Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Lethbridge

7:35 am

The temperature is -2 C, with a high predicted of +7 C.

From the Environment Canada website:

Today Sunny with cloudy periods. Wind southwest 20 km/h becoming light early this morning. High 7. UV index 6 or high. Tonight A few clouds. Low minus 7. Normals Max: 14°C Min: 1°C

11:30 am Birding

We are back from a one-hour trip to Henderson Lake to check on the birds that might be passing through. It was another very cold day with a fair wind from the west. Everyone out walking was dressed as if it were the middle of winter. There was still a lot of snow on the ground, but the paths were all bare. We saw 14 different types of bird including our first Common Loons (3), as well as Franklin's Gulls (5), an Osprey (1), a Red-necked Grebe (1) and a Ruddy Duck (1). These were all firsts for 2011.

When we returned home I submitted a report to the eBird website. I later realized that I had identified one of the birds as a Lesser Scaup, but then realized it should have been a Ruddy Duck. Fortunately the website allows one to edit their reports so I was able to make the correction.

Most of the birds were in the middle of the lake and the photos were useful for identification but not really that good for viewing. One exception was a Ring-billed Gull that posed for us near the path.

Here is a photo of the Osprey as it was about to land in a nearby tree. Note the curved talons - excellent for grabbing a slippery fish.

And here is one of the Common Loons (our favorite bird):

1:30 PM Photography

The crocuses (croci?) have emerged from their 5-day blanket of snow. Amazing!