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Frank Lake (Alberta)
Frank Lake is a restored wetland located east of High River, Alberta, south of Calgary, near Blackie. The lake is controlled by Ducks Unlimited Canada for wildlife management purposes, and is an Important Bird Area. It is one of four Alberta lakes with the same name. Conservation and management The lake has had a history of years of being completely dry, and years of being flooded. The main goal of managing Frank Lake is to ensure that the lake is a permanent water body, which will improve wildlife habitat. Water control measures have been implemented to help ensure that water levels are maintained. Measures include the building of dikes and water control structures as well as the building of a pipeline from High River to channel treated effluent from the town of High River and a local food processing plant. Water quality is regularly monitored. Nesting boxes, nesting platforms, and rock islands are among the structures placed around the lake to encourage nesting and impr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foothills County
Foothills County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada adjacent to the south side of Calgary in Census Division No. 6. Despite sharing a common border with the City of Calgary, it does not form part of the Calgary census metropolitan area (CMA) as defined by Statistics Canada. It is however a member municipality of the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board. History Foothills County was originally formed as the Municipal District (MD) of Sheep River No. 31 on January 1, 1954 through the amalgamation of portions of Improvement District No. 46 and the MDs of Highwood No. 31, Turner Valley No. 32, and Springbank No. 45. Its name was changed to the MD of Foothills No. 31 shortly thereafter on March 25, 1954. Foothills County assumed its present name on January 1, 2019. Geography Communities and localities The following urban municipalities are surrounded by Foothills County. ;Cities *none ;Towns * Black Diamond *High River *Okotoks *Turner Valley ;Villages * Lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staging Area (birds)
A staging area (otherwise staging point, staging base, or staging post) is a location in which organisms, people, vehicles, equipment, or material are assembled before use. It may refer to: * In construction, a designated area in which vehicles, supplies, and construction equipment are positioned for access and use to a construction site. * In ecology, the resting and feeding places of migratory birds. * In entertainment, places designated for setting up parades and other elaborate presentations. * In real estate, the use of furniture to stage an area of one's home to prepare it for sale. * In media, designated places for news conferences placed near locations of high media interest. * In space exploration, an area where final assembly is done on space vehicles before they are moved out to their launch pad. * In data management, an intermediate storage area between the sources of information and the data warehouse (DW) or data mart (DM). It is usually of temporary nature, and its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-billed Dowitcher
The long-billed dowitcher (''Limnodromus scolopaceus'') is a medium-sized shorebird with a relatively long bill belonging to the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae. In breeding plumage, adults are characterized by a beautiful rufous head and underparts with a darker mottled back and a large white upper rump only seen in flight. They feed in various freshwater habitats with their bill underwater in a "sewing machine" motion and are known to have an exciting mating display where males chase females in flight. The genus, ''Limnodromus'' is Ancient Greek from ''limne'', "marsh" and ''dromos'', "racer". The specific ''scolopaceus'' is New Latin for "snipe-like", from Latin ''scolopax, scolopacis'', a snipe or woodcock. The English name is from Iroquois and was first recorded in 1841. The Long-billed dowitcher is nearly identical in appearance to the Short-billed dowitcher and was only recognized as a separate species in 1950 by Pitelka. Between the two, the best distinguishing field mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marbled Godwit
The marbled godwit (''Limosa fedoa'') is a large migratory shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. On average, it is the largest of the four species of godwit. Taxonomy In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the marbled godwit in the third volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "The Greater American Godwit". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from the Hudson Bay area of Canada by James Isham. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the marbled godwit with godwits and ibises in the genus '' Scolopax''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Scolopax fedoa'' and cited Edwards' work. The marbled godwit is now placed in the genus ''Limosa'' that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The genus name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eared Grebe
The black-necked grebe or eared grebe (''Podiceps nigricollis'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It was described in 1831 by Christian Ludwig Brehm. There are currently three accepted subspecies, including the nominate subspecies. Its breeding plumage features a distinctive ochre-coloured plumage which extends behind its eye and over its ear coverts. The rest of the upper parts, including the head, neck, and breast, are coloured black to blackish brown. The flanks are tawny rufous to maroon-chestnut, and the abdomen is white. When in its non-breeding plumage, this bird has greyish-black upper parts, including the top of the head and a vertical stripe on the back of the neck. The flanks are also greyish-black. The rest of the body is a white or whitish colour. The juvenile has more brown in its darker areas. The subspecies ''californicus'' can be distinguished from the nominate by the former's usually longer bill. The other subspecies, ''P. n. gurneyi'', can be di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short-eared Owl
