A White-tailed doe and her little fawn
I found this beautiful doe and her fawn in Kananaskis Country – they were kind enough to stay for a minute and let me take a family portrait in the forest.
Grizzlies spring foraging in Kananaskis
The first grizzly bear I saw this year was along the Kananaskis River in May. I was watching ground squirrels playing around the field in the Opal picnic area. Then they started standing up alert and chirping to one another.
Looking towards the river, I couldn’t see anything. Then from out of the forest first one, then a second bear arrived.
They hadn’t noticed me, or maybe more likely, they had but did not have any interest in me. Happily, they padded across the parking lot behind my car and continued on to cross Highway 40.
Their interest was in foraging on the hillside and I watched them for a few minutes until they slipped back into the woods.
A spring in the step
White-tailed deer are a bit flighty so when I came across this doe munching on some flowers (another dandelion hunter as it turns out), it was no surprise that the tail came up and she took a few quick steps away. She quickly returned to grazing so I wasn’t too much of a threat – or the flowers were too good to walk away from.
Dandelion hunting in Banff National Park
In Banff National Park’s Bow Valley, the dandelions are among the first flowers to come into bloom in large patches. This draws the bears as it has to taste delicious compared to the other vegetarian items on their spring menu. I spied this young grizzly bear mowing through one of these patches that was along the train tracks. I always worry about the trains rolling through the park as they continue to have wildlife impacts. But during the short time I watched this bear grazing, no trains came by and no other distractions interrupted this bear’s snack.
Eventually she strode up the little hill, along the rails for a minute, gave me a quick look and then continued down the other side and into the woods.
Canada geese skirmishing on Frank Lake
The tall grass near the bird blind on Frank Lake is nesting ground for Canada geese, ibis, yellow-headed blackbirds, herons and more. At dusk the cacophony rising up from these residents can be surprisingly loud. There are birds chasing one another, others returning with material for their nest, food for their chicks as well as occasional territorial spats. It’s an incredible spot to set up near the trails and watch life on a marsh. On a visit there in early May the weather was warm and the sunlight before dusk was incredible.
Throughout the evening, the Canada geese were active with a couple being particularly feisty. That presented some new image opportunities that I had not yet photographed which is always exciting for me.
When the sun set, the activity level along the shoreline rose noticeably. All manner of birds flew overhead and low along the water. Some of the geese moved their skirmishing to the small pond directly in front of me. I didn’t move around and they seemed oblivious, or at least undistracted, by me – which was perfect. I stayed until it was dark and loved every minute.
Around the edge with a red-winged blackbird
I took advantage of a Red-winged blackbird’s interest in me and photographed it among the reeds on the edge of the third of the Vermilion Lakes. There were several blackbirds calling one another and flying between perches. They would flit between the little islands of long grass on the lake, the trees hanging over the water and the bushes that filled in the shoreline.
This one came closer and stayed longer than the others which gave me a few good moments to photograph.
A fox trotting through the Bow Valley
In April, I crossed paths with a red fox near the Johnston Canyon campground. She was running at a steady clip along the Bow Valley Parkway towards me. I photographed her on the road and as she turned down towards the overflow parking lot and along the not then melted snow piles.
The fox stayed focus on wherever she was heading and only broke her pace while she crossed the snow. There seemed to have been a few things that drew her attention momentarily. It was less than ten minutes from when I saw her until she disappeared down a trail towards the river and possibly a bridge to cross it.
A bobcat in the grass
Earlier this year when there was still snow on the ground, my son and I caught sight of a bobcat. It darted out from stand of trees, crossed a small field and then disappeared into the forest. A week ago, my daughter and I saw another bobcat in almost the same location. Maybe the same one but there was no way for me to tell. This one appeared to be a young adult. And this time it was hunched down in a small grassy mound.
We watched for a couple of minutes and made sure we left the side closest to the trees unobstructed so the cat could slip away at any point. At one moment when Kezia and I walked to a different spot, it did just that seeming to evaporate, leaving no indication of ever having been there. It was wonderful to share this encounter with my daughter. And it had been a couple of years since I had last photographed a bobcat so that was fun too.
Bald eagle rising
Near Priddis, on my way to photograph at Frank Lake, I found a bald eagle perched in this interesting tree. I waited for a few minutes before the bird took flight. For me this image is a subtle allegory for choosing to fly above chaos – I like that!
A short study of an old friend
I’m not sure if it’s the attractive color scheme, the way they move through water or something more ethereal that draws me to the avocet. This is a bird that I am endlessly curious about and it steals time from other shorebirds whenever I cross ones path. Last weekend at Frank Lake was no different.
Spring at this wetland just east of High River has a myriad of summer residents settling in and migrating travelers on their way north. This visit along the shoreline counted ibis, night herons, cormorants, killdeer and more fly by as the evening shadows slowly grew. I photographed many of them but none as often as the avocets.
Most of these were paired up and the couples swam together or high stepped in the shallows near one another while they fished. I saw two sets skirmish over territory briefly. However most just ambled along undisturbed – company to one another and disinterested in much else.
Chasing away the competition
The American avocets were mostly paired up along the stretch of shoreline along Frank Lake when I went there last night. Here one avocet chased off another couple while the mate. Apparently defending territory they had claimed at some point.
A bald eagle in flight with its prey
A few weeks ago, there were several bald eagles hunting for prairie dogs in the fields west of the Springbank Airport. I’m not sure if these rodents were just coming out of their holes, the eagles were migrating through or something else was behind this congregation. No matter why, the eagles were making hunting runs on the far side of one field at one point in the afternoon. One of these saw one eagle fly back towards where I was standing. That provided a great opportunity for a few in flight shots.
This eagle flew past me and far beyond before landing so I did not take any photographs of the meal. If you are interested, I have posted here previously of another eagle from the same day that I found eating from a perch in a tree. I realize that may be unappealing – but some people are interested. Either way, here are a couple more of this eagle as it passed overhead.
