Snownado!
Here’s an interesting winter phenomenon: the “snownado” or “snow whirlwind”. The snow-twister forms when wind currents collide and spin the loose snow crystals up towards the sky. It’s along the same lines as a “dust-devil”, but doesn’t need hot and cold air to from – only two opposing wind currents….
The Night Skies of Elk Island
Finally, I’ve been able to get out and get some (what I think) good photos of the night skies at Elk Island National Park, in Alberta. I’ve managed to capture some of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), some of the banding of the Milky Way galaxy and of course, a…
The Yellow-Headed Blackbird
The Yellow-headed Blackbird demands your attention – from the beautiful coloring to the screeching call they make that sounds like a rusty gate being opened – this bird is impressive. Watch for them nesting in the same areas as wrens and red-winged blackbirds. But you’ll likely hear this bird before…
The Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel
I’ve been seeing this curious critter a fair bit up in the higher elevations of the rocky mountains of Alberta and earlier this year was able to identify these squirrels as the “Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel”. You might initially think it’s a large chipmunk – but if you look closely,…
Sun Spot 2403
During the last week of August, 2015, many parts of Alberta were under a thick blanket of smoke from the forest fires in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Although miserable for night sky photography, the thick blanket of smoke offered a built-in ‘filter’ for photographing the sun, and I managed to…
