Three out of four ain't bad
Yesterday's highlight : )
Busy little Muskrat
Happy little muncher
Looking back with a smile
Freeze!
A rare sighting
Hungry little Muskrat
Changing colour ready for the winter
Resting in the meadow
Mule Deer buck
Time to rest awhile
Should I stay or should I go?
Elegant innocence
Resting near the Cattails
Happy Thanksgiving!
Soaking up the sun
Pronghorn
Cute as always
Creature of the forest
Licking the salt
At the end of the day
One of five White-tailed Deer
Hoping for food
Sweet little poser
Red Squirrel
Moose cow looking for salt
Northern Pygmy-owl, one year ago
Little forest muncher
Feasting on cone seeds
'Hiding' in the grass
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Least Chipmunk
Munching on cone seeds
Least Chipmunk
Pika / Ochonta princeps
Bright-eyed little cutie
Such cute little hands and feet
Mom and her new baby
One mighty beast, Bison Paddock, Waterton N P
The youngest bear cub I have ever seen
The reward for getting up early
Columbian Ground Squirrel collecting nest material
They can't see me
Hiding in the Canola field
Now they can't see me
Don't call me 'Gopher'
Unexpected closeness
The cutest little furball
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Bighorn Sheep - she's a beauty
A gathering of female Bighorn Sheep
Looking beautiful
A brief moment's rest
Mom and her spotted twins
Chipmunk with a yummy snack
A brief moment of rest
Quite a typical view
Between a rock and a hard place
Push!
Bighorn Sheep on Plateau Mountain, 2012
Light-coloured Pika
Mid-squeak!
I'm hiding - she can't see me
Grizzly Bear with last year's cub
Least Chipmunk / Tamias minimus
Very young Mule deer
Peace and late evening sun
Moose kneeling to lick salt from the road
Moose in the late evening sun
Having fun with its reflection
Coyote in a field of dandelions
Young Richardson's Ground Squirrel
Life in the cemetery
Pika, up close
Jack Rabbit turning from white to brown
Moose, with a bad case of ticks
Curious Mule Deer
Young bull Moose
Love a Pika's ears
Happy Easter!
Licking salt off its lips
Wild and cute
Enjoying seeds and sunshine
A young male Moose
Moose portrait
Mule Deer at dusk
Love those big ears and big feet
Such a cute little thing
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Going for a swim
Young Yellow-bellied Marmot
Gathering food for the winter
The sacrifice made by Meadow Voles
Columbian Ground Squirrel
Another car gets a licking
Black Bear from last spring
A moment of closeness
The face of innocence
Little nut and seed eater of the forest
Such a fun Moose
Mule Deer on the prairies
Mountain Sheep
Time for another Pika shot
Coyote relaxing in the sun
Gentle and curious
One sweet, curious female
Red Fox in a mountain location
Every creature has to eat
No equipment needed - just a tongue
Snowshoe Hare in hiding
A few of the 25 Mule Deer seen
Time to rest
Free car wash, anyone?
A solitary Moose cow
Nibble ... nibble ... nibble
Just in time
Male Moose are judged by the size of their antler…
Moose in a winter wonderland
Stocking up on food for the winter
The Bison Paddock, Waterton Lakes National Park, A…
Pika storing food for the winter in its cave
White-tailed doe in late fall
Talk about a lucky shot
Young North American Beaver
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Mule Deer, Mom and baby
On the first day of three spent in Waterton Lakes National Park, my friends and I came across this beautiful sight along one of the roads in the small town of Waterton. This tiny baby Mule Deer could barely stand and kept falling down. It was trying to nurse - amazingly, its mother eventually lay down to make nursing easier for her new little one.
"With its merging landforms, connected ecoregions and its mild, moist, windy climate, Waterton Lakes National Park is an amazing meeting place for an abundant and diverse collection of vegetation.
Despite it's small size (505 sq km) Waterton is graced with over 1000 species of vascular plants . Over half of Alberta's plant species are found in this tiny place. The park's four ecoregions - foothills parkland, montane, subalpine and alpine - embrace forty-five vegetation communities. Sixteen of these are considered significant because they are rare or fragile and threatened.
Waterton also has an unusually high number of rare plants - over 175 are provincially rare (e.g. mountain lady's-slipper, pygmy poppy, mountain hollyhock), and over twenty of these are found only in the Waterton area (e.g. western wakerobin, Lewis' mock-orange, white-veined wintergreen). Over 50 species are rare in Canada (e.g. Bolander's quillwort, Lyall's scorpionweed, Brewer's monkeyflower.)" From Parks Canada website.
www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/waterton/natcul/natcul1/f.aspx
I was so lucky to be invited to join friends Sandy and Heide on a three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, from 19-21 (inclusive) June 2015. We met up with other members of the Alberta Native Plant Council for their annual Botany Alberta weekend. Most people who attended stayed at the Crooked Creek Campground, a 5.6 km drive east of the Waterton Park Gate on Highway 5, but my friends and I stayed at the Crandell Mountain Lodge on the edge of Waterton town. The ANPC people had a list of particular rare species that they hoped to find, and they were very successful.
Our stay down south overlapped the annual Waterton Wildflower Festival, but we came across very few people on our various drives and hikes. Needless to say, I was extremely fortunate to spend three days with people who are very knowledgeable about plants and many other things. This meant that I got to see many wildflower species, including several that were new to me, such as the gorgeous Mariposa Lily. It was one of the flowers that was on my mental Wish List - and there were hundreds of them to be seen! I had also never seen the white Mountain Lady's Slipper or the spectacular Bear Grass and I was so thrilled that there were still several of the latter plants in bloom. Absolutely made my day!
