Three-toed Woodpecker

When I went back and had a better look through the photos I took at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 6 September 2014, I came across this shot that is somewhat sharper and better than most of that day's photos. The weather forecast was for upcoming rain, so I decided that I had better get over to the park straight away, as I wanted to check for any mushrooms. I had been there fairly recently, and only found a couple of things. The visit on 6 September was a little more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch an adult and juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker, feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. Not sure if this is the adult or the young one in this photo. You can tell this tree has been used by the Three-toed Woodpeckers, as some of the bark has been stripped, leaving the orange/brown wood below. This Woodpecker species seems to be reasonably tolerant of people. These are rare birds here, so I feel very lucky to have seen these two and any others in the past.

birdsofalberta.com/List/detail.php?id=226

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Three-toed_Woodpecke...

On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a MInk that a friend had told me about. Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them that day. One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing reasonably OK. I was luckier with the Mink, catching it in a couple of very quick shots.

On the walk back to my car, I was lucky enough to see a distant doe and her two fawns. Apparently, there is another doe with triplets in the area.