Lazuli Bunting - just for the record
Columbian Ground Squirrel collecting nest material
White-crowned Sparrow / Zonotrichia leucophrys
Time to feed the kids
Marbled Godwit / Limosa fedoa
Black-crowned Night-heron
Brown-headed Cowbird juvenile
Swainson's Hawk
Collecting food for her babies
A favourite bird to photograph
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Wind-blown Osprey
House Wren at the Ellis Bird Farm
Don't call me 'Gopher'
The cutest little furball
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Bighorn Sheep - she's a beauty
A bright splash of blue in August
Handsome male Bobolink / Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Conserving heat
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk portrait
Between a rock and a hard place
Bluebird memories
Push!
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk / Buteo jamaicensis
Mid-squeak!
No need to worry about one or two wrinkles
Merlin eating a dragonfly
Trusting Red-breasted Nuthatch
Chocolate bunny
Leisurely swim
One mighty beast, Bison Paddock, Waterton N P
American Coot interactive display
Savannah Sparrow
Flycatcher sp. - Willow or Alder Flycatcher
Spotted Sandpiper
I like the post as much as the bird
Great Gray Owl in late-morning sun
A second's rest, together
Bobolink male / Dolichonyx oryzivorus
It's the Bobolink again
Red River Hog / Potamochoerus porcus
A distant Bobolink
A closer view - male Bobolink
Sleeping down at the pond
Couldn't have chosen a better perch myself : )
Yesterday's treat - a Bobolink
Eastern Kingbird
Wilson's Snipe hiding in the grass
Camouflaged Wood Frog
Great Horned Owl owlet, Ellis Bird Farm
Busy Barn Swallow
Lots of 'bling'
Herper friend with Wood Frog (and fly)
Le Conte's Sparrow
American Robin male
A house to match
Showing off for the females
Ring-necked Pheasant at the end of the day
On the fence
Canada Goose
Puffed up Tree Swallow
Wilson's Snipe, seen from afar
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Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel
This gorgeous little animal made me jump when it suddenly ran past me through the grasses and plants. I think my senses were on extra alert, as we were walking through bear country! As it turned out, a bit further on the trail, a guy who was unknown to us let us know that there was a Grizzly sow with two young cubs on the distant mountain slope. I was able to get a few very distant shots and may post one of them, just for the record. The following day, we were driving on the same road at the same location when we saw a sow and one cub, mainly hidden among the trees and bushes. Wondering if it was the same sow with only one of her black cubs visible to us. With only a poor view, I think this sow may have been a Cinnamon Black Bear, whereas we had been told that the very distant ones on the mountain slope were Grizzlies. So, I'm not sure if we actually saw five or seven different bears over the weekend. A thrill to have seen any bears at all.
"The thirteen-lined ground squirrel is strictly diurnal and is especially active on warm days. A solitary or only somewhat colonial hibernator, it often occurs in aggregations in suitable habitats.
In late summer, it puts on a heavy layer of fat and stores some food in its burrow. It enters its nest in October (some adults retire much earlier), rolls into a stiff ball, and decreases its respiration from between 100 and 200 breaths per minute to one breath about every five minutes. It emerges in March or early April.
The burrow may be 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6.1 metres) long, with several side passages. Most of the burrow is within one to two feet (about half a meter) of the surface, with only the hibernation nest in a special deeper section. Shorter burrows are dug as hiding places. This ground squirrel's home range is two to three acres (0.8 to 1.2 ha).
Its primary diet includes grass and weed seeds, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and crickets, but it may also eat mice and shrews; it will viciously attack and consume cicadas if able to catch them. This squirrel sometimes damages gardens by digging burrows and eating vegetables, but also devours weed seeds and harmful insects.
It is well known for standing upright to survey its domain, diving down into its burrow when it senses danger, then sometimes poking out its nose and giving a bird-like trill. It has a maximum running speed of 8 mph (13 km/h) and reverses direction if chased." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen-lined_ground_squirrel
Two days ago, late afternoon, (I think around 5:15 pm), on 10 July 2015, I arrived back home from my holiday of the year - a two and a half day trip to Waterton National Park. It was wonderful to again be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few pleasantly slow walks/hikes with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds and animals. Lots of great company with (22) people I already knew and lots of new faces, too. The trip was organized by Nature Calgary. Everyone was free to go wherever they wanted each day, but for the two nights, we stayed at the very basic Canyon Church Camp, off the Red Rock Parkway. Dorm-style cabins (about which I will say nothing, lol!), but they do have showers and even flush toilets at the camp. We were fed so well - lots of variety and good food. We were given two breakfasts and two suppers, plus a packed lunch for the two days. Our thanks go out to the lady (can't remember her name, sorry, but she was also there for us in July 2015) who cooked and prepared these meals for us! They were so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated!
