Love those little Pika feet
Mushroom at Rock Glacier
Red beauty on a scree slope
Pika pose
It's Pika time - again
Clouds over the mountains
The beauty of our mountains
Small and fast .... and adorable
Keeping watch over the herd
Wide angle on the Bighorn Sheep ridge
Waiting for the herd to descend
Painted Lady
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in a Pika's cave
Scenery along Highway 40, Kananaskis
On the way down
Pika, on a windy day
Road through Kananaskis
Lichen on the rocks at Rock Glacier
A drive through Kananaskis
The beauty of erosion
The start of a great day
Beginning to look like fall
A brief close encounter
Growing in the cracks
3 Nature's artwork
It's that little guy (gal) again
Mid-squeak!
Hiding between the rocks
Light-coloured Pika
Push!
Lichen at Rock Glacier
Between a rock and a hard place
Lichens and moss at Rock Glacier
A brief moment of rest
A brief moment's rest
A gathering of female Bighorn Sheep
Bighorn Sheep - she's a beauty
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
The cutest little furball
Tiny Hummingbird at Highwood House
Unexpected closeness
Above the tree line
Pika / Ochonta princeps
Pika, up close
Love a Pika's ears
Love those big ears and big feet
Such a cute little thing
Gathering food for the winter
A patchwork of lichens
A moment of closeness
Time for another Pika shot
Stocking up on food for the winter
Pika storing food for the winter in its cave
Just a small mouthful
Living in a rocky world
A moment to ponder
A change from Marmots
Pika, busily feeding
Oh, so cute
A quick, two-second rest
What could be cuter?
Snow slump
Footprints in the snow
Last day before the winter gates closed
This is where I was yesterday
Weird and wonderful
Arethusa Cirque, Kananaskis
Snow, snow, and more snow
Don't you just want to put it in your pocket and t…
A lovely summer's day in Kananaskis
American Pika
Coming in for a sip of sweet nectar
Lichen and wildflowers
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel / Callospermophilus…
Orange False Dandelion / Agoseris aurantiaca
Rufous Hummingbird male
Bearberry / Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Barrier Lake
Cladonia Lichen sp.
A metallic look
Hooker's Thistle / Cirsium hookerianum
Cladonia Lichen
White Angelica
Barrier Lake, Kananaskis
See also...
Keywords
Authorizations, license
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Hungry little Chipmunk
This photo was taken on Saturday, 10 September 2016. This was the second day in a row that I did a long drive that I had never done myself, and had longed for years to be brave enough to do. On the Friday, I drove way down south as far as the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale (drove 496 km that day). Then, on the Saturday, my daughter came with me to Kananaskis and I drove the Highway 40 loop, going south via Turner Valley and then coming home via 1X and Highway 1A. I had been to Coaldale maybe five times before with various friends, and I had been to Kananaskis quite a few times over the years with different friends. What a way to introduce a new car to life with Anne Elliott, lol! By the end of this second day, it was so dirty from all the dust gathered, especially along the rough, gravel Spray Lakes/Smith-Dorrien trail (only drove part way along this mountainous road). My car was also covered in splattered insects which were unlucky enough to fly into my car. Got my very first (tiny) paint chip from all the flying gravel along this road, on the passenger door.
If I had been able to do these drives a bit earlier in the summer, I would have done so and not on consecutive days. However, I would never have taken my 17-year-old car, for a start. Then, when I checked the Birds of Prey Centre's website, I discovered that Saturday was the last day it would be open before closing till next May. As far as the Kananaskis trip was concerned, there had already been snow in some areas of the mountains, and I definitely did not want to risk doing my very first drive there in snow. So, two wonderful days, for which I am truly thankful!
A few weeks before, I had been with friend, Pam, for a long day out in Kananaskis (the mountain area of the Rocky Mountains that is closest to Calgary). What a great day we had, seeing so many different things in such beautiful scenery. The trip with my daughter followed a good part of the trip I was on with Pam, which was very helpful.
