Just a few days ago I saw a trio of bears out in Kananaskis (see post below). I was still giddy about the sighting when I walked into the dining room today and saw a black bear just appearing from the forest behind the house.
I called upstairs to Sarah, "there's a bear at the fence", she called back, I thought it was a squirrel??. I didn't have time to question the logic of that. I grabbed the camera and made a few shots as he crept out of the tree line and up to the fence. In seconds he saw me at the window and retreated to the forest. I bolted downstairs and out of the basement door, across the lawn, and to the fence, where I was able to make two more images before he disappeared into the undergrowth (a feat that still surprises me every time I witness it). What a wonderful encounter from our own garden, and what a fine looking bear too. A little lean due to hibernation but clearly healthy and in good shape. Black bears aren't always black, it's the shape of the face and ears that give him away. As for looking like a squirrel, it transpires that Sarah didn't have her glasses on and saw a 'fur blur' coming out of the forest. Once she retrieved her specs she was able to get a great view of him from upstairs.
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On my way to the upper lake in kananaskis yesterday (see post below this one) I spotted a grizzly in the forest beside the road. I thought about stopping for a shot but it struck me she was heading to the meadow beyond the trees. I decided to take a risk on losing a 'dark and distant bear in the forest' shot, for a less certain but potentially better 'bear in the open meadow shot'.
I accelerated along the highway and turned right at the junction that would bring me to the opposite side of the meadow. I stopped, jumped out and and grabbed the camera bag from the back seat, quickly opening it and snatching out the 70-200 mm, the only telephoto lens I had with me today. I positioned myself and waited....and waited.....had I blown it? I was just about to go back along the highway to check when she appeared from the forest with the confident swagger of a 500lb beast in command of their environment. My heart was racing (as it always is when seeing a bear) when a smaller blonde bear appeared behind her, it was a cub, second year so almost full grown, this would be his last season with his mum before heading out to make his own way in K-country. It was a beautiful sight, truly beautiful, and as I watched, another cub ambled in, nonchalant with that "nobody can touch me with my mum around" gloat. They saw me, but as I was already there when they walked out of the forest, it was no surprise, and my inaction demonstrated I had no interest in harming them. They munched the grass and flowers in the meadow hiding behind trees and staying apart until they suddenly converged on one spot. the three of them on a slope in a gap between the trees and I had them, perfect. I fired off a number of shots until the female decided to walk down the slope to the small pond between us, and as she did the cubs followed along. They arrived at the pond in unison and, as if choreographed by yours truly, they all dipped their heads and took a drink simultaneously. I made three shots before the 'bear aversion team' arrived and began their work, to scare the bears away from humans in the hope of preventing aggressive interactions. Mum and the blonde walked slowly away, not scared but seemingly annoyed by the shouting, and firing of pepper shots from a paintball like gun, leaving the other cub still blowing bubbles under the reeds. After a few seconds he realised he was alone and ran to catch up the little bear train that made its way back into the peace of the forest. The aversion guys apologised for having to do their job but I know how necessary it is, and ultimately how it saves the lives of bears. We had a friendly chat about the area and the local inhabitants, and about how fortunate we are to have moments like this in our lives. The sighting was a genuinely wonderful encounter and one I will cherish. As always, kananaskis rewards those who would make the long journey to see its wonders. It's almost June but the area around the upper lake in Kananaskis is still holding on to it's winter ice. Though little of the ice remains, there's still a good amount of snow on all of the surrounding mountains. As a result, the water levels in the lake have been dropped to historic lows to deal with the risk of flooding should it melt with the June rains.
Cecil and I spent 3 hours or so exploring the north side of the lake, before walking back through the shade of the adjacent forest. It was a beautiful afternoon with warm sunshine and blue skies scattered with clouds. On the way to the venue I stopped and shot a short series on the Rocky Mountain Sheep as they jumped the fence onto the road for some road salt, and after having a lick each, jumped back to the forest. As I reached the turning for the Kananaskis Lakes Trail I came across three bears and made some shots of them too, they'll be in their own post above this one as I think they are worthy of their own space. My main image today shows Mt Sarrail, Mt Lyautey and the Hidden Valley across the lake, the gallery below has captions. My 'go to' spring location is West Bragg Creek. It's close to home and clear of snow early in the year and, because it is wet in the spring, there are few mountain bikes on the trails at this time.
