Into the Raging Fire

Bleeding Sky

The sunrise on the prairies east of Calgary is often spectacular and I’ve seen my fair share of extremely beautiful mornings. I was very happy recently when I had a chance to make a few images of one of the most amazing sunrises that I’ve ever seen.

The sky absolutely lit up with a furious red glow as the sun slowly climbed toward the cloudy horizon. There were just enough clouds on the horizon to hold back the full force of the sun, while still allowing enough of the magical morning light through to paint the thicker clouds above in a series of reds, oranges, and yellows. The result was an amazing, fiery red sky as far as the eye could see. Beautiful!

Into the Burning Sky

Red-tailed Hawk Perched on a Bale

Red-tailed Hawk perched on a Bale

I haven’t seen very many hawks lately (mostly my fault for not getting out to look) and so I was happy to find several shortly after I started looking.

It was an extremely windy day and I actually saw several of these beautiful birds perched on bales in the same area as this one. Because of the wind none of them were in any hurry to fly away. Rather they seemed to be very happy to stay perched in a comfortable location.

This one was no different and although it didn’t ignore me, it certainly showed no interest in leaving either.

Hungry Red Robin

Hungry Red Robin

For all the hunting and digging that Robin’s do, it’s not all that often that you find one with a meal in its beak. I saw this one hopping along the grass and it was really just instinct that made me swing my camera around to take a couple of snaps. I didn’t even realize what I had until I was looking at the images on my computer later. That looks like a really tasty treat it has in its mouth!

House Finch perched on a branch

House Finch perched on a branch

I spent a lot of time this weekend watching the birds in my backyard and in my neighbourhood. I was really amazed at the variety of birds that pass through every day, and excited to see several of these Finches dropping by pretty regularly. I was very happy when this one stopped to pose for a few portraits, especially since it was perfectly framed by the surrounding branches!

Red-winged Blackbird perched on a Fencepost

Red-winged Blackbird on a Fencepost

I’m happy to have Blackbirds back in the area because they are always very curious and fun to watch. They sing all the time and are never too shy to pose for the camera! I was out looking for Yellow-headed Blackbirds when I saw this one perching on a post beside a slough. I actually found lots of Yellow-headed birds, but didn’t manage to make any great images. I’m very happy with what I got from this Red-winged beauty instead!