Curious Moose

Wow, it's just before noon and only 10 new photos showing from my Contacts.

This morning, 1 December 2016, the temperature is -2C and it's snowing heavily. Early yesterday evening, I went food shopping, as snow was forecast for today, and it was snowing lightly then, too. That was the first time I had driven my 'new' car in snow - the other times, I had simply stayed home and waited for the snow to melt : ) Unfortunately, I have an appointment to get to in a short while.

Two days ago, on 29 November 2016, I was fortunate enough to have a third trip into the mountains to look for and photograph 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.

We 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 stopped to watch this beautiful female Moose along the road from Turner Valley. She was quite a distance from the road, and turned to look at us, even taking a couple of steps towards us. After a short while, she decided that we just weren't all that interesting or a threat, and continued into the trees. Later, we stopped to watch a couple of Bighorn Sheep on Highway 40. Other than that, there was no sign of other wildlife other than many tracks left in the snow.

“The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with adendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female.

The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight. Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life. In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter. A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.” From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose

When we finally reached our destination, we were thrilled to hear from several other people that Ptarmigan were being seen. So, 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 a couple 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 looked as if they had 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.

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!

From today (1 December) 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 or 15 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 when white, so I'm feeling extremely lucky! Of course, even if one doesn't find the Ptarmigan, the scenery alone is just breathtaking.