Coyote

Coyotes are one of the success stories, and that’s without our help in urban centers. With little to no wolves, less snow and more and more green spaces, urban centers are a perfect habitat for the coyote population to flourish. In the wild, coyotes have to watch their backs if wolves are in the area. Wolves will not hesitate to kill a coyote. Wolves are not fond of any competition from other members of the canine family. During the winter, coyotes can benefit from scavenging on wolf-killed carcasses. But they have to be careful the pack is not around. Otherwise, the coyote will have a painful ending.

In Banff, the coyote is the predator I tend to see most often, in and out of town. No matter the season. One early morning as I was heading for work. When along the path I was walking on, I came across various body parts on the grass back of a building. Coyotes during the night had brought down a mule deer. They don’t seem to have the same fear of us and where we reside as other predators. But they do have a limit, they had fled before I or someone before me had reached the area in the dark.

The one in the picture popped out in front of me on a trail I was walking on. It saw me and realised it had to move off the trail. With me behind and other walkers making their way from the other side, there was no other option. It quickly made the decision, crossed the frozen creek beside the trail and watched me for a few seconds before heading into the woodland.

Grizzly

I would say I'm part of the one percent when it comes to experiencing nature in the Canadian Rockies, even if it is mostly in Banff and occasionally venturing into Kootenay, Yoho, and Jasper national parks. When I think about all the flora and fauna, sunrises and sunsets, and other things I've seen first hand over the years, I wouldn't trade my spot with anyone. And I have many years to go. There's a reason why getting my sleep, eating right, and being active are my top three priorities to stay healthy for everything in life. Getting out with my camera for many more years is high on the list.

A couple of years ago, in the middle of the winter, I filled up the car's tank with gas before enjoying the drive back to the mountains from Calgary. A gas attendant asked after finding out I lived in Banff NP. "What do you do in Banff? "Don't you get bored?" I replied, "I enjoy nature, and there is no time to get bored."

November was when I got this picture of M122. He had gone into the woods. I waited in my car, as I knew he was going to be out in the open soon. My heart began to race as I became excited, anticipating seeing him in the open. I was not scared, I knew I was safe in the car. It's nature, it still has this powerful effect on me. A sight of wood lilies on the edge of a forest, a Yellow Warbler calling from a willow shrub, a beautiful morning sunrise, Northern Lights over Mount Rundle, perfect grizzly tracks on wind-blown snow, or the grizzly who made those tracks a week later.

Life is short. Spend as much time as you can doing things that get your heart beating faster. Don't wait until you have more time. Make time. The only difference will be for me when I have more time. My pictures will get better.

Moon

With photography, I am self-taught and only when I share some of my images, others see my work. I still need to find a way to get better at my passion. As always, new technology can only take you so far. Being critical of my work is very important for my images to keep improving. Almost all my time related to photography is spent taking pictures and then working on images that I don’t delete. At the very least, I can say. I do not make a conscious effort to copy other photographer’s images. When I do have time, I’m more likely to study and look at painting than photography. Also, luckily my mind is weird enough, as those who know me can verify. I have my unique perspective on the world around me.  Playing a big role in all the final images.

Sometimes I know right away I got a good image, but the true test is when I look at it on the monitor. If I’m not sure, I’ll let it stay on the drive for a few days and then get back to it. In the end, if the image I have taken is not something I want to show others, it will be deleted. Unless I get that rare slightly out of focus image of a unicorn, that image will be saved until I get a sharper one.

The day before I got this image, I must have walked for half an hour waiting to be in the right position to get the picture of the moon coming over the Sawback Range. I got several looks of the moon and the peaks. I went home and uploaded the images. I ended up deleting them all. I thought I could do better. The next day the moon would be rising a little later over the same mountain range, but this time I wanted to be on the other side of the valley and have the moon right above Mount Ishbel. A peak that had a triangle shape on top. The possible image in my head was more balanced.

Twenty-four hours later, I was ready to try again. Just as the moon started to come over the range, in less than five minutes I was in the position to get the picture I wanted. There was no question it was going to be black and white, giving it a better contrast between the snow and rocks and helping to bring out the clouds. As always, never being fully satisfied. I already have ideas on how I can make the image even better in the future. Just need mother nature’s cooperation.

