I had the pleasure of visiting the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre outside of Lethbridge, Alberta. You can get up close to many of the large birds but not all, with no fences or mesh in the way, making it ideal for photography.
They have just about every eagle, hawk, falcon and owl on display, although, again I stress, not all out of them are out of their cages.
This is the link to their site: www.coaldalechamber.com
Below are some of the profiles I was able to photograph and a very lucky person.
A female Tufted Duck has been seen mixed in with large rafts of scaup, goldeneye, scoter and ring-necked ducks, feeding in Shirley’s Bay. Overcast skies and extreme distances again made getting a good photo impossible. The image I did get clearly shows the tuft and color well. Coincidentally this is the same area that I saw my first Tufted Duck (a male) on April 30th, 2003.
There were also a few Horned Grebes, on American Widgeon, Bald Eagle and a G. Yellowlegs present. Many sparrows were moving through the area.
The photos below show the bird thats being seen and the other is my photo of a Tufted Duck in my collection. Left clicking on the image will enlarge the image.
Good birding. Ciao for now.
BIRDQUEST2004 