GordonI

GordonI

@gordoni.bsky.social

A proud Canadian (Calgary, AB) 🇨🇦 who enjoys photography (with no AI), reading, 🇨🇦tennis, trivia and kindness. All posted photos are mine unless otherwise credited. Let's stay positive, folks! 😊

2.5K followers1.7K following1.5K posts

Good morning everyone! I see Alan's theme for #Tuesday’s #BirdOfTheDay is #Branched, birds on thin branches. This lovely #Red-winged #Blackbird couldn’t have selected a thinner #branch, but it works for me 🙂. Taken by a pond near my #Calgary 🇨🇦 home in June. #bird #photography #nature #wild #birds 🪶

In a ballpark in NW #Calgary 🇨🇦 these #trees are planted in a semicircle behind the outfield fence. On the morning of Oct 17 I was walking by and loved both the contrast of the foliage against the blue sky & the pattern the trees’ shadows made. Occasionally shooting into the sun works. 😉 #photography

Taken this morning at 6:50am. The #weather in #Calgary 🇨🇦 is currently vacillating between heavy rain and wet #snow, accompanied by strong winds. The McMahon #Stadium lights are all on, as workers prepare the venerable structurefor the 113th Grey Cup game on Nov. 15. #urban #photography #2026GreyCup

Taken yesterday in #Calgary 🇨🇦. My #BirdOfTheDay #photo is more #educational than #thematic. 😊 Not every #dove is white & not every white #pigeon is called a dove in a technical sense. The 2 gray birds & the white one seen here are the same species, just different colour morphs. #bird 🪶 #Photography

For #MountainMonday may I present a #photo of the #Kananaskis Country #Golf Course (the 36-hole public course near Kananaskis Village). You've got the spectacular #Alberta 🇨🇦 #Rockies to look at when you are not swinging a club. Don't head up here; the courses closed last Sunday. #photography #nature

As #autumn creeps closer to #winter here in Alberta 🇨🇦, sometimes we briefly get to catch #fall #foliage #colours up in the early #morning #sky. Taken in October, about 7.5 km west of #downtown #Calgary. 🙂 Do have a wonderful #Sunday everybody, wherever you may be. #urban #photography #skyline

Happy weekend all! 🙂 Here in #Calgary today it is quite warm for this time of year (18°C) but man is there a wind! And unfortunately with no hardy maple trees the fall #foliage is fast dropping from branches to ground. Here’s one #tree near my home, taken 2 weeks apart. #photography #nature #autumn

Good Friday morning all. Today's #BirdOfTheDay alt theme, set by @robcrank68.bsky.social, is #coot, so here is a 2026 favourite of this weird #bird, taken in June. I was sitting on the shore of a #pond near my #Calgary 🇨🇦 home and caught some #mother to #child feeding. #photography #nature #wild 🪶

Happy Thanksgiving! For #MountainMonday I offer a tip to photographers heading west from #Calgary into the #RockyMountains to take #morning photos: the #sun will shine on the #mountaintops long before it shines on you. Taken in #October. 😊 📷 29mm f:2.2 #photography #Kananaskis #nature #landscape

Happy #Thanksgiving Sunday everyone. As I post this the first snowflakes of autumn 2026 are falling on my patio. Here’s that same patio, from January and July of this year (don’t ask me which is which 😁). This pretty well covers the extremes the #city of #Calgary gets. Have a great #Sunday folks.

At 8:30am on a hot July day in #Calgary I walked past (more accurately: walked over) a friendly neighborhood orange-and-white #cat enjoying a summer morning sidewalk sunbeam. As we brace for our first #autumn snowfall I envy buddy who didn’t have a care in the world. 😁 Have a good #Caturday folks!