The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. The short-eared owl will display its tufts when in a defensive pose, although its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands. Taxonomy The short-eared owl was formally described in 1763 by the Lutheran bishop Erik Pontoppidan under the binomial name ''Strix flammea''. The specific epithet is from the Latin ''flammeus'' meaning "flammulated" or "flame-coloured". This owl is now placed with seven other species in the genus ''Asio'' that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. Eleven subspecies are recognised: * ''A. f. flammeus'' – ( Pontoppidan, 1763): the nominate subspecies, found in North America, Europe, North Africa and n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Tern
The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. Breeding adults have light grey upperparts, white to very light grey underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs, and a narrow pointed bill. Depending on the subspecies, the bill may be mostly red with a black tip or all black. There are several similar species, including the partly sympatric Arctic tern, which can be separated on plumage details, leg and bill colour, or vocalisations. Breeding in a wider range of habitats than any of its relatives, the common tern nests on any flat, poorly vegetated surface close to water, including beaches and islands, and it readily adapts to artificial substrates such as floating rafts. The nest may be a bare scrape in sand or gravel, but it is of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California Gull
The California gull (''Larus californicus'') is a medium-sized gull, smaller on average than the herring gull but larger on average than the ring-billed gull, though it may overlap in size greatly with both. Description Adults are similar in appearance to the herring gull, but have a smaller yellow bill with a black ring, yellow legs, brown eyes and a more rounded head. The body is mainly white with grey back and upper wings. They have black primaries with white tips. Immature birds are also similar in appearance to immature herring gulls, with browner plumage than immature ring-billed gulls. Length can range from , the wingspan and body mass can vary from .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . Distribution and habitat Their breeding habitat is lakes and marshes in interior western North America from the Northwest Territories, Canada south to eastern California and Colorado. They nest in colonies, sometimes with other bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ring-billed Gull
The ring-billed gull (''Larus delawarensis'') is a medium-sized gull. The genus name is from Latin ''Larus'' which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific ''delawarensis'' refers to the Delaware River. Description Measurements: * Length: 16.9-21.3 in (43-54 cm) * Weight: 10.6-24.7 oz (300-700 g) * Wingspan: 41.3-46.1 in (105-117 cm) The head, neck and underparts are white; the relatively short bill is yellow with a dark ring; the back and wings are silver gray; and the legs are yellow. The eyes are yellow with red rims. This gull takes three years to reach its breeding plumage; its appearance changes with each fall moult. The average lifespan of an individual that reaches adulthood is 10.9 years The oldest ring-billed gull on record was observed in Cleveland in 2021, still alive at the age of 28 years. Distribution and habitat The ring-billed gulls' breeding habitat is near lakes, rivers, or the coast in Canada and the northern Unite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franklin's Gull
Franklin's gull (''Leucophaeus pipixcan'') is a small (length 12.6–14.2 in, 32–36 cm) gull. The genus name ''Leucophaeus'' is from Ancient Greek ''leukos'', "white", and ''phaios'', "dusky". The specific ''pipixcan'' is a Nahuatl name for a type of gull. Description It breeds in central provinces of Canada and adjacent states of the northern United States. It is a migratory bird, wintering in Argentina, the Caribbean, Chile, and Peru. The summer adult's body is white and its back and wings are much darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the larger laughing gull. The wings have black tips with an adjacent white band. The bill and legs are red. The black hood of the breeding adult is mostly lost in winter. Young birds are similar to the adult but have less developed hoods and lack the white wing band. They take three years to reach maturity. Measurements: * Length: 12.6-14.2 in (32-36 cm) * Weight: 8.1-10.6 oz (230-300 g) * Wingspan: 33.5-37.4 in (85-9 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Pintail
The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator. Unusually for a bird with such a large range, it has no geographical subspecies if the possibly conspecific duck Eaton's pintail is considered to be a separate species. This is a large duck, and the male's long central tail feathers give rise to the species' English and scientific names. Both sexes have blue-grey bills and grey legs and feet. The drake is more striking, having a thin white stripe running from the back of its chocolate-coloured head down its neck to its mostly white undercarriage. The drake also has attractive grey, brown, and black patterning on its back and sides. The hen's plumage is more subtle and subdued, with drab brown feathers similar to those of other female dabbling ducks. Hens make a coarse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canada Goose
The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is occasionally found during migration across the Atlantic in northern Europe. It has been introduced to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; often found on or close to fresh water, the Canada goose is also common in brackish marshes, estuaries, and lagoons. Extremely adept at living in human-altered areas, Canada geese have established breeding colonies in urban and cultivated habitats, which provide food and few natural predators. The success of this common park species has led to its often being considered a pest species because of its excrement, its depredation of crops, its n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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