Thank you SO much, Janet, for driving your friend and me to and from Calgary and around the park some of the time, too. To say that I appreciated it is a huge understatement!! Our thanks, too, to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly, as usual! A great time was had by all. And I am SO happy and relieved that you were finally able to find a bear (and her cub) - yes, we came across the same ones shortly after you saw them. Not sure if they were two of the three I had seen at more or less the same location the previous morning, 9 July 2016. If it was the same female, then her second cub must have been really well hidden in the tangle of bushes and trees yesterday. We didn't get a good view, though I did take a handful of photos, including when the cub looked towards us for a split second. I had never seen such a young cub before, so I was thrilled to bits. Can't forget to add my huge thanks for finding me a Lazuli Bunting yesterday, too, at some unearthly hour (well, 7:30 am). No idea how on earth you managed to spot such a small bird from so far away - just a tiny speck in the far, far distance. Also was delighted that you found two Nighthawks flying high overhead at the Nature Conservancy area. So, I guess you and I both returned to Calgary feeling really happy : )
"The thirteen-lined ground squirrel is strictly diurnal and is especially active on warm days. A solitary or only somewhat colonial hibernator, it often occurs in aggregations in suitable habitats.
In late summer, it puts on a heavy layer of fat and stores some food in its burrow. It enters its nest in October (some adults retire much earlier), rolls into a stiff ball, and decreases its respiration from between 100 and 200 breaths per minute to one breath about every five minutes. It emerges in March or early April.
The burrow may be 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6.1 metres) long, with several side passages. Most of the burrow is within one to two feet (about half a meter) of the surface, with only the hibernation nest in a special deeper section. Shorter burrows are dug as hiding places. This ground squirrel's home range is two to three acres (0.8 to 1.2 ha).
Its primary diet includes grass and weed seeds, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and crickets, but it may also eat mice and shrews; it will viciously attack and consume cicadas if able to catch them. This squirrel sometimes damages gardens by digging burrows and eating vegetables, but also devours weed seeds and harmful insects.
It is well known for standing upright to survey its domain, diving down into its burrow when it senses danger, then sometimes poking out its nose and giving a bird-like trill. It has a maximum running speed of 8 mph (13 km/h) and reverses direction if chased." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen-lined_ground_squirrel
Two days ago, late afternoon, (I think around 5:15 pm), on 10 July 2015, I arrived back home from my holiday of the year - a two and a half day trip to Waterton National Park. It was wonderful to again be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few pleasantly slow walks/hikes with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds and animals. Lots of great company with (22) people I already knew and lots of new faces, too. The trip was organized by Nature Calgary. Everyone was free to go wherever they wanted each day, but for the two nights, we stayed at the very basic Canyon Church Camp, off the Red Rock Parkway. Dorm-style cabins (about which I will say nothing, lol!), but they do have showers and even flush toilets at the camp. We were fed so well - lots of variety and good food. We were given two breakfasts and two suppers, plus a packed lunch for the two days. Our thanks go out to the lady (can't remember her name, sorry, but she was also there for us in July 2015) who cooked and prepared these meals for us! They were so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated!
Thank you SO much, Janet, for driving your friend and me to and from Calgary and around the park some of the time, too. To say that I appreciated it is a huge understatement!! Our thanks, too, to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly, as usual! A great time was had by all. And I am SO happy and relieved that you were finally able to find a bear (and her cub) - yes, we came across the same ones shortly after you saw them. Not sure if they were two of the three I had seen at more or less the same location the previous morning, 9 July 2016. If it was the same female, then her second cub must have been really well hidden in the tangle of bushes and trees yesterday. We didn't get a good view, though I did take a handful of photos, including when the cub looked towards us for a split second. I had never seen such a young cub before, so I was thrilled to bits. Can't forget to add my huge thanks for finding me a Lazuli Bunting yesterday, too, at some unearthly hour (well, 7:30 am). No idea how on earth you managed to spot such a small bird from so far away - just a tiny speck in the far, far distance. Also was delighted that you found two Nighthawks flying high overhead at the Nature Conservancy area. So, I guess you and I both returned to Calgary feeling really happy : )
novogorodec, , Pam J have particularly liked this photo
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