Just like winter
A favourite mountain slope
Grain storage in Heronton
Plateau Mountain, Kananaskis
Following the fenceline
Before winter officially arrives
One of my favourite barns
A lone Larch in fall colour
Can you see what I see?
Jagged little peaks
Before the snow
TV's "Heartland" series location
Red's the best in winter
A beautiful start to a day
Sunrise colour over the mountain peaks
New Year's Day Bird Count
Nanton Christmas Bird Count
Winter walking
Snow turns something ordinary into beautiful
Our beautiful Alberta
An old, red beauty
Afternoon light on the foothills
Winter in Kananaskis
Down by the river on a frosty morning
Jazzing up the old silos - with Pacman
Modern - but I like it
Filtered
The peace of a prairie farm - my main photo today
The beautiful mountains of Alberta
Non-wild horses in a wild landscape
Winter in the Nanton, Alberta, area
Lying on a bed of hoarfrost
With a little filtered help
Winter textures
Old prairie barn
Dreaming of spring
A view from the Porcupine Hills
Old times remembered
Cattle drive - and a few old barns and sheds
Stubble pattern
Skull on a fence post
Logging piles in the Porcupine Hills
Upper Kananaskis Lake
Arethusa Cirque trail, Kananaskis
One of my favourite views
Kananaskis - a winter wonderland
Batteaux Bay, from Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Batteaux Bay at Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Frank's Glass-bottomed boat, Blue Waters Inn, Tob…
Rocks near Little Tobago island
Tropical beach beauty, Tobago
Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Sand and sea - Blue Waters Inn beach, Tobago
The Green Heron area, Tobago, Day 2
Cacti on Little Tobago, Day 3
They were gone, but now 'they' are back
Alberta's beautiful foothills and mountains
Beyond the fence
A hazy view with Dandelions
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
Old barn at the Ellis Bird Farm
And here comes the snow
Before the snow came
One spectacular fall day
Oak leaf and insect gall
Sharples grain elevator
Reflecting the sun at 'golden hour'
Running free
Freedom
Magic hour
Two winters ago
Simplicity
Under a stormy sky
When storms blow in
A colourful walk through the woods
An old favourite
Silos/grain terminal and old elevator, Herronton
01 The glory of fall
02 Hidden in the clouds
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
The beauty of fall
Gap Lake
A day of swans and ducks and geese
A patterned sky
Sometimes it's wildlife, sometimes it's .... cows
When fall colours are just a memory
Bark colour after the rain
Peninsular area, Lower Kananaskis Lake
Fall colours at Silver Springs Botanical Gardens
When winter comes to the mountains
Peninsular area, Lower Kananaskis Lake
An old barn with character
Distant Larch trees in their fall colour
It's beginning to look a lot like winter
Almost above the clouds
A vanishing world
When sane people do crazy things
Distant haze
The beauty of Kananaskis along Highway 40
Autumn colours at the stormwater pond
Glorious colours of fall
Periglacial feature, Plateau Mountain
Looking towards top of Plateau Mountain
The long hike down the mountain
Our beautiful foothills on an overcast day
Across the river
Bunchberry Meadows, Nature Conservancy of Canada
Bunchberry Meadows, Nature Conservancy
The arrival of fall
The long road south
McDougall Memorial United Church
Lower Kananaskis Lake at Peninsular
Peninsular, Lower Kananaskis Lake
One of my favourite meadows
Mt. Buller, Buller Pond, Kananaskis
A view from Mt. Shark
Above the tree line
Mt Lorette Ponds, Kananaskis
Mossleigh grain elevators
Fading into the distance
Storm clouds over Canola
Gottlob Schmidt's Antelope Hill Ranch
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A few craggy peaks
Yesterday, 29 November 2016, I was fortunate enough to have a third trip into the mountains to look for and photograph the wonderful White-tailed Ptarmigan. Friend, Shirley, had been out there before, but just missed seeing them. She asked if I wanted to go with her, and I jumped at the chance. I knew several other people who were planning to go, so felt a little more confident that we would probably be able to find these birds.
