Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: youngsters

On 14 September 2014, almost on the spur of the moment, I decided to join friends for a birding walk. The weather was so perfect, especially compared to the two consecutive snowstorms we had had on 9 and 10 September, that damaged thousands of trees in the city! After a quick look for birds along the avenue of trees near Fish Creek Provincial Park headquarters, we drove down to the Boat Launch area and from there we walked south along the Bow River. The Ospreys were flying near the river ad we saw one of them carrying a fish to take back to their nest. We saw 30 bird species, but nothing close enough for photos. After an enjoyable walk, a few of us called in at Tim Horton's for coffee and a snack. From there, I called in at a different part of the park and watched a family of Beavers swimming in their pond. While I was waiting, hoping that they might appear, so many American Robins were flying from branch to branch in the nearby trees and bushes. I always feel that Robins are so much taken for granted. Eventually, after a long wait, the Beaver's appeared. Such a treat to watch this family, especially the young ones. The photo above shows two of the three youngsters. Unfortunately, the light was not good, and most of my photos are blurry and need to be deleted : ( We were amazed, at one moment, when an old wooden pallet started moving in the pond and blocked a small passageway between the banks. One Beaver was pulling this discarded structure all on its own. I wonder if they had originally found it washed up nearby, after the Alberta Flood of the Century last year (2013). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver

A terrible quality photo, but I just had to post this - I doubt I will ever see anything like this again! A group of us were on a 3+ hour walk yesterday morning in Fish Creek Park (between Votier's Flats and Bebo Grove). when suddenly this adorable family of Least Weasels scuttled through the grass and tangles near the edge of the path. There were eight of these little velvety babies (nearly full-grown, 5.5 inch long) moving "en masse". Amazing to watch them move, for the most part all huddled together. In this image, they were struggling to get under this log and out the other side to catch up with Mom. You can't just push in front of everyone to get photos, so I wasn't able to move to where I could see them properly - however, better crummy photos than none at all : ) (Map location - a very wild guess at where we saw them, ha). "The least weasel (Mustela nivalis) is the smallest member of the Mustelidae (as well as the smallest of the Carnivora), native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, though it has been introduced elsewhere. It is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and presumably large population. Despite its small size, the least weasel is a fierce hunter, capable of killing a rabbit 5-10 times its own weight." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_weasel