Our two main hikes of the weekend were the Bertha Lake Trail as far as the Bertha Falls (on 20 June), and the Crandell Lake Trail (on 21 June). Makes me smile when a described "short, easy hike" in a book or on the Internet turns into a full day of exploration along the trail, taking hours to reach the destination, though returning to the cars in a much shorter time.
The wind made photographing some of the plants a real challenge, including the beautiful Mariposa Lilies in the meadow along the Hay Barn road. Though I took plenty of photos, I wasn't sure that I would end up with any that were sharp enough. Trying to catch a quick shot when a flower is blowing in and out of the viewfinder is not easy! Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to get down and take macro shots (my lens needs to be about 4" away from the subject), so my photos have to be telemacro.
Thank you so much, Sandy and Heide, for a great three-day trip in such spectacular scenery, surrounded by amazing nature. The wildflowers were top priority, but I was so happy to see insects, scenery and even a bit of wildlife that included a very distant female Grizzly with a cub from last year and two Black Bears, one of which was along the Crandell Lake trail at the same time we were there.
Thanks, too, Sandy, for doing all the driving - so much appreciated by Heide and myself! Also have to thank you both for being so thoughtful as far as my limitations go (lol, I can move much better than I was expecting today!) and for your patience in allowing me to take lots of photos! Heide, you'll be glad to know that I have a bottle of water sitting by my computer - thanks for all the reminders to keep hydrated while hiking. Two other people to mention - Arnold, it was so good to see you at the meeting place. Been a long time since our paths crossed. Jerry (from Calgary), good to bump into you in Waterton, and thanks so much for telling us about various sightings and even taking us to several of the locations, despite the fact that you had just returned from a major mountain hike that day. Loved seeing the distant (nesting) Loon lying in the grass at the edge of one of the wetlands.
Great trip, great company! How lucky I am.
"With its merging landforms, connected ecoregions and its mild, moist, windy climate, Waterton Lakes National Park is an amazing meeting place for an abundant and diverse collection of vegetation.
Despite it's small size (505 sq km) Waterton is graced with over 1000 species of vascular plants . Over half of Alberta's plant species are found in this tiny place. The park's four ecoregions - foothills parkland, montane, subalpine and alpine - embrace forty-five vegetation communities. Sixteen of these are considered significant because they are rare or fragile and threatened.
Waterton also has an unusually high number of rare plants - over 175 are provincially rare (e.g. mountain lady's-slipper, pygmy poppy, mountain hollyhock), and over twenty of these are found only in the Waterton area (e.g. western wakerobin, Lewis' mock-orange, white-veined wintergreen). Over 50 species are rare in Canada (e.g. Bolander's quillwort, Lyall's scorpionweed, Brewer's monkeyflower.)" From Parks Canada website.
www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/waterton/natcul/natcul1/f.aspx
I was so lucky to be invited to join friends Sandy and Heide on a three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, from 19-21 (inclusive) June 2015. We met up with other members of the Alberta Native Plant Council for their annual Botany Alberta weekend. Most people who attended stayed at the Crooked Creek Campground, a 5.6 km drive east of the Waterton Park Gate on Highway 5, but my friends and I stayed at the Crandell Mountain Lodge on the edge of Waterton town. The ANPC people had a list of particular rare species that they hoped to find, and they were very successful.
Our stay down south overlapped the annual Waterton Wildflower Festival, but we came across very few people on our various drives and hikes. Needless to say, I was extremely fortunate to spend three days with people who are very knowledgeable about plants and many other things. This meant that I got to see many wildflower species, including several that were new to me, such as the gorgeous Mariposa Lily. It was one of the flowers that was on my mental Wish List - and there were hundreds of them to be seen! I had also never seen the white Mountain Lady's Slipper or the spectacular Bear Grass and I was so thrilled that there were still several of the latter plants in bloom. Absolutely made my day!
Our two main hikes of the weekend were the Bertha Lake Trail as far as the Bertha Falls (on 20 June), and the Crandell Lake Trail (on 21 June). Makes me smile when a described "short, easy hike" in a book or on the Internet turns into a full day of exploration along the trail, taking hours to reach the destination, though returning to the cars in a much shorter time.
The wind made photographing some of the plants a real challenge, including the beautiful Mariposa Lilies in the meadow along the Hay Barn road. Though I took plenty of photos, I wasn't sure that I would end up with any that were sharp enough. Trying to catch a quick shot when a flower is blowing in and out of the viewfinder is not easy! Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to get down and take macro shots (my lens needs to be about 4" away from the subject), so my photos have to be telemacro.
Thank you so much, Sandy and Heide, for a great three-day trip in such spectacular scenery, surrounded by amazing nature. The wildflowers were top priority, but I was so happy to see insects, scenery and even a bit of wildlife that included a very distant female Grizzly with a cub from last year and two Black Bears, one of which was along the Crandell Lake trail at the same time we were there.
Thanks, too, Sandy, for doing all the driving - so much appreciated by Heide and myself! Also have to thank you both for being so thoughtful as far as my limitations go (lol, I can move much better than I was expecting today!) and for your patience in allowing me to take lots of photos! Heide, you'll be glad to know that I have a bottle of water sitting by my computer - thanks for all the reminders to keep hydrated while hiking. Two other people to mention - Arnold, it was so good to see you at the meeting place. Been a long time since our paths crossed. Jerry (from Calgary), good to bump into you in Waterton, and thanks so much for telling us about various sightings and even taking us to several of the locations, despite the fact that you had just returned from a major mountain hike that day. Loved seeing the distant (nesting) Loon lying in the grass at the edge of one of the wetlands.
Great trip, great company! How lucky I am.
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