Today I did one of my usual routes covering 13 km of muddy trail in the rain, it was much more enjoyable than it sounds. I had my lightweight gear on and ultralight waterproof stuff over the top, the result was a warm dry me in a muddy wet forest. I found it quite challenging to make images, mainly due to the inclement weather and my camera and lens choice for the day, it was my old A7r, taken as a hedge against the weather potential. As it transpires the trees and my rain gear kept the water away almost entirely, so maybe next time I venture out in the rain, I'll take my better camera gear. It was really enjoyable with absolutely nobody around for almost the entire circuit, I did see two teen girls jogging who were absolutely filthy with mud splatter from head to toe. It's an indication of how muddy the trail was that they slowed to pass me so they didn't splash me in the same manner. Higher up in the forest the low cloud presented some photo opportunities giving me my own cloud forest for 5 km or so, all in all I would definitely do this again as the rain gear rarely gets an outing and I didn't really notice the rain once hiking. The main shot today is of the forest as I ascended into the low cloud for the first time, the gallery has captions as usual. In the garden this week we have three new visitors, firstly, as seen in the main image is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. This means we have now seen every available Grosbeak in Canada, all from the comfort of our own house.
Next up was a new adult squirrel who we named Panda because he has two light grey patches on his very dark fur. Soon after that came Titch 2, the first baby squirrel we've seen this year, he already looks like a character. He reminded us of one of our very first visitors years ago who we named Titch. The spring rain has arrived now so expect storms, sunsets and green, green growth over the next few weeks. The main image is of the fine looking Rose-breasted Grosbeak and the gallery has captions to identify other individuals. May long weekend is a big deal in Alberta, well normally. This year the campsites were closed due to Covid 19 so things were a little more subdued. It didn't stop thousands of day trippers heading out, but few of them, none that we saw, chose to walk the snow covered 'Big Elbow Trail'. Heavily shaded by forest the trail tends to hold snow for longer than other areas in the elbow valley, that's why we chose it. The secret is that the snow only holds on the early sections, then it opens up to dry clear trail.
There were hundreds of vehicles in the car parks all along the elbow river and it was obviously going to be busy, so we chose this trail today to avoid the crowds. We had a wonderful 12 km round trip, spotted the wild horses and talked endlessly about life in general. Sarah ensured we had a little picnic to keep us going, I ensured it was transported to our chosen lunch spot. We sat and munched at the halfway point on the outward leg, where coincidentally, we spotted the wild horses. It was a really lovely outing and great to be hiking together again. The sunset tonight threatened to be a great one, storm clouds overhead and the sun dipping below them meant uplighting and backlighting should be present. I grabbed a couple of camera bodies and went out onto the balcony with Sarah to watch the show.
It wasn't the best sunset we've seen form here (by some measure) but it did throw out some wonderful light and I couldn't resist pulling out a few sections with the telephoto lens. The best of which (for me) is the mayfly cloud that came in just before the final light died away. The mayfly is the last image in the gallery below. The main shot is a two shot panorama using the telephoto lens to pick out a cloud on the horizon struck by sunlight from below as we had hoped. For the first time since Christmas, Cecil and I met up for a short wander (whilst maintaining social distancing of course). Our venue of choice was the Elbow Valley, close to home, and a short drive for us both. Unfortunately, it is also a short drive for for everyone else in Calgary, and they all decided to exercise that option this afternoon.
We still found some space to ourselves beyond the beaver ponds, and enjoyed just being out and catching up on 5 months of individual shenanigans. We made a few shots as usual, nothing special but still really enjoyable. The main image is my usual spring shot of the beaver pond reflecting the hills opposite and the gallery has captions to identify the various flora and fauna. We've had a visit from a group of hares this week, 3 in total chasing each other around the garden and surrounds. One has decided to stay, for a while at least, and remains happily ensconced beneath the bushes, watching us come and go via the front door.
All three still have some of their winter coat remaining and it's easy to see why that coat is so effective. The long white hair on top is at least double the length of the normal brown stuff, and beneath that is a lovely downy soft fluff that insulates. I've also added a sunset shot from last night in the gallery, it promised so much but failed to deliver in the end. But I felt the need to make at least one image, having taken the time to retrieve the camera from the basement and head out for the show. Springtime has seen some new visitors to the garden as well as the return of some of the regulars. The main shot below shows an Evening Grosbeak enjoying a drink, it's the first we have seen of this guy. He has since returned daily with his mate and another two pairs of the same.
There is also a smaller Yellow-rumped Warbler who we saw for the first time this week too, they seem to come in groups of 4-8 and flit around so quickly it's difficult to catch them on camera. The deer are still munching the plants but less frequently now, and we saw a huge grass fire across the hills opposite. It's all going on in the garden this week. The gallery has captions to identify the birds. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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