Bighorn Sheep, number 18
A few craggy peaks
Glowing White-tailed Ptarmigan
Gathering of the White-tailed Ptarmigan
Curious Moose
Just like winter
A favourite mountain slope
White beauty
Resting on a bed of snow
Almost a disappearing act
White-tailed Ptarmigan in the sun
The sparkle of winter
Before winter officially arrives
Jagged little peaks
Master of camouflage
Before the snow
Canada's new National Bird - the Gray Jay
Almost-disappearing act
Pika pose
A sweet encounter
White beauty
Winter in Kananaskis
It's Pika time - again
It's those white birds again
A view from the Porcupine Hills
Upper Kananaskis Lake
Colour among the mosses and lichens
Strawberries and cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii
Arethusa Cirque trail, Kananaskis
Kananaskis - a winter wonderland
Alberta's beautiful foothills and mountains
A hazy view with Dandelions
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
Shooting stars / Dodecatheon sp. (and Dandelions)
American Dipper / Cinclus mexicanus
White-crowned Sparrow / Zonotrichia leucophrys
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Tall Lungwort
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
(Yellow?) Morel mushroom
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
A splash of much-needed colour
Arnica sp.
Star-flowered Solomon's Seal / Maianthemum stellat…
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
A favourite road
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel in a Pika's cave
Scenery along Highway 40, Kananaskis
On the way down
Pika, on a windy day
Farm in the foothills
Road through Kananaskis
Lichen on the rocks at Rock Glacier
Kananaskis before the snowstorm
Heading for the mountains on a hazy morning
Cattle drive in the mountains of Kananaskis, Alber…
Black eyes and beaks are a give-away
White-tailed Ptarmigan - my first ever!
And here comes the snow
Before the snow came
Red beauty on a scree slope
Mushroom at Rock Glacier
Love those little Pika feet
One spectacular fall day
Gray Jay - Canada's new National Bird
Hungry little Chipmunk
Two winters ago
Hiding in the shadows
A brief close encounter
Shingled/Scaly Hedgehog fungus / Sarcodon imbricat…
Osprey on the hunt
Growing in the cracks
A beauty from mushroom season
01 The glory of fall
02 Hidden in the clouds
3 Nature's artwork
The beauty of fall
A patterned sky
Sometimes it's wildlife, sometimes it's .... cows
When fall colours are just a memory
Peninsular area, Lower Kananaskis Lake
It's that little guy (gal) again
Peninsular area, Lower Kananaskis Lake
Mid-squeak!
Hiding between the rocks
Distant haze
The beauty of Kananaskis along Highway 40
Light-coloured Pika
Spruce Grouse, adult female
Our beautiful foothills on an overcast day
Push!
Lichen at Rock Glacier
The long road south
Between a rock and a hard place
Lichens and moss at Rock Glacier
Lower Kananaskis Lake at Peninsular
Quite a typical view
A brief moment of rest
Peninsular, Lower Kananaskis Lake
Chipmunk with a yummy snack
A brief moment's rest
Young Spruce Grouse
Mushroom in a wonderfully lush setting
One of my favourite meadows
A gathering of female Bighorn Sheep
Northern Gentian
Young Spruce Grouse
A bright splash of blue in August
Bighorn Sheep - she's a beauty
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
The cutest little furball
Female Spruce Grouse with one of her young
Tiny Hummingbird at Highwood House
Unexpected closeness
Above the tree line
Green jelly mass on Buller Pond
Strawberries and Cream fungus / Hydnellum peckii
A joy to behold
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175 visits
Now you see them ... now you don't
There was no sign of the sun on 23 November 2016, when I had the chance to go back a second time to look for the White-tailed Ptarmigan in Kananaskis. Friend, Tony, had asked me if I'd like to go with him on 22 November, but I explained that I had already been asked if I'd like to go with mutual friends, Dorothy and Stephen. Tony was free the next day, which was wonderful, and so off we went.
The snow was so deep out there, that it made walking extremely difficult, so after our first search from the road, Tony put on his snowshoes and away he went. He quickly disappeared from sight, travelling through the trees. After a long time, there was still no sign of him - at which point I started to get concerned. Then, all of a sudden, there is an explosion of white and a flock of what turned out to be about 14 white birds flew over my head and across to the far side of the main road. What a beautiful sight! Tony, who is an excellent, very experienced birder, had been unable to find any birds, until he accidentally flushed them! When I first saw this flock in flight, my mind whirled, as I never thought of these birds flying, lol. Then it clicked in that maybe that was what I had just witnessed. I walked as fast as I could down the road and eventually spotted the white on white. The lack of sun made it more difficult than ever to see them, at first huddled under a tree. Thank goodness they were still there by the time Tony arrived, as this was the first time he had ever seen White-tailed Ptarmigan. The two of us had tried several times in the last few years, without any luck. I believe most people haven't seen them when they turn white for the long winter months. So, to have seen this many individuals and on two days running, I feel extremely fortunate! Thanks so much for this second chance, Tony, and I am so relieved that you finally saw this lifer!
