Bald Eagle

Bald Eagles main source of food is fish and carrion. But they will prey on various waterfowl, other birds, rabbits and other small animals. They have been known to kill animals as large as deer. And some have preyed on domestic sheep and goats, mostly young lambs, and kids. But when larger kills or carrion, they would have to feed at the site. With their two-meter wingspan, their wings must support a 4 to 6 kg bird. That leaves them with a lifting power of 2 to 3 kg.  An eagle can carry more when flying in snatching prey and continue flying away. Using their momentum. But they must carry less, when taking off from a dead stop position. Lift is not only dependent on the wing size but also on airspeed. The faster the bird is flying, the greater the lift potential it has. The average speed of an eagle flying in to catch a fish is 30 to 50 km/h. Adult eagles who are experienced are less likely to make a mistake like a young eagle, who through trials and errors and testing their limits, to become more successful hunters. 

This eagle was off to check out what the ravens were up to, across the lake from its nest. With no coyotes in the area, it would jump in front of the line if any food was waiting for it there.

Mount Fairview

When I’m out to take pictures of wildlife, I’m hoping for clear weather with good lighting. But under the same weather for landscape photography, the camera stays in the bag. You do not just want to take pictures of the mountains, but also the mood created by the combination of the landscape, clouds, shadows, and light. The more time you spend taking pictures, the more refined your style becomes. I’m finding it now, particularly when it comes to landscape photography. Well, even when it comes to flora and fauna, certain conditions must be met before the camera comes out. Photography is like any other skill in life. Over time, you start getting a better sense of what the final image is going to look like before you even take the picture.  If you know the image will be good, you take the picture. And if you are unsure, you might take the image. For the rest of the situations, the camera stays put and you keep moving.  Otherwise, you are not going to get far on a hike.

White-tailed Deer

End of February, the snow fell and more followed the day after. Yesterday, after helping the team move snow with a break in the middle of the day to look after the paperwork and emails. I had just enough energy to walk home. Everything looked beautiful, all covered with fresh snow. And the wet snow that fell in the middle of the day covered all the tree trucks facing west. With no wind, it was a relaxing walk surrounded by trees and not being concerned about snow falling on me. It looked as if I was walking through a black and white landscape. Until I looked to my right, staring right back at me were four white-tailed deer. Three of them were perfectly set for an image. Tired as I was, I just had to take the camera out and take their picture surrounded by snow. Then I quickly moved on so they could head over to the thermal springs for some green treats. Thanks to the warm water. It’s always a good way to end the day by walking through the woods. Until this morning, heading to work but with a lot more snow.  

American Dipper

Out of the five dipper species in the world, only one is found in North America. The American Dipper. The only true North America’s aquatic songbird. Dippers do not fly south for the winter, just to an area with open moving water. Some of the features that help them survive the cold waters in the winter are their low metabolic rate, extra oxygen-carrying capacity in their blood and their extra thick coat of features. They even have feathered eyelids. Since they feed on aquatic invertebrates, and fish. They can stay underwater by stretching out their wings against the current, this action helps push them downward and keep them submerged. They can also hold on to stones to prevent being swept off. As well, they have specialized flaps over their nostrils to prevent water from entering. One of the few species of birds that we can watch during the cold days of winter. As long as we have our down feathers.

Mount Inglismaldie

If I could only give one reason why I go out in nature, it would be to feel better. No matter what my mood was before I stepped out, I always feel better after a walk on the trails. And I am sure many of you can relate to that. Studies are starting to back this up. Including one indicating the nature's colours green and blue reduces stress, improves our moods, brings us with positive emotions and brings down our anxiety levels. One study found that even after 40 seconds of looking at a green roof, we make fewer mistakes in a test. And in my case, making sure I can calculate the exact change for my chocolate purchase. These were just some of the things covered in November by The Guardian article titled: “The nature cure: how time outdoors transforms our memory, imagination and logic.”