Find them, we did - but, oh, what we had to go through in order to see them! Unlike the other two times I had been, on 22nd and 23rd November, this time the birds were not near the main road area but, instead, were first spotted way across the valley, low down on the mountainside. A few years ago, I had done a short walk along this valley in deep, deep snow and vowed I would never be so foolish to do it again. You need snowshoes and, even then, the going is difficult. Of course, I don't have snowshoes, nor did a few of my friends.
When I heard that some people ahead of us had seen a few of the birds closer than the mountainside, I decided I would at least start 'walking' and see how far I got. The first short distance through the snow was flat, but then we had to climb upwards through knee-deep snow. I almost had to give up, but thanks to friend, Tony, who basically dragged me up some of the most difficult parts, I was able to plough my way to where the closest Ptarmigan were. A few other helping hands, too, made this climb possible.
Several of the birds were in the sunshine, either resting or taking a few short steps. These birds almost look as if they have a small light under their body, lighting up the lowest feathers and making the bird glow. So different compared to seeing and photographing them on a cloudy, gloomy day.
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. A turn of the head so that a bird is looking away from you, and 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
Eventually, it was time to head back down and along to the cars, repeating the difficult process of 'step and plunge' through the snow. It felt so good to finally reach the car!
Shirley and I had left the city and travelled south via Turner Valley, but came back to the city via Barrier Lake and Highway 1. While driving out to Highway 40 in the morning, we had stopped to watch a beautiful female Moose along the road from Turner Valley and then later, we stopped to watch a couple of Bighorn Sheep on Highway 40. Other than that, there was no sign of other wildlife.
From now onward, the north and south winter gates will be closed across Highway 40, so these birds will be left in peace for the rest of the winter, until 14 June 2017. All the wildlife in the area will be free of human presence while they have their young ones in the spring.
Thanks so much for a great day, Shirley! I'm so glad you were finally able to see a few of these beautiful Ptarmigan in their winter white. It was very unfortunate that at least one person was not able to do the difficult walk and so will have to wait till next fall to hopefully get a 'lifer'. Most people I know have/had never seen this species, so I'm feeling extremely lucky! Of course, even if one doesn't find the Ptarmigan, the scenery alone is just breathtaking.
Find them, we did - but, oh, what we had to go through in order to see them! Unlike the other two times I had been, on 22nd and 23rd November, this time the birds were not near the main road area but, instead, were first spotted way across the valley, low down on the mountainside. A few years ago, I had done a short walk along this valley in deep, deep snow and vowed I would never be so foolish to do it again. You need snowshoes and, even then, the going is difficult. Of course, I don't have snowshoes, nor did a few of my friends.
When I heard that some people ahead of us had seen a few of the birds closer than the mountainside, I decided I would at least start 'walking' and see how far I got. The first short distance through the snow was flat, but then we had to climb upwards through knee-deep snow. I almost had to give up, but thanks to friend, Tony, who basically dragged me up some of the most difficult parts, I was able to plough my way to where the closest Ptarmigan were. A few other helping hands, too, made this climb possible.
Several of the birds were in the sunshine, either resting or taking a few short steps. These birds almost look as if they have a small light under their body, lighting up the lowest feathers and making the bird glow. So different compared to seeing and photographing them on a cloudy, gloomy day.
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. A turn of the head so that a bird is looking away from you, and 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
Eventually, it was time to head back down and along to the cars, repeating the difficult process of 'step and plunge' through the snow. It felt so good to finally reach the car!
Shirley and I had left the city and travelled south via Turner Valley, but came back to the city via Barrier Lake and Highway 1. While driving out to Highway 40 in the morning, we had stopped to watch a beautiful female Moose along the road from Turner Valley and then later, we stopped to watch a couple of Bighorn Sheep on Highway 40. Other than that, there was no sign of other wildlife.
From now onward, the north and south winter gates will be closed across Highway 40, so these birds will be left in peace for the rest of the winter, until 14 June 2017. All the wildlife in the area will be free of human presence while they have their young ones in the spring.
Thanks so much for a great day, Shirley! I'm so glad you were finally able to see a few of these beautiful Ptarmigan in their winter white. It was very unfortunate that at least one person was not able to do the difficult walk and so will have to wait till next fall to hopefully get a 'lifer'. Most people I know have/had never seen this species, so I'm feeling extremely lucky! Of course, even if one doesn't find the Ptarmigan, the scenery alone is just breathtaking.
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