Rocky Mountains around Canmore, near Banff

A view of the mountains taken in Canmore almost a year ago, on 17 December 2011, when a few of us took part in the annual Banff/Canmore Christmas Bird Count. The town of Canmore is surrounded by mountain peaks. (Location on map is only very approximate - I really just wanted to let people know where Canmore was, just in case anyone is curious.)

My small group covered the Harvey Heights area. The meeting place for the various groups was at the home of Colleen Campbell, who so generously opens up her home to us each year, including giving us a lovely warm place to go back to, to eat our lunch and to finalize the lists of birds seen by the end of the day. Colleen is a long-time Wildlife Researcher, who focused exclusively on grizzly bears from 1993 until 2006. She is also known for her incredibly beautiful artwork - photography is another of her keen interests. Her generosity is always greatly appreciated!

This annual Banff-Canmore Christmas Bird Count (CBC) organized by the Bow Valley Naturalists took place on Saturday, December 17 (though my camera date says December 18th). This was the 37th consecutive year for this event.