Red Fox

For red foxes, having great hearing is important. It’s the main way they are able to detect various prey, like rodents. During the winter, when the prey is under the snowpack. The fox will stalk their prey with their hearing, following the unsuspected prey before pouncing on them. They are able to hear low-frequency sounds made by rodents underground, such as rustling, squeaking, scratching and chattering. Other animals are not able to hear some of these sounds, but thanks to a chamber in their eardrums of the fox, that echoes the tiniest of sounds. Foxes can hear them from over 100 feet away. Underground or hidden noises from 20 to 25 feet away. It’s the same distance for me when someone is unwrapping a chocolate bar.

Bohemian Waxwing

I guess for me, being outside often and aware of the birds, the Christmas Bird Count is not a surprise when it comes around again. On Saturday, December 17, 2022, the 47th annual Christmas Bird Count will be taking place in the Bow Valley. Just pop over to “bowvalleynaturalists.org” for more information and how you can participate in keeping tracks of our feathered friends. We have these annual counts occurring across the country and in many other parts of the world. They give us a great sense of what is happening with the bird population. 

Not all participants have to be experts. Just look at me, I have been fooling them all these years with my so called understanding of birds. Except when I mentioned I had spotted a pink flamingo, I learned it does not count when the birds are made of plastic and in the backyard of a house. Anyway, with warm attire and some chocolates, it’s a great way to connect with other birders and enjoy a potluck dinner in the evening. That’s right, potluck dinner is back again. Where after great food and stories, we get to practise our additions.

Grizzly Tracks

On November 21 2022 around 1330 I came across these grizzly bear tracks on the wind-packed snow. The tracks were fresh, after making sure I was the only one in the area. I started to look at the tracks with all sorts of photo opportunities running through my head. I realized the lens I needed was not in my pack, but the tracks were too good to pass on. Homeward I went, and I was back forty minutes later. The wind was picking up and the tracks would be mostly covered in a few hours. With the camera in hand, I started looking at what worked as a photo. I had about ten meters of track on the frozen river. So many possibilities. I must have spent twenty minutes taking pictures. The tracks were so well defined.

Boreal Chickadee

The Boreal Chickadee, is a bird that can be spotted all year in the Canadian Rockies. If it does make a move southward, it’s due to a lack of food and not getting away from winter. To stay dry in winter, the chickadees have a preen gland near the base of their tail. They use their beak and feet to spread the oil from the gland all over their feathers to repel water. They flex their pectoral muscles to create heat, which is trapped in fluffed up feathers. Feathers are great insulators. Just ask anyone with a down jacket. Before winter, the chickadees put on heavier plumage. The denser feathers create a more comfortable personal parka for the birds. During deep cold temperatures, the chickadees adapt by lowering their body temperature at night, from 40 degrees Celsius to 29. Helping them conserve body fat. They also cache food, which can be retrieved during the harsh winter months. Not bad for a bird that weighs the equivalent of two sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper.

American Marten

The American Marten can be found throughout Canada. A male can have a territory as large as 7.8 square km, while 2.6 for the female. The male will cover its territory in 8-10 days, hunting along the way. Defending it against another male, but they will be more tolerant of females. Being part of the weasel family, martens have the same typical body shape, long and slender as other Mustelidae. Their diet consists of small mammals, but will also eat fruits, nuts, insects, carrion and birds. I just recently came across what was left of a waterfowl that was eating underneath the car’s hood. Even with their small size, they are tough like other members of their family.  They will go after larger mammals, like snowshoe hares and marmots.

If spotted by birds, they will alert others. In the case of the Black-billed Magpies, they will mob it until the marten has left the area. Witness this a few times. It can be entertaining to watch. Before I saw this one, I heard an agitated red squirrel and a Song Sparrow. I was trying to figure out what was going on, when I heard a sound above my head. I looked up and saw this marten perched on a branch like a cougar. When it feels threatened, as it did when I arrived on the scene, it will climb up a tree for its safety. Once it feels safe, it will either come down and run away or go back to what it was doing.

White-tailed Ptarmigan

I was watching my every step as I made my way down a steep slope, on what was an animal trail made by hoofed mammals. I was a few minutes in when I heard a sound of a bird flying near me. I stopped with both feet well placed. I looked to my right. A few meters away, a White-tailed Ptarmigan was looking at me and a second one, who had taken to the air, had landed a couple of meters from the first. It was the first week of October and both birds had started the process of going from their summer grey and brown feather colours to pure white for the winter. As they do in October.

