Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: semi-aquatic

Decided to go and see if there was any sign of the Beavers in Fish Creek Park on 20 September 2014. Only managed to get a handful of shots in very low light and this was one of the only ones that I didn't delete. This young Beaver was trying its best to add to the dam that this family had built, and it was so cute to see it trying to add a small stick or a twig or two. It was learning well from its parents : ) I find Beavers so difficult to photograph when they are wet, but once some of the fur dries out a little, you can pick up some detail. Wish these guys came out during the day rather than the evening. I think this was the last time I saw any members of this Beaver family – I haven’t been back to look. "The American beaver, Canada's national emblem, is the largest North American rodent. Adults weigh about 20 kilograms (44 pounds), but may get as large as 35 kilograms (77 pounds). Beavers are remarkably adapted to their aquatic and logging lifestyle. The tail has multiple functions, including as a rudder when swimming, a prop when standing, a lever when dragging logs and a warning device when slapped on the water. The beaver is one of the few animals that changes its environment to suit its lifestyle. Beavers construct dams on streams to create ponds. Beaver ponds flood the surrounding woodland, providing protection for the beavers and allowing them to fell trees close to shore. Beaver ponds are usually occupied by one family of beavers. The average colony contains one pair of adults, about four young of the year (kits), and young from the previous year (yearlings). A beaver house is constructed of sticks and mud, and is usually situated well away from shore so that land-based predators cannot get at it in summer. In winter, the mud freezes, forming an impregnable fortress against predators that might venture across the ice. Some beavers live along rivers and do not build dams or lodges. Instead they burrow into the bank of the river and fell trees for food near their home." From Fish and Wildlife. esrd.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/wild-species/mammals/rabbit...

A photo that I took on 14 September 2014, of one of the young Beavers that live in Fish Creek Park. They were such amazing animals to watch and one can see why the expression "busy as a Beaver" came into being. Their big, orange front teeth cut through wood at a tremendous speed. I couldn't help but smile at the rather loud munching sound made by this youngster, as it stripped the bark from this small branch. "Beavers are best known for their dam-building. They maintain their pond-habitat by reacting quickly to the sound of running water, and damming it up with tree branches and mud. The largest beaver dam is 2,790 ft (850 m) in length—more than half a mile long—and was discovered via satellite imagery in 2007. It is located on the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta and is twice the width of the Hoover Dam which spans 1,244 ft (379 m)." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver

Almost on the spur of the moment, I decided to join friends for an afternoon birding walk on 14 September 2014. The weather was so perfect, especially compared to the two consecutive snowstorms we had on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week (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, which is always just as enjoyable as the walk itself. 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 flew from branch to branch in the nearby trees and bushes, sometimes landing on the rocks at the edge of the pond. I always feel that Robins are so much taken for granted. Eventually, after a long wait, the Beaver's appeared - one of the adults, who crossed the path where I was standing, took me off guard, as I had my camera well zoomed. This huge animal walked faster than I was expecting. The evening light fades so quickly now and the pond area was too dark to get any decent photos. Such a treat to watch this family, especially the young ones - I think this was an adult in my photo. The evening reflections in the pond were beautiful, but I couldn't get a sharp focus on the wet Beaver, so I'm posting this more for the golden colours. The first time I saw these Beavers was on 14th September. I also called in on 18th, 20th and 21st. On 20th, only one Beaver showed up, which surprised us - had to delete all my photos as they were too blurry due to low light. The next evening, 21st (yesterday), neither adult nor any of the three young ones, showed up. A lady who stopped to talk to us said that she had heard vehicles and a lot of loud noise in that area the previous night (around 10:00 p.m. till midnight?). We are guessing that it was City workers maybe "removing" the Beavers. Trapping was supposed to be "on hold", after one of the adult Beavers got caught in a trap hidden down by the creek. His leg (foot?) got caught and he chewed off his foot/leg to escape. Amazingly, he was still managing reasonably well without it, poor thing. Imagine if a person had been walking in that spot and had got caught in the trap instead of an animal! The incident was reported by someone and it was in the news. I don't know what will end up happening to this little family, which apparently was seen again a couple of days ago. People really enjoy watching this busy little family, so hopefully they will be allowed to stay. After watching them, you can really see where the saying "busy as a Beaver" came from : ) CBC News about this family of Beavers, from 5 August 2014: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/city-reviews-beaver-contro... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver

