He has been sleeping for numbers of weeks now, here is the second last picture of this beautiful big grizzly walking during a snowfall. He seems to be in deep thought covered with fresh snow. He is so well insulated with his fur, very little heat escapes his body to have any effect on melting the snow falling on him.
Until next moment,
Amar
Always good to see wild wolves, even more so in their winter coat, here two gray wolf pups siblings moving through deep snow. For the amount of times I'm out in the mountains, I get to see the wolves more then the normal person. Most sightings are brief and only some are longer then few minutes. Each is special.
Until next moment,
Amar
This young coyote followed me for a short distance before setting his own path. Got to higher ground and then started looking into the distance as the snow started to fall. He seemed to be exploring the area, looking for food perhaps. As the snow got heavier, he curled up short distance for me and then went to sleep.
Until next moment,
Amar
Its always good to get back to landscape photography, that's where it all started for me many years ago. Around the town of Banff there are two mountains that get most of the attention for landscape photography, Mount Rundle and Cascade. I have hundreds of pictures of Rundle but only in the tens for Cascade. In my effort to change that balance, I have been looking at different ways I can take pictures of Cascade. Cascade Mountain always looks better in winter, this one is during a sunrise
Until next moment,
Amar
A pup navigates its way through snow, fallen trees and other type of vegatation. For us it would be energy consuming endeavour, but for this pup its just a another day in the park.
Until next moment,
Amar
Another Christmas Bird Count has come to an end in the Bow Valley. We started out with a cool morning, but layers of cloths and variety of chocolates fixed that. Two-third of the birds we saw were the White-winged Crossbills, no surprise there with the abundance of spruce cones throughout the valley. The crossbills have been all over the seeds the cones supply, this summer, fall and now the winter. It's hard to be out there and not hear the crossbills top of the trees. It was good day for us on our route, spotting thirteen species middle of the winter in the Canadian Rockies. I was not able to get any good pictures of the crossbills, but did of Pine Grosbeak.
Until next moment,
Amar
This young moose was busy enjoying tops of willow shrubs on a cold frosty morning. The setting was ideal, fresh snow had covered everything around the moose, proving a nice contrast.
Until next moment,
Amar
It's always special to see a grizzly in snow, most of the sighting are over the spring and summer, when its rare to see snow. It was even more special to see this big guy, "The Boss", pushing his way through the snow in November. I would have been happy just with this sighting, but I got to see him again, this time in a small snow storm. That's a story and picture for an another time.
Until next moment,
Amar
I was trying to rush to get my pictures of the star trails, knowing the moon would soon be coming over the Fairholme Range. Once the moon made its appearance, I liked the way the landscape looked and the way the snow spread the light, so I continued taking more images until the moon was too high and reflecting too much light.
Until next moment,
Amar
It's that time of the year again when folks across North America participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count. Volunteers getting out counting the various species of birds they come across and the total number of birds they see. All that important information gives us a sense how the birds are doing compared to the previous years. If you want to participate, check in with your local organization, here in the Bow Valley it's the Bow Valley Naturalists and the date of the count is December 19. In the mountains you just need some warm cloths, few snacks and a binocular is helpful, in my case a camera. In the end of the day, no matter what is your birding experience is, you will come back with little more knowledge about out feathered friends.
Until next moment,
Amar
Playing is a very important part of wolves life, particularly when they are pups. There will still be time to play as they get older, but not as much and only between the responsibilities they will hold. Here two pups are playing while the third one looks away before joining in.
Until next moment,
Amar
When I took this picture last week, it looked like winter wonderland in the mountains. Then the warm weather arrived and changed that. but a another snow storm is on its way.
until next moment,
Amar
This large alpha male who is around four year of age started setting roots in the Bow Valley last winter with its mate the alpha female. The previous alphas were past their prime, not sure if they passed away or the new owners had a role to play. As well there have been no signs of the two year old female and the three pups from the previous pack. The new alphas had litter of three this year and have all been very busy exploring their new home. They new pack has adapted to the new surroundings and are finding plenty to eat and so far are dealing quite well with the many human obstacles that are part of the Bow Valley.
Until next moment,
Amar
Starting to take advantages of shorter days to get out and take pictures of nightscapes. Here is one of Mount Rundle under star trails.
Until next moment,
Amar
It was a cold morning and I was waiting for the moon to just get into the position when it was just starting to go back of the Sawback Range. As I waited I was deciding how to compose the images, what to include and what not to. Then took I took the picture when the moon was in the position.
Until next moment,
Amar
I was returning from the back of the meadow when I noticed five bull elk busy locating food through the snow storm that was not coming to an end anytime soon. Elk that are away from any residential area are more wary of people, thus requiring extra caution trying to get close enough for a good picture. And its important to get closer when taking pictures through falling snow, otherwise it's a picture of falling snow with blurry outline of something . While the other three bulls were spread out, these two were next to each other, eating and taking breaks to look toward me. It was this picture I liked the most, both holding the same body position while looking toward me before returning to moving the snow out of their way to get at the grass.
Until next moment
Amar
A coyote in the tall grass was looking for a vole to eat. It was carefully taking each step toward where it was hearing the sound of a vole moving under the grass. I quietly waited, hoping to catch it jumping into the air to pounce on the unsuspected vole. In the end it never took place that morning.
Until next moment,
Amar
Birds often get overlooked when it comes to wildlife, they can be found all comers of the world. It's remarkable how adaptable they are, all together there are some ten thousand species of birds in the world and we have our share in the mountains. The Pileated Woodpecker represented here can be found year around in Banff National Park, from the warmest days to the coldest nights. They are the largest woodpecker in North America, size of a crow and if you come across a large rough rectangular hole bottom of tree, it's a sign Pileated Woodpecker has been there looking for its favourite food, carpenter ants.
Until next moment,
Amar
One of the bird species that moves into the area around this time, is the Common Redpoll. I came across about forty of them and spent an hour trying to get their pictures. The hard part was trying to get close enough to get a good picture without scaring them away. After some time I was able to achieve my goal, time well spent.
Until next moment,
Amar
Winter is here but there is still enough open water for the some of the Bald Eagles that are still in the mountains. Even when the lakes are frozen over, there is open river water, and when most of that freezes over, they can then head for warmer area. Until then this one is keeping company in Bow Valley.
Until next moment,
Amar