These high elevation birds spend their summer above the timberline, where during warmer weather they have many options for various vegetation and insects. During the winter, they do not fly south, but instead have adapted to the winter by molting their feathers to white to blend in with their snowy surroundings and losing some altitude. They have feathers on their feet to be able to walk in the lightest of snow and to get away from the cold. They borrow under the snow and are also great for roosting.

Back to the two birds on the side of a steep slope. With the hopes of getting a few pictures of both. I slowly turned my back toward them and placed my pack on the ground to get the camera out. Way too many times, the bird take-off just when you are about to point the camera at them. But this time when I slowly faced them again, both were still there. I squatted to get the beautiful glow coming off trees from below, where I was heading, as the background for this image. A couple of minutes later, I was all packed and started my way down. Not a minute passed when I heard a loud sound of a large descending bird. Three ptarmigan who were out of my view took to the air for safety some forty meters in front of me and the same did the two I left behind, but in the opposite direction. Soon the reason came into my view. About fifty meters in front of me, at eye level, was a Golden Eagle in the air. I did not even bother getting the camera out this time. A few seconds after the eagle saw me, it was out of there. With a smile on my face, I watched my steps again as I made my way to the sun-covered bottom. With the future technology, we’ll get the image of the eagle downloaded from my head.

Golden Sunrise

Alpine larch, also called subalpine larch and lyall larch is a deciduous conifer species that grows higher on cool exposures than other trees. It grows in very cold, snowy, and windy environments. It remains small and stunted, but in wind-sheltered areas it can reach up to 29 m in height. For more than half of the season, the average temperatures are below freezing for this tree’s environment. The average precipitation for most of the alpine larch sites is between 800 and 1900 mm. Generally, the snowpack starts around these larch trees in late October and can linger with most stands until early July.

Most of the soil development in the alpine larch stands tends to be immature. Alpine larch sites have undergone alpine glaciation during the Pleistocene and have been deglaciated for less than 12,000 years. Due to a short, cool summer season as well as low soil temperatures and high acidity, the processes that can enrich the soil are limited. Alpine larch commonly grows on slopes covered with granite or quartzite talus, which were not previously surrounded by vascular plants. Vascular plant tissues are great at conducting water and minerals. Even in sites that have better developed soils, the soils are still rocky and immature.

The Alpine larch is a slow-growing, long-lived tree. In ideal sites, the dominant trees can have a 400 to 500-year life span. Many can live to 700 years of age, oldest are estimated to be about 1,000 years. In 2012, the oldest one was recorded in Kananaskis, Alberta, at 1,917 years old. A sapling that is about 1.2m tall is about 30 to 35 years of age. With alpine larch roots extending deep into the rocky ground, they are well anchored and able to deal with very heavy winds. The crown and trunk of old trees may break under heavy winds, but they are less likely to be uprooted. For many species of trees, snow avalanches and snow slides are a source of damage to them. But the alpine larch is better adapted to surviving these conditions than other tree species. An alpine tree 6 m high can handle the flattening by snow slides, then stand straight when the snow melts.

Its ability to take hold of steep northern slopes and snow chutes, where other trees have problems doing the same. It’s assumed alpine larch helps to stabilise snow loads and reduce the force of avalanches. Scientists from several countries that are interested in avalanche control are looking at alpine larch as a possible solution. Most of the wildlife makes use of alpine larch stands during the summer, when cooler timberline temperatures and succulent vegetation await them. The Alpine larch is more than just a pretty looking tree.

Canada Jay

During the winter of 2018, the common name for the Gray Jay went back to Canada Jay, thanks to a 9-to-1 vote by the American Ornithological Society. The same society but different members had taken away the name Canada Jay in 1957 and it was replaced with Gray Jay. Canada Jay is mainly found in Canada, residing across the country year around. It’s also sometimes called a camp robber. Find out why by eating near them. The jay itself doesn’t seem to care what we call it, it’s too busy looking for its next meal.

One reason it can live so far north throughout the winter is because of its ability to store food. It uses its sticky saliva to glue food to tree branches above the height of the coming snow. As well, the Canada Jay is helped during the cold temperatures by its thick, fluffy plumage, which can cover legs and feet. Even its nostrils are helped by feathers.  It’s a close relative, the Siberian Jay, which can be found in northern Eurasia. Together they form a ring around the Northern Hemisphere. 

On a sunny afternoon, when I came across this jay, it was too busy looking for its natural food surrounded by larch trees. My chocolates were well hidden in my backpack as I took pictures of it.