Various indigenous communities across the world have learned there are many plants that can be used as medicine, and more is being discovered through research today. But one of the best cures is a simple walk in the park.

Elk

This bull elk looked better when this picture was taken of him compared to the week before. He was still favoring his back right leg, but not as heavily as the previous week. With a lack of food during the winter, it's harder to recover from injuries than during the season of plenty. As well, even during this mild winter, the bull does not have a lot of energy to spare to heal. If this male, along with the four bachelors he was hanging out with, came across a wolf pack. All the bulls will show strength by standing tall, trying to look as big as they can, so they are not the ones to get attacked by the pack. And if everyone started running, each would again physically show strength, each one hoping not to be attacked. Even if our eyes can’t pick up any weakness between one elk compared to others, the wolves can. Sensing weakness through visual cues and through hearing and scent. In our homes our canine friends can use similar abilities to tell when we’re sick and, in some cases, before we become sick. For the wolves, their success rate in capturing prey is nowhere close to 100 percent. Depending on the location and type of prey, it can be less than 20 percent. So being able to pick the week from the strong increases their chances of having a meal sooner rather than later.

Fairholme Range

I rarely have people in nature pictures I take. When I do, other than at work or social gatherings, they are there naturally and are not aware they are getting their picture taken. It’s always in a public setting, and they are always looking away from the camera. Just like the pictures I take of nature, I let the events occur naturally and take pictures when the event in front of me becomes interesting. I think this would be my fourth picture I’m sharing as a “moment” with a person. I could have easily removed the person during post-processing. But I decided to leave the person in, like the trees and shrubs, the person gives a sense of scale to the picture. I was about 150 meters from the person who was also taking pictures of the sunrise, and the mountain range is about 14.5 kilometers from us. The lens tends to compress the space. There are many ways to take the picture, each photographer having their style and or personal preferences. As for having myself in the pictures I take. What can I say, I take a look at myself in the mirror in the morning, and I’m good for the day.

Rusty Blackbird

This male Rusty Blackbird, in its non-breeding colours can be spotted at times in open water in the mountains. In this case, near a cold spring. They are not being spotted as often as they were in the past. One of the bird species that had a major decline in its population. Between 1966 and 2019, there was a 75 percent decline in their population. Scientists are working to get a better idea of the full reasoning behind this. Their low densities and remote breeding habitat make it a challenge.

They primarily eat insects and plant matter but rare, they will sometimes attack and eat birds. Examples include sparrows, robins, snipes, and others. In this case, this one and its buddy were looking for insects in the water. Both were shy when I came across them. So, I stayed in one place, using shrubs as a blind. Before long, one was in full view of me, providing me with enough time to get a few pictures. I like their non-breeding plumage; they look like they are wearing a mask.

Mountain Goats

It’s always easier to see what colour the mountain goats are when they are surrounded by snow. Of course, that becomes harder as you put more space between you and where the goats are. In this case, they were about a km away from me. All together, there were 15 goats on the side of the mountain. With many years of looking up with my naked eyes at the same locations, I can still tell if there are goats up there in the winter. Then I can watch them with binoculars or a zoom lens. A better way would be to use a spotting scope. The best way would be on the side of the same mountain but far enough not to bother them.

In this case, I was about a km away and I was able to get a picture with the zoom lens, crop it enough where there are still enough details to get an understanding of their winter habitat. The day the image was taken, the temperature was in the minus mid-teens. Their winter coat had no problem keeping them warm, it’s playing an even bigger role today when the temperature hit minus 41 degree Celsius. As we are all dealing with the first major deep freeze of this winter in the mountains. Life is about trade-offs. The goats must deal with extreme weather events and lower quality of food at higher elevations, but there are less predators to deal with. Over the winter with them, as with many other prey, they will not be gaining weight. It’s all about being efficient and using just enough energy to get them to spring. Another good reason for not bothering them if you happen to come across them over the winter months.

