Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Skunk

This was our last sighting, towards the end of a great day out. This huge Skunk ran fast across the road, right in front of our moving car, and disappeared into the grass. It was too quick for me to catch a decent shot, but I wanted to add a photo to my albums, just for the record. Two days ago, on 25 September 2017, I spent the day with a friend, travelling south of the city to the Pine Coulee Reservoir and area. I absolutely love the rolling hills scenery in this whole area. I have still never driven it myself, as I know I could very easily get myself totally lost in the middle of nowhere. Most of the birds we saw were far away, needing Tony's spotting scope or at least binoculars, except for a Eurasian Collared-Dove, a Belted Kingfisher and several small birds. Meanwhile, I was also enjoying the scenery and anything else that caught my eye. We called in at the Pine Coulee campground and the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground and did a walk at each. Both were deserted and so peaceful. At the Willow Creek Provincial Park campground, the silence was broken by the call of a Belted Kingfisher. There was a bright yellow sign warning that there was a bear in the area, but it was nowhere to be seen. The weather was perfect all day, starting off chilly, but getting up to about 20C in the afternoon, and a sky full of clouds. Thanks so much for the invite, Tony - much appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed! Pure luxury, too, not having to drive. "Located 119kms south of Calgary. 9kms west of Stavely on road #527. Willow Creek Basin Southern Alberta. The campground is situated on the south west shore of Pine Coulee Reservoir and contains 25 campsites for both RV's and tents. Most of the sites are surrounded by willow bushes creating a wind break and some privacy. A few choice sites are located near the lake. Amenities include, group camping, fire pits but no firewood available, dry toilets, water, garbage bins, power, boat launch, and picnic tables. Pine Coulee Reservoir is excellent for water skiing, wind surfing and fishing. Due to the lack of lakes located near Calgary you can expect to see hordes of boaters here during the summer. Boaters should use caution near the southeast end, there are a several large rocks submerged just under the surface that have destroyed many props and claimed a life. The reservoir was created for irrigation and is approximately 18kms long. It holds strong Walleye and Northern Pike populations and there is a public dock located next to campground where you can sit and fish. You'll need a fishing license to try your luck. The well maintained grassy area in the center of the campground is a good spot for astronomers and star gazers." From AlbertaWow. www.albertawow.com/campgrounds/Pine_Coulee/Pine_Coulee_Ca...

Marigold is a 6-year-old female Striped Skunk, who cannot be released into the wild. She "belongs" to the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation" and is one of their animal Ambassadors. I met her yesterday evening and attempted to get a few photos of her. I'd never taken photos of Skunk before. She was the wriggliest little creature imaginable, so my photos are far from the greatest, but at least I can add Striped Skunk to my Wild Animals of Alberta Set : ) "Marigold is a six year-old striped skunk. She was brought to AIWC as an orphan after her parents had been removed from a landowner's property. Marigold was the only survivor of her litter." From AIWC.

An awful photo, taken with flash in the dark, when I was taken completely by surprise, lol! Around 6:00 a.m. on the morning of 4 January 2013, I had arrived a bit early at the meeting place for the Horseshoe Canyon/Drumheller Christmas Bird Count. Sitting in my car, I noticed way down the road a small, dark shape moving. I thought it was someone taking their dog for a walk. No one appeared, though, and my next thought was that maybe it was a local Jackrabbit, just looking darker than it would in daylight. The animal kept going off the sidewalk into people's gardens and then reappearing again. When it got quite a lot closer, I was amazed to see that it was a Skunk, waddling towards my car. Getting out of my car, I tried to take a close shot with flash, but all I got was a total blur with two bright circles for its eyes. Tried again and managed to get this pathetic shot of its rear end disappearing down the road. Had to work on the image in order to get even this much! Posting just for my own record, as I think this is only the second totally wild Skunk I've ever seen. It was definitely a good start to a great day of birding!

A really bad photo, but I wanted to add it to my Wild Animals of Alberta set. I was taken by great surprise when I saw this Skunk zig-zagging through the long grass south of Highway 22X. I had pulled over to take a scenery photo and suddenly saw a black and white tail moving away from me. Couldn't believe it was a Skunk! The only other time I have seen a Skunk in the "wild" was a young one that was hanging around outside the Medicine River Wildlife Centre, north of Calgary, last year. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk

I don't enjoy taking photos of animals with people - much prefer wild ones. However, I'm just not seeing a Skunk in the wild, so sweet Marigold will fill that gap. She was brought to a meeting fairly recently by a speaker from the Alberta Institute of Wildlife Conservation. A squirmly creature when she was being held - just about impossible to photograph - so she was put down on this table to see if we could manage to get a shot or two. She serves well as a Wildlife Ambassador : )