Happy Friday all! I see today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme from Atlantic Birding is: #Waders; any wading #bird. So, because I am a tad melancholy in #Calgary, awaiting the first snowstorm of the season😬, I’ll post these photos of an #American #Avocet from June. #photography #nature #birds 🪶 #wild #memories

Happy Thursday all! With certain animals, such as this #jackrabbit & this #Eastern #Gray #Squirrel, we are used to them noticing us with one eye and then scurrying away. When they use both eyes and stare directly into my lens I feel perhaps they are peering into my soul. 😁 #photography #nature #wild

Is #WapitiWednesday a thang? I do like the alliteration. 🙂 Here is a nice look at a North American #elk (#wapiti) I saw on a river bank near #Canmore, #Alberta 🇨🇦. In Canada, elk are mostly in B.C. & AB. A mid-2010s estimate has the national total near 72,000. #photography #wildlife #wild #nature

Here’s a little known thing the province of #Alberta 🇨🇦 & the #City of #Calgary got right. I took this #photo yesterday in #Riley Park of #autumn #foliage on an American #Elm. Like almost all elms in Alberta it is #Dutch-Elm-Disease free. Click on the photo for more info. #photography #tree #fall

Just another #MountainMonday. 😊 #Mount #Kidd is a #double-summit #massif located in #Kananaskis Country in the #Canadian #Rockies of #Alberta 🇨🇦. Snow has yet to grace their peaks and they, along with the #autumn #foliage, are reflected nicely in this calm lake’s surface. #photography #nature #fall

Happy Sunday all! 🙂 Taken #October 2nd, shortly after sunrise. We’re looking south at the #downtown #skyline of #Calgary 🇨🇦 from McHugh Bluff in the city’s #Crescent #Heights area. The #autumn #foliage nicely contrasts the blue #sky seen behind those dark clouds. #photography #urban #landscape #fall

Happy first October weekend everyone! It’s #CATurday, so I’ll post a #photo I took quickly with my iPhone Wednesday morning. I saw this adult #Bobcat in an alley a block from my home in NW #Calgary. It was sauntering along, avoiding the noisy #magpies swooping near it. #photography #urban #wildlife

Golden #aspens and #birch on top of #Nose #Hill #Park. One of North America’s largest #urban parks (11 km² of rare #fescue #grassland, ancient Indigenous sites, and #prairie views), the park sits entirely in north #Calgary. #Autumn is lovely on this hill. [click #photo for info] #nature #photography

Happy #October 1st everyone. 🙂 Here’s a #photo of the #skyline of my #hometown #Calgary 🇨🇦. It was taken from a bend in the calm #Bow #River, looking east towards #downtown. #Blue is the main colour, with the #fall #foliage adding nice orange framing. Oh yes, and paddle boarders. #photography #city

Taken in the early morning in late #September, looking south over the smooth surface of a river not far from #Calgary’s city limits. I’m a sucker for sunny #autumn days with no wind, especially when the #fall colours are reflected in water. Enjoy your Thursday, all. 🙂 #landscape #photography #nature

For #MountainMonday here’s a September #photo of a #peak in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park in #Alberta 🇨🇦 That is #Mount #Rae, the tallest peak in the immediate area (3,218 m/10,558 ft) & the highest front-range summit visible from #Calgary. [Click photo for more info] #photography #landscape #nature

It’s the last Sunday in September. Time for an appropriate late-September #fall #photo I took south of #Calgary on a chilly, cloudy day. The mature #balsam #poplars and their hybrids dominate the yellow-gold #autumn this time of year. Have a great Sunday everyone! 🍂🍂🙂🍂🍂 #photography #nature

Living in #Calgary 🇨🇦 means I am a 2 hour drive from the majestic #Canadian #Rockies. This is Mount #Caldron, overlooking a very turquoise #Peyto Lake in #Banff National #Park. Changing lens, I was able to photograph two hikers up close to where the glacial ice feeds the lake. #photography #nature