Mount Rundle

We get some crazy sunrises during the winter. They are even better when everything is covered with snow. So far, this year's winter wonderland days have been few and far between. For me, a crazy sunrise and sunset occur when it's so bright, it becomes a challenge to get the bright colours with some details in the clouds in an image. You often see this when a picture is taken of a sunrise or a sunset. Instead of the bright red colours, you get yellow and the image is lacking in details where it's the brightest. That is why it’s always easier when the mountains and the trees are covered with snow. Then the lights bounce off the snow, creating less of a brightness difference between the sky and the ground. This was a long sunrise in mid-December. The clouds went from dark red to bright red and then to bright yellow. The clouds were lit up for about 20 minutes before the light hit the north side of Mount Rundle. By then, I had stopped taking pictures and just watched the light show in front of me.

Grizzly

Now and then, I think photography would be a lot easier if I shortened my list of photography subjects that I like to take pictures of. I would have a lot less to carry if I just took landscape pictures or just flowers. Or maybe just take pictures of birds; I can find them year-round. Or how about just predators? I can spend a lot more time watching out for them and getting better pictures with more opportunities. But I would be tired of sitting on my butt while waiting.

Over the last number of years, more of my free time has been spent focusing on things close to where I live and learning even more about the nature that is found within this place. Occurring naturally as I started realizing what I wanted to read, listen to, and watch documentaries happened to be about the area and species I’m directly familiar with. In this small part of the world, which is not that small, there is so much to see and learn. Just yesterday, I started reading “Grizzly Bear Science and the Art of a Wilderness Life” by Bruce McLellan. Even after reading the first couple of chapters last evening, I learned something new about this big guy and all the other bears like him.

Life is a lot easier when you know what you like and, just as important, what you don’t. But you still want to be challenged in life, both physically and mentally. Mentally, there is so much to learn about the subjects I like to take pictures of. There is no magic camera that can replace learning. Not only do I get to challenge myself on getting better pictures of the various subjects but I also learn how they are all connected. As for the physical part, what better way to stay active and healthy than to keep getting out there to enjoy nature and get pictures of all the moments I come across.

Now, regarding this picture. Before anyone asks if this grizzly, M122, is still up. This last fall, after spending a lot of time outdoors exploring, I was able to see him soon after one of our few snowfalls. It was in the second half of November, and I think a few days later he called it a season. For the last several years in the Bow Valley, the bear season starts when he wakes up and finishes when he goes to bed. If that pattern continues, the next bear season will start in a few months.

Pine Grosbeak

Even in the mountains one can find birds to take pictures of year-round. During the winter, the opportunities and varieties of species are a fraction of what you encounter during the spring and summer seasons, but they are there. With fewer opportunities, it’s ever more important to take advantage when they come along. This is where all those years of practice and years of learning about birds become important. In the wild, when the birds are not habituated and there is no blind to cover you, the birds are ever more alert. They see us as predators and their number one priority is their survival.

When my main goal is to take pictures, I tend to be by myself. Because the more people approach a bird, the more likely it will fly away sooner than later. From the bird's perspective, it’s a lot easier dealing with one predator than two or more. And no quick movements or big actions, like taking your pack off your shoulder near a bird to get the camera out. Have the camera in your hands before moving closer. If you want the bird to stay calm, then you and your body need to stay calm. All this is even more important if there is more than one bird and or more than one bird species. Then you must make sure you don’t scare away any birds, because others will follow.

Even with all this effort, if you don’t come back with any pictures. You still come back with a little more knowledge to improve your chances on your next encounter. In the end, the birds are not there for us. We went outside to see them and with some work to bring back a moment with your camera.

Cascade Mountain

Most of us only know about avalanches from what we hear on the news. Usually in a negative context. Avalanches, like wildfires, are a natural process. It occurs when a layer of snow collapses and slides downhill. Four factors cause avalanches: a steep slope, snow cover, a weak layer in the snow cover and a trigger. Triggers can be caused by wildlife, skiers and various human-caused ways to reduce danger on the slopes or in a valley containing roads and or railway tracks.