These birds tend to walk around in just a small area, feeding on the Willow buds, and then the group lies down, some of them burrowing till just the head and neck are visible, or some will burrow till they disappear completely under the snow. Every now and then, you can hear the little sounds they make. After resting, they repeat the feeding process and then rest again. As you can imagine, a turn of the head so that a bird is looking away from you, all that remains is something that looks like one of the many lumps of snow everywhere.
"The smallest grouse in North America, the White-tailed Ptarmigan inhabits alpine regions from Alaska to New Mexico. It has numerous adaptations to its severe habitat, including feathered toes, highly cryptic plumage, and an energy-conserving daily regime." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Ptarmigan/id
"The white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), also known as the snow quail, is the smallest bird in the grouse family. It is a permanent resident of high altitudes on or above the tree line and is native to Alaska and the mountainous parts of Canada and the western United States. It has also been introduced into the Sierra Nevada in California, the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon and the Uinta Mountains in Utah. Its plumage is cryptic and varies at different times of the year. In the summer it is speckled in gray, brown and white whereas in winter it is wholly white. At all times of year the wings, belly and tail are white. The white-tailed ptarmigan has a diet of buds, leaves, flowers and seeds. The nest is a simple depression in the ground in which up to eight eggs are laid. After hatching, the chicks soon leave the nest. At first they eat insects but later move on to an adult diet, their mother using vocalisations to help them find suitable plant food. The population seems to be stable and the IUCN lists this species as being of "Least Concern". From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_ptarmigan
The snow was so deep out there, that it made walking extremely difficult, so after our first search from the road, Tony put on his snowshoes and away he went. He quickly disappeared from sight, travelling through the trees. After a long time, there was still no sign of him - at which point I started to get concerned. Then, all of a sudden, there is an explosion of white and a flock of what turned out to be about 14 white birds flew over my head and across to the far side of the main road. What a beautiful sight! Tony, who is an excellent, very experienced birder, had been unable to find any birds, until he accidentally flushed them! When I first saw this flock in flight, my mind whirled, as I never thought of these birds flying, lol. Then it clicked in that maybe that was what I had just witnessed. I walked as fast as I could down the road and eventually spotted the white on white. The lack of sun made it more difficult than ever to see them, at first huddled under a tree. Thank goodness they were still there by the time Tony arrived, as this was the first time he had ever seen White-tailed Ptarmigan. The two of us had tried several times in the last few years, without any luck. I believe most people haven't seen them when they turn white for the long winter months. So, to have seen this many individuals and on two days running, I feel extremely fortunate! Thanks so much for this second chance, Tony, and I am so relieved that you finally saw this lifer!
These birds tend to walk around in just a small area, feeding on the Willow buds, and then the group lies down, some of them burrowing till just the head and neck are visible, or some will burrow till they disappear completely under the snow. Every now and then, you can hear the little sounds they make. After resting, they repeat the feeding process and then rest again. As you can imagine, a turn of the head so that a bird is looking away from you, all that remains is something that looks like one of the many lumps of snow everywhere.
"The smallest grouse in North America, the White-tailed Ptarmigan inhabits alpine regions from Alaska to New Mexico. It has numerous adaptations to its severe habitat, including feathered toes, highly cryptic plumage, and an energy-conserving daily regime." From AllAboutBirds.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Ptarmigan/id
"The white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), also known as the snow quail, is the smallest bird in the grouse family. It is a permanent resident of high altitudes on or above the tree line and is native to Alaska and the mountainous parts of Canada and the western United States. It has also been introduced into the Sierra Nevada in California, the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon and the Uinta Mountains in Utah. Its plumage is cryptic and varies at different times of the year. In the summer it is speckled in gray, brown and white whereas in winter it is wholly white. At all times of year the wings, belly and tail are white. The white-tailed ptarmigan has a diet of buds, leaves, flowers and seeds. The nest is a simple depression in the ground in which up to eight eggs are laid. After hatching, the chicks soon leave the nest. At first they eat insects but later move on to an adult diet, their mother using vocalisations to help them find suitable plant food. The population seems to be stable and the IUCN lists this species as being of "Least Concern". From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_ptarmigan
autofantasia, Pam J, Chrissy have particularly liked this photo
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