My road trip to the Canadian 🇨🇦 #Rocky #Mountains gave me #photos for a (wait for it 🥁) #WhymperWednesday. 😁 Two of these are of #Mount Whymper and the other is Mount #Stanley, the 1st ascent of both was made by #Edward #Whymper 🇬🇧, at age 60(!) in 1901. (Additional info in pics) #photography #nature

Happy end-of-summer, start-of-fall day everyone (#equinox today at 18:05 MDT). Although 3 months in length, #autumn in #Calgary can seem longer or shorter depending on the wind. Taken yesterday, this green #ash has turned #canary #yellow but has lost few leaves. That’ll soon change.🍃💨🍂 #Photography

Here’s another #MountainMonday post, this time from the B.C. #Rocky #Mountains. 🇨🇦 This is #Vermilion #Peak (Elevation: 2,647 m / 8,684 ft), named for the vermilion (red-orange) ochre historically used by Indigenous peoples. Taken from the boardwalk of the #Paint #Pots trail. #Landscape #Nature

For #MountainMonday #Storm #Mountain in #Banff #National #Park makes a nice background rising above #Vista #Lake in the #Canadian #Rocky #Mountains. Taken Saturday at 8:48am, capturing the #mist rising off the lake, which is very green this time of year (see ALT for why). #photography #nature 🇨🇦

Today at noon I saw this #Brandon #Elm on the University of #Calgary campus. I don’t know if anyone has labelled #yellow as today’s colour in here, but with this #tree putting on such a great summer’s-end/early-fall display it certainly should be, no? 😉 #photography #summer #September #nature

Right now we’ve exactly 54 hours until the Sept. equinox, marking the start of astronomical autumn (Tue., 09/22/26 at 6:05pm MT). Monday I’ll post #mountain photos from Saturday’s road trip. Today? Here are Friday’s photos of #flowers at #Riley Park in #Calgary, where it’s still summer. #photography

Just got home today from a drive out to the #Canadian #Rocky #Mountains. I am standing on the shore of #Vista #Lake in #Alberta this #morning, but the #reflected peak in the background is #Mount #Whymper (2,845 metres or 9,334 feet) in #British #Columbia. More to follow. #Nature #Photography #mirror

This week last year I took this #photo not far from #Lake #Louise in the #Canadian 🇨🇦 #Rocky #Mountains. The spruce, pine and fir trees don’t change colour (you know - evergreen? 😉) but the ground cover can get some nice fall colours. I’m going there tomorrow. Photos to follow. 🙂 #photography #nature

The #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Silhouette huh? Okay, I think the #shadows of this #Canada #Goose couple qualifies. Don’t be shy, Friends & Followers, please take a gander at my #photo. 😁 #Photography #bird 🪶 #birds #wildlife #nature #wild 🇨🇦

A clear warm September day by a #lake with the #Canadian #Rocky #Mountains in the background. No wind, producing a mirror-like #reflection and a wisp of clouds in a blue sky. Someone somewhere bestowed on me the Right Place, Right Time moment of the day. 😊 #photography #nature #Alberta #Rockies 🇨🇦

In #Calgary it was a nice warm #summer day, so I thought I’d share this photo I’ve not posted before. Taken in July, it’s a young whitetail deer buck, standing in an #Alberta #canola field where he had been grazing. Have a great Thursday, everybody! 🙂 #photography #nature #wild

so… @helenbennett.bsky.social has #BirdBuddies as a theme challenge - “Can you find two 'different' bird species sharing the same space!?” This #bald #eagle & #magpie on the south bank of the #Bow #River in #Calgary probably qualifies. (See ALT) #Photography #Nature #wild #bird 🪶 #birds #Canada 🇨🇦

For #MountainMonday, here’s #Crowfoot Mountain (elevation: 3,055 m / 10,023 ft), and Crowfoot #Glacier on its flank, forming the backdrop in this #September morning #photo of #Bow #Lake in #Banff National #Park, #Alberta 🇨🇦 Happy Labour Day everyone! #Rocky #Mountains #Landscape #photography #Canada