Grizzly

We had just gotten out of the woods on our hike, I started scanning the slopes on either side of us. I would say about eighty or ninety meters away from us were two large, dark-like objects. I thought, those can’t be rocks. We stopped so I could take my binoculars out and have a look. As soon as I got them in focus, I could see two young grizzly bears. Both were sitting back and looking around. They looked to be three years of age. I wondered if they were two cubs that were pushed away from their mother this year and were going to spend a year or two together before going their separate ways. A minute later, I saw something moving below them behind a tree. It was a large grizzly. It was their mother. She looked at us for a few seconds and went about her business. Then they moved into the trees near her, with her cubs right behind her.

 Our hiking plan was to continue walking away from the general area, and that’s what we ended up doing. Looking in their general direction a few times with no luck of seeing them again. All three looked very healthy. The mother had done a good job of gaining the weight they needed to survive the coming winter. We could see she had been digging in the area for roots, a lot of work for the much needed calories. Until it's time to sleep, the search for calories will continue. October is the month when most bears will go to sleep for the winter. It was not a good berry season in the valley in some of the places this year, and not much better higher up. The bears had to move around to find food elsewhere they needed. This mother, with experience behind her, knew where to go to find the food she and her cubs needed. She would be passing this knowledge on to them so they could survive on their own. And one or both were females, they would know how to look after their cubs one day.

Fall Colours

Perhaps it’s good that the fall colours only last a few weeks. It makes this part of the season that much more special. We only have so much time to see the colours and enjoy the walk among them. With fall colours and other anticipated nature-related events that occur annually, the wait is always longer than the event itself. Each year I have several fall colours hikes planned. If I get to do half, I’m happy. For a few weeks, I like others have been paying more attention to all the plants that started changing their colours or will be.

However, in order to see the larch trees in their natural habitat, some hiking up the slopes is required. There are a few places in the valley from where you can look up and see their colour. But nothing compares to walking among them under the sun. Just a few days ago, I got to see a few larch trees with snow covering their golden yellow needles. The snow did not last a day, but the cold temperatures that came with it got more larch needles to change into their fall colours. It’s time now to go see the larches. With the warmer temperatures coming up, we may get a few more days to enjoy them before the needles start falling toward the ground.

Sunrise

The warm summer days are in the past now, and the fall colours are starting to show on the ground vegetation, shrubs and trees. Yesterday I was looking up at the larch trees from the bottom of the valley, I’m thinking next weekend they will be ready for me to photograph. As temperatures cools and days get shorter, photosynthesis stops and trees start saving nutrients. Larch needles start turning golden yellow before drying up and falling to the ground.

The attached sunrise image, there were some fall colours on the ground with a minus 1 or 2-degree temperature during the morning, but not enough to add to the final image. I was enjoying the cold morning, it felt great. After trading in sunset pictures for a good night sleep over the long summer days, I’m looking forward to catching as many sunrises as possible until late spring arrives. The Canadian Rockies look amazing at any time of the day, but even more so during sunrises and sunsets. During the shorter days, the light from lower angles provides a much bigger window for dramatic landscape photography opportunities. And with calm water, it’s almost a sin not to stop and take a picture.

Feather

I was sitting back on the rocks in an alpine meadow watching marmots and pikas. After 45 minutes, a small plane that was going in circles above me went away. Soon after, I started enjoying the surrounding sights and sounds. The marmots were gaining weight for the coming hibernation season, and the pikas were busy storing food for the winter. I heard a warning call from pikas, about 150 meters away from me a Prairie Falcon was trying to catch breakfast. Unsuccessful, it decided to fly off. Soon after, I heard a sound as if something was coming down on me and then flying by me. It was a Golden Eagle. It flew to the top of the cliffs in front of me, about 200 meters from where I was sitting. It shook its body, and two feathers took to the air from it. One went straight down and the other was pushed by the light breeze toward me. With its light weight and surface area, it slowly made its way down with the blue sky in the background. It landed some forty meters from me among the quartzite rocks.

Hoary Marmot

Epigenetic changes are a chemical modification that occurs in DNA and can be used to measure aging by studying the blood samples of an animal. UCLA researchers while studying yellow-bellied marmots. They discovered that the biological aging of these marmots’ stalls during their hibernation stage and continues during the active season. During hibernation, the marmot only uses one gram of fat each day and with a lowered temperature, it feels like a cold rock. Well, a cold furry rock. This adapted way of surviving the cold months helps the yellow-bellied marmot live up to 15 years. Longer than expected for an animal of its body weight. 

