Kananaskis - a winter wonderland
Rose-breasted Grosbeak male / Pheucticus ludovicia…
Evening Grosbeak male
Common Raven in the sun
One of a pair
A patch of blue
A white world
Dazzling sunlight on distant peaks
When the land turns white
Trudging through the snow
Happy New Year, everyone!
Winter beauty
Clark's Nutcracker / Nucifraga columbiana
Kananaskis, through the windshield
Cedar Waxwing / Bombycilla cedrorum
Before the snow
A lone Larch in fall colour
The sparkle of winter
Plateau Mountain, Kananaskis
Time for an afternoon nap
Two winters ago
Osprey on the hunt
A colourful walk through the woods
Chipping Sparrow / Spizella passerina
Fall colours at Silver Springs Botanical Gardens
Peninsular area, Lower Kananaskis Lake
Distant Larch trees in their fall colour
Larch in fall colour
Glorious colours of fall
Looking towards top of Plateau Mountain
Bunchberry Meadows, Nature Conservancy of Canada
Bunchberry Meadows, Nature Conservancy
Peninsular, Lower Kananaskis Lake
A gathering of female Bighorn Sheep
Mt. Buller, Buller Pond, Kananaskis
A view from Mt. Shark
Above the tree line
Wind-blown Osprey
Osprey take-off
Juvenile Swainson's Hawk
Yesterday's summer hail
White-crowned Sparrow / Zonotrichia leucophrys
Dandelions - of course : )
One of a pair
A day in the mountains
Well camouflaged, except for those eyes
Yesterday's treat - a Great Gray Owl
Clark's Nutcracker
Avenue of trees at Baker Park
Little cabin in the woods
White-winged Crossbill / Loxia leucoptera
November in Weaselhead
White-winged Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill
Changing from green to white
White-winged Crossbill / Loxia leucoptera
Fence line in the fall
Foothills and distant mountains
Red Rock (Canyon) Parkway, Waterton Lakes National…
Three days in Waterton Lakes National Park
Puffed up for warmth
Signs of spring
Adventurous little owlet
Driving in a winter wonderland
Mountain splendour
Sunshine on a mighty peak
Gently falling snow
A good stretch of the legs and wing
From shadow to light
Sunlit peaks
Sunbathed mountain slopes
A place of peace and beauty
Happy New Year, everyone!
Light and darkness
Way, way up
Hybrid Yellow-rumped Warbler
Taken on a lovely spring day, ha
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Winter in Kananaskis
Just posting two photos again today, 13 January 2017, both grabbed from my archives. I finally got out to run a few important errands yesterday, after being home for 7 or 8 days. Our deep-freeze is finally breaking and tomorrow is forecast to get up to -1C!
What a day I had with friends on 7 December 2014, in an absolute winter wonderland! We set off about 7:45 a.m. (still dark) and drove westwards to the Kananaskis area of our majestic mountains. Early in the drive, the sunrise turned the still distant mountains pink - this is always such an amazing sight to see. There was very low cloud lingering in some places, too, which I always love to see. I think this was one of the many photos I took through the windshield, that actually came out OK. Not sure if the colour was affected - could be - but the light was absolutely amazing.
Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that was still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter months) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day!
My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose, and on this day they did really well, finding a beautiful female and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! The closest we saw them both was when they walked by the car. You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All the female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance :) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free car wash, anyone?? I should add that caution must always be kept in mind and respect given to an animal - any wildlife can be unpredictable.
Most of the time, the female was in the shade, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun.
We saw the female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around either.
I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. Of course, just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me.
“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
What a day I had with friends on 7 December 2014, in an absolute winter wonderland! We set off about 7:45 a.m. (still dark) and drove westwards to the Kananaskis area of our majestic mountains. Early in the drive, the sunrise turned the still distant mountains pink - this is always such an amazing sight to see. There was very low cloud lingering in some places, too, which I always love to see. I think this was one of the many photos I took through the windshield, that actually came out OK. Not sure if the colour was affected - could be - but the light was absolutely amazing.
Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that was still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter months) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day!
My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose, and on this day they did really well, finding a beautiful female and, at another location, a youngish male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the sides of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! The closest we saw them both was when they walked by the car. You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All the female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance :) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free car wash, anyone?? I should add that caution must always be kept in mind and respect given to an animal - any wildlife can be unpredictable.
Most of the time, the female was in the shade, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun.
We saw the female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow at the edge of some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around either.
I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. Of course, just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me.
“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
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