Something different for Rob’s alternative #BirdOfTheDay theme of #SittingOnWater: a #summer #overhead of a young #Mallard #hen on a #pond on the #University of #Calgary. The sun’s #reflections and the #algae add help make it unique. 🙂 #duck #bird 🪶 #birds #photography #nature #wild

I see the #BirdOfTheDay theme is simply #flight. So here is my offering - a pair of #pelicans passed me while flying over #Frank #Lake, just east of #HighRiver, #Alberta #Canada 🇨🇦. They certainly are close to one another, no? Have a great weekend! #bird 🪶 #birds #photography #nature #wild #wildlife

Helen’s #BirdOfTheDay is #BirdNaps Any bird caught snoozing, napping or just looking incredibly sleepy! This lovely #mallard #hen is indeed napping with one eye open, thanks to a specialized form of sleep called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS) [see Alt]. #bird 🪶 #photography #nature #wild

So… the #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Contrast. Well then! I took this on a very cold #Calgary day in January. Common #Ravens are year-round residents across #Alberta, and they thrive in #cold #winter conditions. #bird 🪶 #birds #photography #nature #Canada 🇨🇦 #wild

This is my own #BirdOfTheDay post. I’ve posted many American Pelican photos I’ve taken in the #wild, but this female #Dalmatian #Pelican I had to #photograph at the #Calgary #Zoo. Native to Asia & Eastern Europe, they are the largest pelicans in the world (wingspan of 10.5+ ft) #bird 🪶 #birds

I see #Caturday is still a popular hashtag. Now I’m not a contrarian, but what’s wrong with #Meerkaturday ? I photographed this cute fellow two months ago at the #Calgary #zoo.

Alan’s Alt #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Ducklings, “any Duckling will do.” All well and good, but this isn’t just ‘any’ duckling, it’s a young #Redhead. I know because there’s only one pair nesting in the pond near my home, and… here’s #baby! Taken on 06/21/26. #bird #photography #nature #wild #cute

I see Helen Bennett has suggested a #BirdOfTheDay theme of #NoBranchWood, any bird on wood, that is not a branch! Here’s a #Mountain #Bluebird on an old fence post, taken on a warm #summer day in western #Alberta 🇨🇦, high up in the #foothills. #photography #bird 🪶 #nature #wild #BBirdName

I’ve not posted for 2 weeks, so yesterday this #mallard #hen, not only posing but appearing to smile (!) fit the bill for #MallardMonday. The green background is heavy algae coating a small pond at the University of #Calgary (and she loves it!). #bird 🪶 #birds #photography #duck #wild #nature

An interesting #BirdOfTheDay theme today: #OneTwoThreeFour, 4 photos with 1, 2, 3, 4 birds, with each photo being the same bird/s. 🤔Fortunately on June 29 last year there were many #American #Pelicans on #Frank #Lake, #Alberta 🇨🇦. Enjoy your weekend folks. 🙂 #Bird 🪶 #Photography #nature #wild

@robcrank68.bsky.social has made #yellow the #alt #bird #theme for today’s #BirdOfTheDay, so from #East #Africa (but happily thriving in numbers at the #Calgary #Zoo) is the #Taveta #Golden #Weaver. Here’s a male #nest construction worker , taken last month. #Photography 🪶 #birdphotography

July and August are great months to photograph a #checkerspot #butterfly in Alberta 🇨🇦. Taken on a trail in a meadow near the B.C. border and the Rocky Mountains. This beauty was kind enough to stretch out its wings long enough for me to capture this. #photography #nature #wild

Rob has #Gulls as the #theme for today’s #BirdOfTheDay, adding, “any Gull will do.” This #photo I took in May is not of just any #gull. When I let my mind wander to thoughts of #anthropomorphism I see a bullied little fellow paying a protection fee for some muscle. 🤣 #Photography #nature #bird 🪶