 But avalanches like wildfire play a role in increasing biodiversity in the mountains. For example, studies were conducted in Austria by zoologists and entomologists. Natural avalanches tracks, particularly on the sunny south-facing slopes, are rich in butterfly species. As a result of the area being rich in plant diversity. These natural corridors, free of bushes and trees, become grassland or meadows connecting different habitats up and down the mountain.

 Its increased diversity in plants and insects on these avalanche slopes helps to attract birds that take advantage of these ecosystems. Like the Fox Sparrows, MacGillivary’s Warblers, Hermit Thrushes and Calliope Hummingbirds to name a few. As well as the larger mammals, like the bears, They can more easily move around on the avalanche slopes looking for food or looking for an easy way to go from point a to b.

Common Redpoll

Before the turn of the 20th century, hunters had a holiday tradition called the Christmas “Side Hunt”. They would choose sides and see who would have the biggest pile of kills of feathered and furred friends. At this time, conservation was just in the beginning stages, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Starting on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman proposed a new holiday tradition, the “Christmas Bird Census.” Counting the birds, instead of hunting them during the holidays. That year, 28 birders, including Chapman, held 25 Christmas Bird Counts from Toronto to Pacific Grove, California. 

Today, from December 14 through January 5, each year thousands of volunteers take part in the Christmas Bird Counts to help with conservation efforts to see the health of the bird populations. In the Bow Valley, this year’s Christmas Birds Count will take place on Saturday, December 16th. If those of you in the valley are interested in playing a role, please pop over to "https://bowvalleynaturalists.org/get-involved/citizen-science-projects/cbc/“ and click on “contact us.”

Moon

On average, the Moon’s distance from the Earth is 384, 000 kilometres. It orbits around the Earth takes 27.32 Earth days, that is also the amount of time it takes to rotate once on its axis. For that reason, we see the same side of the Moon from Earth. Even though the moon mass is about 1 percent of that of the Earth. The Moon’s gravity stops the Earth wobbling on its axis too much. Which helps to stabilize the climate on our planet. As most of us know, the Moon’s gravity causes high and low tides. Not to the same degree, the Moon’s gravity also pulls on the Earth’s crust by several centimeters. And the Moon makes any pictures look pretty.

Mount Aberdeen

We humans have already figured out how to make time go by quickly. You just have to stay busy. It feels like this picture was taken just a couple of weeks ago. But when I looked at the date, it was the start of October. I was coming down from the Big Beehive using a safer route, still above the low clouds that were in the Lake Louise area. On the way up early that morning, I heard a Northern Pygmy Owl. But there was still not enough light to explore to see if I could see it. So, descending a different route, I was not going to have a chance at possibly seeing the owl. But the great views more than made up for that. For some of the views, I just had to stop and take my camera out to get their pictures. This one was one of them. The trees in front of me and Mount Aberdeen were all covered with fresh snow. It was a winter wonderland on the morning of October 1, 2023.

Tundra Swans

Tundra Swans can take off just as easily from land or water with their necks extended straight out. Tundra Swans are North America’s most abundant swan species. They are species of low concern, being allowed to be hunted in some states and parts of Canada. But on the other hand, Trumpeter Swans are a species that is continuing its comeback after almost being decimated by the late 1800s. Thanks to its features being used in hat fashion, as writing quills and for other uses. So, the Trumpeter Swans are protected in places where Tundra Swans can be hunted. The problem we have in these places is that we birders sometimes make mistakes in identifying these two species. Let along those hunters who may have less knowledge about the different swans.