Almost on the spur of the moment, I decided to join friends for an afternoon birding walk on 14 September 2014. The weather was so perfect, especially compared to the two consecutive snowstorms we had on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week (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, which is always just as enjoyable as the walk itself. 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 flew from branch to branch in the nearby trees and bushes, sometimes landing on the rocks at the edge of the pond. I always feel that Robins are so much taken for granted. Eventually, after a long wait, the Beaver's appeared - one of the adults, who crossed the path where I was standing, took me off guard, as I had my camera well zoomed. This huge animal walked faster than I was expecting. The evening light fades so quickly now and the pond area was too dark to get any decent photos. Such a treat to watch this family, especially the young ones (one of them seen in this photo). 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). The first time I saw these Beavers was on 14th September. I also called in on 18th, 20th and 21st. On 20th, only one Beaver showed up, which surprised us - had to delete all my photos as they were too blurry due to low light. The next evening, 21st (yesterday), neither adult nor any of the three young ones, showed up. A lady who stopped to talk to us said that she had heard vehicles and a lot of loud noise in that area the previous night (around 10:00 p.m. till midnight?). We are guessing that it was City workers maybe "removing" the Beavers. Trapping was supposed to be "on hold", after one of the adult Beavers got caught in a trap hidden down by the creek. His leg (foot?) got caught and he chewed off his leg to escape. Amazingly, he was still managing reasonably well without it, poor thing. Imagine if a person had been walking in that spot and had got caught in the trap instead of an animal! The incident was reported by someone and it was in the news. It will be interesting to hear if any of the Beavers are seen again - I suspect not. Such a shame, as people were really enjoying watching this busy little family. You can really see where the saying "busy as a Beaver" came from : ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_beaver

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

Almost on the spur of the moment, I decided to join friends yesterday afternoon for a birding walk. The weather was so perfect, especially compared to the two consecutive snowstorms we had on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, 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 flew from branch to branch in the nearby trees and bushes, sometimes landing, like this colourful male, on the rocks at the edge of the pond. I always feel that Robins are so much taken for granted. Eventually, after a long wait, the Beaver's appeared - this adult, who crossed the path where I was standing, took me off guard, as I had my camera well zoomed. This huge animal walked faster than I was expecting, so it's not the greatest photo. Better than almost all my photos taken of them yesterday, though, as the light was quickly fading and the pond area was too dark. Hope your photos came out much better than mine, Phil! Such a treat to watch this family, especially the young ones. 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

Yesterday, we saw a total of seven Muskrats down at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. The light happened to be beautiful as this one nibbled on the bunch of greens clutched tightly in its tiny hands. I was tempted to crop it even closer, but I liked the tree reflections in the small hole of water that had melted in the thin layer of ice. Thanks, Randy - you two guys were so pleasant, allowing me to "intrude" on you, while you clicked away. Thinking about this just now, it made me chuckle to think that WE could have been the subject for someone with a camera. Me with my little point-and-shoot camera, with a guy with a 600 mm on one side and a guy on the other side with a 500 mm, LOL!!! "An adult muskrat is about 40 to 60 cm (16 to 24 inches) long, almost half of that tail, and weighs from 0.7 to 1.8 kg (1.5 to 4 lb). Muskrats are much smaller than beavers (Castor canadensis), with whom they often share their habitat." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskrat

The two Hippopotami (or Hippopotamuses - take your pick) at the Calgary Zoo were outside, enjoying the fresh air when I visited them with my oldest daughter a couple of days ago. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus

This Mare's-tail was growing at Confluence Park. The leaves grow in whorls of 6-12, and the flowers are inconspicuous, borne in leaf axils. The name "Hippuris" comes from the Greek words "hippo" and "oura", meaning "horse tail", a reference to the plant's likeness to the unrelated Horsetail (Equisetum spp.).