For us two-legged mammals, many of our species look at spending just one third of our time sleeping as a waste. But many researchers are studying the biological advantages of humans adopting hibernation for long-term space missions or for saving organs for transplantation. 

For the young hoary marmot in the attached picture, it was not thinking about a healthy lifestyle. It was time to take a break from eating when it was spotted early one morning. It was less than two months old and the size of three pikas, showing the camera how cute it was.

Cathedral Mountain

It was another early morning start for my second visit to the Lake O’Hara area this hiking season. When I left home, the sky was clear, but overcast near the divide. No matter, the hike was happening as planned. After 5 km in, it was a good time for water to spread a spray shield around my face from the waking mosquitoes. Another km in, I looked toward the clouds to see some of them lit up with warm colours. But, I kept pushing as there was no good place to take a picture.

The closer I got to the lake, the faster I got. Some sort of mental gravitational force was at work. I looked up, the sky was slowly opening up and light was hitting the peaks to the west of me. That got me moving even faster. Without stopping for a break, I swung around the lake and accelerated to the Opabin Plateau. I did not know how much time I had with the light. The pack went down and I pulled out the camera right away. Once I got the pictures, it was time for a break.  I pulled out the food, sat back and enjoyed the views provided by the morning hike.

White-lined Sphinx

I was standing among the flowers under the heat, taking pictures of bees, hover flies, butterflies and more. As I was about to pack up and walk away, a large moth came into view. I thought I had my first sighting of a hummingbird moth, later learning it was my sighting of a white-lined sphinx, a moth with an 8 cm long wingspan. With the camera in hand and the moth providing me with about 15 seconds before disappearing, I got all the pictures I wanted.

Because of their birdlike size and the way they move, they are sometimes referred to as hummingbird moths. As caterpillars, they are the size of a finger or the gummy worm you enjoy. They eat many different types of plants as caterpillars and pollinate various flowers as adults. As adults, they normally fly before, after and during the nights, but sometimes during the day.  Seeing one in the middle of the day among the wild sunflowers was a nice surprise.

Glacier Lily

With the hiking season going full on, I need at least one good hike each week to keep my legs strong. Healy Pass is a fun morning hike. Staying in shape is always a great reason for hiking, along with the chance of seeing amazing views and summer flora in the form of wildflowers. My visit was about a week late to the prime glacier lilies show. The signs were there before I even got close to the main stage. It just made it more challenging to get a few good pictures of this beautiful yellow flower. I had hiked this trail several times, so I was on autopilot as I scouted for possible pictures on my return to the trail head. At the top of the pass, it was good to feel the cool air coming from the west. Another reason to like early morning hikes during hot weather. I had a quick snack as I pondered if I was going to pop up there to see the fall colours. I probably will during my favorite hiking season.

On my way down from the pass, I had several possible spots to stop and take a picture of the remaining lilies. The plants’ leaves were still showing their rich green colour, even on an overcast morning. Helped the few remaining lilies pop from their surroundings.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

This Northern Rough-winged Swallow is one of the six species that can be spotted in Banff NP. So named because of the small hooks or points found on the leading edges of their outer wing feathers. Swallows slender, streamlined body and long, pointed wings allow them great manoeuvrability and endurance in the sky. Which is needed as most of their diet consists of eating insects caught in the air. The rough-winged swallow in the image was doing just that, along with a few other species. With both wings fully open along with the tail, it almost came to a complete stop to change direction toward an insect it was trying to catch. Swallows' body shapes allow them to be very efficient flyers, their metabolic rate can be up to 72 percent lower than other birds of the same size. They have great lateral and frontal vision to track prey. The form and structure of their eyes have evolved similar to that of raptors, providing them with great vision. They have short bills, which does not matter. With their strong jaws and wide gape, they can easily catch their prey. 

Every year I take up the challenge of trying to get their pictures in flight. You have to stay calm and be ready to enjoy the journey. Lot of pictures are going to be taken with very few keepers. As always, I looked for patterns as up to 30 swallows of a few different species flew back and forth over the wetland, catching insects. I would prefocus at a certain distance, when one would get into that space, I would pan my camera trying to get it in focus and then keep taking their pictures until I lost them in the frame. And repeat again and again and again. Nature photography is a very calming experience for me. With so many variables in play while trying to take pictures of the swallows flying, you can’t help but be in the moment.