The good news about this family of Tundra Swans, one adult is in the front, followed by three juveniles and one other juvenile and adult outside the frame. All six were spotted in Banff National Park a few days ago, where no hunting is allowed. There were a few of us on the shore of the lake, enjoying watching them before they decided to move on. As they slowly make their way south where the water will stay open during the coming cold months.

Reflection

Another fall colour season is behind us in the Canadian Rockies. I got some good hiking done to see the fall colours in the valleys and higher up. As always, each hike was different. On my return from one hike from a pass to the parking lot, I encountered 315 people and 41 dogs in an hour and a half. I beat my old record of 11 dogs. Birds most spotted or heard were Pine Grosbeaks, Mountain Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets and hanging out by the trail with a bit of attitude, Spruce Grouses. The surprise bird encounter was two Bald Eagles perched on the larch trees next to a small alpine lake. Unfortunately, they saw me before I saw them. They were in the air before getting any pictures. For mammals, nothing bigger than red squirrels.

For this picture, it was a hike past Boulder Pass. A nice break from the previous well loved Lake Louise area hike. Throughout the whole hike, I saw less than 30 hikers, and one baby blanket by the side of the trail. Whose owner was quickly found. It was a cold morning, which is great for hiking. I was happy to get to the lake, the wind was just starting to pick up. I still had to take 20 to 25 seconds long exposures to get a calm water look to my side of the lake. Once the pictures were out of the way, it was time to put on a few layers and sit back to enjoy the views and my first food of the day.  Another great fall hiking season is behind me.  But I have a lot of images and the larch needles I will keep coming across in my pack and outerwear to remind me of the great hikes until next year.

Elk

Another elk rut season ended a few weeks ago. The dominant bulls, like this one, started getting much-needed rest and, even more importantly, putting on the weight they lost during the rut season. The bulls that were successful during the mating season can, on average, lose up to 30 percent of their weight during the rut. But success during the rut season can lead to a shorter life for the bull. From injuries that the bull might have sustained fighting other bulls, being more vulnerable to predators before they recover from the rut season, or the cold weather arriving soon after the rut. The dominant males also lose the protection a herd offers after the rut. They either deal with the winter on their own or they join a few other males to deal with the winter. Including males, they were fighting during the rut. All is forgiven in the elk world, or at least until the next rut.

Rainbow

Back in school in our science class, when we pointed white light toward a triangle glass prism, it came out of the prism in the form of a rainbow. Light of different colours bends, or refracts, by different amounts. This separation of colours is called dispersion, creating the rainbow colours. Not only does this occur in a prism, but dispersion is also caused by ice crystals and what we are more familiar with, water drops in the form of rain. In the last two cases, the light is coming from the sun. Helping to create much bigger rainbows, but the colours are the same. With a rainbow, the colours are in this order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Red is on the outside of the rainbow.

Under the right conditions, some of the light does not come out of the raindrops to form the primary rainbow. This light repeats the process to form a secondary rainbow. But this time the colours are reversed thanks to an extra reflection in the rain drops. Red on the inside and so on. Since more of the light came out on the first opportunity, the secondary rainbow is much fainter. By this process we can get third and fourth rainbows. But each would be fainter and harder for our eyes to see. Inside the primary rainbow where all colours come back to our eyes at the same angle, we see bright white light. Between the primary and secondary rainbows, where no light comes toward our eyes, we get darkness. And if the sun is not behind you and trillions and trillions of water droplets not in front of you, and all not at a particular angle to your eyes. Then you just see the rain.

For this rainbow, which lasted more than half an hour, I saw it forming from home. I saw where the sun was and how fast the clouds that were dropping water were moving. I thought I had a good chance of getting out and getting a better picture than the one I would get from home. But due to the location of the sun and the rainbow, I was not able to get a picture of the whole rainbow. Plus, for the middle section of the rainbow, there was not enough rain for the colours to stand out. So I decided to get a closer look at a section of the rainbow. You can still see the order of the colours of the primary rainbow and also the images show the inside is lighter than the outside area of the rainbow.