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.
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An eagle in the trees
A couple of weeks ago, a raven’s cawing drew my attention to a small line of trees near the Springbank airport. The raven’s dark shape was fluttering something and when I got a little closer I could see this bald eagle. It was lunchtime and the eagle was not interested in sharing. The raven soon took off and left the eagle to finish the prairie dog just caught in the surrounding fields. The eagle gave a few hard stares to the occasional magpie that came by but for the most part lunch went uninterrupted.
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Fine dining in the woods
This summer’s weather – rain and sunshine in a daily tug-of-war – has been a perfect gardener for the wild Buffalo berries. These have ripened over the past week or two and are drawing in the bears throughout Kananaskis. This Black bear made it easy for me to find him when he sauntered across the road a couple of hundred metres in front of me. I pulled up to find him standing up in the middle of a patch feasting on the berries.
They are a great source of calories for the bears so it is wonderful to see so much fruit this year. Some years are not nearly as abundant and it seemed like that was not lost on this beautiful bear. He appeared to be relishing almost every bite. The berries stretched back into the forest and he slowly made his way further back as he ate. I lost sight of him shortly after these pictures but could see branches bend and hear the odd one crack for several more minutes before he vanished back into the wilderness as they often do.
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A Chipmunk’s feast
Driving through the Kootenays last week we stopped for a break at a park east of Christina Lake. I found a couple of Chipmunk’s eating berries in the boughs of a small tree.
This fellow was not shy and scurried around a few metres from me from bunch to bunch.
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Columbian Ground Squirrels at Sunshine Meadows
During the short, warm months in the alpine elevations, the Columbia Ground Squirrels are a flurry of activity digging, eating, chirping and raising little ones. Bobbi and I headed up to Sunshine Meadows to hike around and enjoy the wildflowers that are in bloom right now. Along the trails these squirrels were busy with their daily activities and we both had a lot of fun watching these creatures.
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Christopher Martin Photography 