Spruce Sawyer

These Spruce Sawyers always fascinate me and I was lucky enough to see several during a three day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park (26-28 August 2014).

On the first day in Waterton, I had my car window down and suddenly, something landed with a thud on my jeans. I couldn't see what it was, but I brushed it off immediately! Turned out to be this Spruce Sawyer, lol. It was placed on the hood of the car so that I could take a couple of photos.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monochamus_scutellatus

I spent 26, 27 and 28 August 2014 on a road trip with friends Cathy and Terry, spending the first two days in Waterton Lakes National Park and the third day driving east of Waterton in search of Burrowing Owls and Yellow-bellied Marmots. During our three days away, we saw so many things. This always happens when I go anywhere with Cathy and Terry - every day is a very long, fun-filled day, full of exciting finds.

Of course, we couldn't have had a more beautiful area to explore! Waterton Lakes National Park has amazing scenery and wildlife. A few of the things we saw during our three day trip included fantastic scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including the Burrowing Owls (a first for all three of us), a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me!), a few different insect species, and a family of Dusky Grouse (apparently uncommon in the park). I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators.

The weather forecast that I saw before we left Calgary said that we were in for three beautiful days of sunshine - too often, it can be rainy weather down there. So, luck was on our side, giving us warm, sunny days - until the BIG STORM hit, lol! I posted a photo the other day of the storm that was approaching very fast, around 5:00 p.m. just before we started our return trip to Calgary. It was like nothing I had ever seen before - a menacing shelf (?) cloud that was travelling fast and furious. Despite trying our best to get away from it, it eventually engulfed our car, surrounding us with more or less zero visibility, pounding hail, thunder and lightning, and very strong winds. There was nothing to do but stop the car and sit tight, hoping that the hail would not break the car windows and that this severe thunderstorm would not develop into a tornado! This storm was very scary, but at the same time, exciting (only because all turned out OK in the end!). Our road trip sure went out with a bang! Someone at Alberta Tornado Watch told me this storm was a mesocyclone.

Cathy and Terry, thanks so much for yet another wonderful trip with you! Can't thank you enough for inviting me along. You always do such a great job of finding so many interesting things for us to see and enjoy. Lots of fun!