posted a shot like this a while back. The moon is almost full, so a really long exposure wasn't possible, so I went with ISO 200 at F/8 for 30 seconds. I think it turned out okay for my first try. I'm not done with this though, I'll definitely be trying this again.

Plethora of Pelicans - Project 365 Day 213

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:27:34 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 213 of 365, I was heading up to the airport to take some shots of large metal things with wings when I spotted this as I was going past the weir on the Bow River. There were more wings here than I would find at the airport, American White Pelicans wings to be exact. I've seen 30 or 40 pelicans here before, but not this many. There had to be over 200 of them. They were a lot of fun to watch, I spent over two hours watching them and taking pictures. I even tried out the video feature on the new P90.

Storm Cloud - Project 365 Day 209

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:53:58 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 209 of 365, saw this cloud NE of Calgary this evening. I had seen a weather alert for the Airdrie area before I went out and I can understand why. I don't know if this cloud produced any major weather, but it sure looks like it could. It seems like I'm not the only one who took shots of this, a number of my Flickr friends took pics of this weather system.

Taken from the 85th St loop SW of Calgary.

Mission Accomplished - Project 365 Day 323

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:20:55 -0800

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 323 of 365, a Snowy Owl was reported on the Talk About Wildlife message board on Nov 1 in the Irricana area so I decided to take a chance and set out on a mission to see if it was still there. I gotta tell ya, I love it when a plan comes together. This female snowy was in the exact spot it was reported to be at. When I first saw her, she was a bit skittish and I only got off a few shots before she flew out to the middle of a field. I decided to wander the area looking for something else to shoot with a plan to come back a bit later for a second chance. Did I mention that I love it when a plan comes together? I came back 40 minutes later and there she was, in a great spot for some shots with the sun in a much better position this time. She let me get fairly close this time and even stuck around for 5 minutes. If you look close, I think she may have an injured left talon. I'm posting a second shot that shows the talon a bit clearer.

42 to go!

Caught in Mid-strike - Project 365 Day 247

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:07:03 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 247 of 365, caught this Great Blue Heron as it went for it's food. I kinda like the splash I captured. Technically not a great shot(backlit, no detail), but I like it as a habitat shot. Taken near Langdon on Dead Horse Rd. Don't ask me about the name, I don't have a clue.

Moose on the Loose - Project 365 Day 246

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:52:00 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 246 of 365, the first thing I encountered today, a moose about 2 k's west of Indus. I've driven past this property dozen's of times, but today was fooled for a second into thinking they had gotten a moose ornament for their yard. That is, until it moved. What a surprise that was.

This is my first moose encounter with a moose with antlers, and a strange place to see one, I would think. Except for the oasis that this acreage is tree wise, there is not a forested area for miles, this is all open grassland. I may be wrong, but he seems to be a bit displaced. I looked this up, see below.

While most Moose live in the boreal forest region, they do occupy a wide variety of habitats and elevations, preferring those areas with considerable decidous growth. In Alberta, they can be found almost anywhere in the province, and when following river valleys, sometimes even appear in our cities. They are observed almost annually in or near Calgary's Weaselhead Natural area. They are least expected in the open prairies, but even there one can occasionally find them. From Talk About Wildlife.

House Wren - Project 365 Day 243

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:56:33 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 243 of 365, went down to Fish Creek Park for a bit after work this morning. This is the first House Wren I have ever seen. Thought it was a juvenile nuthatch at first, but have been corrected.

Where I've Lived in Calgary - Project 365 Day 242

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:27:04 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 242 of 365, another "where I've lived" shot out of the way. Lived in this townhouse complex in Braeside at the corner of 24th and Anderson Rd for part of '83. This is the only place I've ever purchased and not rented. But, due to finances and the ending of a marriage, we had to get rid of it.

Up Close and Personal with an American Avocet - Project 365 Day 239

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:48:38 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 239 of 365, my first really good opportunity to shoot an American Avocet from close quarters. They are usually quite skittish and take off or are a fair distance away. This guy just walked along on the side of the road and pretty much ignored me.

I love the coloring on these birds.

Black-crowned Night Heron(J) - Project 365 Day 237

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:12:59 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 237 of 365, I had a few choices for my 365 today, that is, until I saw this guy. I was heading home, coming into town on Glenmore Tr and decided to take one more side road. Glad I did! This is the first Black-crowned Night Heron I have seen, juvey or adult, up close and personal. I've seen a couple flying at a fair distance, but that's it. I only had about 20 seconds with this guy before a truck came by and scared him off, but I managed to get a few decent shots.

I'm quite happy I decided to take a turn down this road.

Where I've Lived in Calgary - Project 365 Day 236

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:00:22 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 236 of 365, I could have done another hawk shot today, saw lots and got some good shots, but figured I'd get another in the "where I've lived" mini-series done. Lived in a in townhouse in Glendale just off 17th Ave along this row during the mid 80's. The complex is looking a little run down these days and I noticed a lot of them were up for sale.

Most notable thing that happened while living here, my wife at the time was a smoker and fell asleep smoking in bed one day and I woke up to a smoldering mattress. I delivered furniture for Leon's at the time and had never hauled a mattress down the stairs and out the door quite so fast during the course of my job as I did here. Just thought I'd share.

Not Clued In - Project 365 Day 233

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:52:47 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 233 of 365, someone forgot to tell this young Swainson's Hawk to fly away when a human comes close. I spotted him on a hay bale on the side of the road. He flew a few feet to the ground and just stood there looking at me while I walked toward him to get some shots. After a couple of minutes he flew a short distance to a pile of hay. I walked over to get some more shots of him and he let me get close enough for a full face portrait. I don't think he could fly very well yet as he never got more than a few feet off the ground. In the shots where he has his mouth open, he's not squawking, maybe he thinks I'm his mom and I'm going to feed him. This was a very interesting encounter.

After a few minutes one of his parents showed up to see what I was up to. It was not very happy. It circled me and even made a few low passes over my head. I took some flight shots and headed for the car.

Hawk and Barn Revisited - Project 365 Day 210

nobody@flickr.com (Ronaldok) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:55:35 -0700

Ronaldok posted a photo:

Day 210 of 365, well, sort of revisited. Different hawk, different barn south of Calgary just off the 22X on 88St SE. Thought it was kind of a cool shot with the red barn.