Our first stop was at Highwood House, a very convenient place to stop for things like coffee, snacks, washroom, gas station. All the Hummingbird feeders had been taken down, now that the Hummingbirds have left.
From there, we drove north to Rock Glacier to see the little Pikas (also called Rock Rabbits). I'm pretty sure we saw just two individuals and managed to get some rather distant shots. As usual, they were darting all over the massive scree (talus?) slope, busily collecting plants to store and dry in their "caves", ready for the winter months - they don't hibernate. There was very light rain while we were there, but that cleared up for the rest of our journey. This little Chipmunk shared the hillside with them.
A couple of short YouTube videos in case anyone wants to hear and see Pikas in action:
youtu.be/US_Hy_eGPtg
youtu.be/OQ2IgcjVIfc
Further along, we called in at Boulton Bridge, as I wanted to do a quick check to see if there were many mushrooms around. I had been there with friends, Dorothy and Stephen, and we found lots of interesting mushrooms to photograph. Saturday was very different and it was obvious that the peak of the season was now over.
Trying to find Buller Pond, where I had stopped with Pam the other week, we ended up at an area called Peninsular, part of Lower Kananaskis Lake. I don't remember ever having been to this area before.
A short drive along the Spray Lakes/Smith-Dorrien trail, followed by continuing along Highway 40 past Barrier Lake, brought us to Highway 1. We crossed over and found 1X, which then took us to Highway 1A leading to Cochrane. From there on, I was on very familiar driving ground.
Many thanks, Rachel, for coming out with me. We had a great day in such magnificent scenery with enough wildlife to keep us happy (Pikas, Bighorn Sheep and this tiny Chipmunk plus another one who was happily munching on a bright red berry).
If I had been able to do these drives a bit earlier in the summer, I would have done so and not on consecutive days. However, I would never have taken my 17-year-old car, for a start. Then, when I checked the Birds of Prey Centre's website, I discovered that Saturday was the last day it would be open before closing till next May. As far as the Kananaskis trip was concerned, there had already been snow in some areas of the mountains, and I definitely did not want to risk doing my very first drive there in snow. So, two wonderful days, for which I am truly thankful!
A few weeks before, I had been with friend, Pam, for a long day out in Kananaskis (the mountain area of the Rocky Mountains that is closest to Calgary). What a great day we had, seeing so many different things in such beautiful scenery. The trip with my daughter followed a good part of the trip I was on with Pam, which was very helpful.
Our first stop was at Highwood House, a very convenient place to stop for things like coffee, snacks, washroom, gas station. All the Hummingbird feeders had been taken down, now that the Hummingbirds have left.
From there, we drove north to Rock Glacier to see the little Pikas (also called Rock Rabbits). I'm pretty sure we saw just two individuals and managed to get some rather distant shots. As usual, they were darting all over the massive scree (talus?) slope, busily collecting plants to store and dry in their "caves", ready for the winter months - they don't hibernate. There was very light rain while we were there, but that cleared up for the rest of our journey. This little Chipmunk shared the hillside with them.
A couple of short YouTube videos in case anyone wants to hear and see Pikas in action:
youtu.be/US_Hy_eGPtg
youtu.be/OQ2IgcjVIfc
Further along, we called in at Boulton Bridge, as I wanted to do a quick check to see if there were many mushrooms around. I had been there with friends, Dorothy and Stephen, and we found lots of interesting mushrooms to photograph. Saturday was very different and it was obvious that the peak of the season was now over.
Trying to find Buller Pond, where I had stopped with Pam the other week, we ended up at an area called Peninsular, part of Lower Kananaskis Lake. I don't remember ever having been to this area before.
A short drive along the Spray Lakes/Smith-Dorrien trail, followed by continuing along Highway 40 past Barrier Lake, brought us to Highway 1. We crossed over and found 1X, which then took us to Highway 1A leading to Cochrane. From there on, I was on very familiar driving ground.
Many thanks, Rachel, for coming out with me. We had a great day in such magnificent scenery with enough wildlife to keep us happy (Pikas, Bighorn Sheep and this tiny Chipmunk plus another one who was happily munching on a bright red berry).
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