It's always special seeing wildlife, even more when seeing something that is not spotted regularly. This young wolf was taking it easy whenI came across it.
Until next moment,
Amar
Red Squirrel
I was out there taking pictures of birds when I came across this red squirrel. It seemed to lean in as it looked toward me, I just had to grab a picture of it.
Until next moment,
Amar
Northern Lights
Few nights ago we had an amazing Northern Lights show in the park. The lights were visible as soon it was dark and continued most of the night. I spent time on both side of the Bow Valley taking pictures, at times the lights were visible any direction I looked. I only left for home when the show winded down, what a night.
Until next moment,
Amar
Grizzly Bear
This female grizzly F148 was first spotted few weeks back after her deep sleep. She is making her rounds, the search for foods keeps her moving and early warm weather will help with that when it comes to vegetation. Elk caving season is around the corner, if she learned well there will be fresh meat for her on the table. The hope is as she gets older her behaviour well be similar to her mother, she will need that to survive in a busy valley and help add to the grizzly bear population. For now she is looking after herself and getting time to be playful, saw both of those sides during her appearance.
Until next moment,
Amar
Black Bear Cubs
Two very good reasons to slow down on the road. Two three month old black bear cubs are exploring Banff for the very first time, guided by their mom.
Until next moment,
Amar
Green-winged Teals
I was sitting beside the water and watching the Green-winged Teals, Mallards, Buffleheads and two Gadwalls. The teals took to the air, circling back and fourth over the water, first from a sitting position and then from a standing position I took their pictures. After about two minutes they landed back on the water and continued where they had left off. I sat back down and continued watching them.
Until next moment,
Amar
Black Bear
The forgotten bear, grizzlies seemed to get all of the attention, let's change that. Banff National Park has about sixty grizzlies and sixty black bear, this adult black bear was taking advantage of the fresh green grass shoots.
Until next moment,
Amar
Bald eagle
This juvenile Bald Eagle was perched on top of the tree warching the Ravens finish off small bits of meat left on a carcass. There were close to twenty Ravens cleaning up the carcass, it did not take long for them to do their part. The eagle came into the area and watched for few minutes and then decided to move on. The Ravens soon left the area as well, replaced by few Black-billed Magpies.
Until next moment,
Amar
Wolf
I came across this wolf few weeks back, it was sitting near the road and as I got closer in my car it got up and started crossing the road. But before it crossed the road it stopped in the middle of the road and did a stretch. Then finished crossing the road and got on a animal trail and walked away.
Until next moment,
Amar
North American Beaver
The North American Beaver are active at night, but can be spotted at other times of the day. I tend to spot them in morning or in the evening, in this case the beaver had spotted me one morning. It made a loud splash with its tail, I turned around and saw the beaver across the river. It made few more splashes and swam toward me. There was nothing on my side of the river that the beaver would want, and no sighs it was eating or coming out of the river where I was standing. Once the beaver stopped splashing, the morning sunlight that was hitting the trees across me, reflected beautifully in the water, it looked as if the beaver was swimming through a rainbow.
Until nest moment,
Amar
Mount Rundle
It was a great morning to take pictures of the sunrise lighting up Mount Rundle. The water fowls were far enough to keep the ripples away, creating a nice reflection on the lake. The incoming clouds kept creating different moods, I must have spent just under an hour taking pictures from different part of the lake.
Until next moment,
Amar
Elk
The ravens were finishing off any meat that was still left on this nine month old elk calf skull. The day before the elk was preyed on by a wolf pack, who over the night consumed their meal. Life and death are everyday part of nature.
Until next moment,
Amar
Grizzly
Grizzlies can run close to 50 km per hour, I got to see a sample of that speed on the day I took this picture of the large male grizzly M122. He was getting close to two other bears, when all of sudden he sprinted away, perpendicular to the other grizzlies. Covering about 90 meters in mere seconds, this 300 kg plus boar running through shrubs, mud, and snow and over fallen trees. I'm not sure whey he ran, perhaps he saw a prey he thought he might be able to catch, within couple of minutes he was back where he started. It's one thing to read about the strength of an animal, it's a totally different experience to see that in real life in a national park.
Until nest moment,
Amar
Wolf
Got a picture of this wolf while it was busy trying to reunite with rest of the pack. Since he had no smartphone, he had to use his howling and his great smell to join up with rest of the pack.
Until next moment,
Amar
Bald Eagle
It's very rare to get a close picture of a Bald Eagle in the park, in this case it had grabbed a small road kill from the ravens and magpies and then perched on a nearby tree to consume it. For about five minutes I was able to take pictures of it while it ate with the ravens and magpies watching.
Until next moment,
Amar
Lake Louise
I like to add my black and white image of Lake Louise to the thousands that came before it. Spring has spread through out the mountains, I though I better get this winter image out before its was too late. I got there later part of a morning, people were skating, cross country skiing, ice climbing, hiking, snowman building, and most of all taking pictures. As soon as I arrived to the shores of the lake, I could see the picture I wanted and it was going to be in black and white. Yes, those are people in the picture, a rarity in my images. I tried to get them out of the picture, but as soon as I got one out, another would walk in. In the end I decided to leave them in, after all some of my friends are people.
Until next moment,
Amar
Grizzly
First bear was spotted over a month ago in Banff NP, more since have be spotted. Into May all should be up and moving through the landscape. Most of the time when we spot a bear, they are obscured by something, here's large grizzly travelling on the other side of stand of trees.
Until next moment,
Amar
Elk
The elk started shading their antlers later part of March, rest should shed them this month. Then the process will start for the males growing new once, by August they will be fully grown. This bull had lost his right antler when I came across him, soon afterward the other fell. It's a bit awkward for the elk when one falls, but once the other falls their behaviour soon becomes normal. There is little blood involved, but the process causes the elk no discomfort.
Until next moment,
Amar
Mount Rundle and the Star Trails
When taking pictures to show the star trails, it's not the stars moving in the sky being recorded, it's the Earth's rotation relative to the stars being captured. The location where I was standing on the surface of our planet was moving 1675 km/h, since I was moving at the same speed, I did not notice the movement. To get this image of the star trails, I took 22 thirty second images, with a one second break between each image. That works our to 11 minutes and 20 seconds, in that time Earth rotated about 316 Kilometers. Thanks to the gravitational forces at work, no gas money needed..
Until next moment,
Amar
Mount Rundle
Took this picture last week while the moon was rinsing and the sun was setting behind me. The light and the colours were great, grabbed my phone and quickly took few images before the light changed.
Until next moment,
Amar
