Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Sciuridae

This photo of a little Least Chipmunk was taken on 21 June 2015, when some of us walked to a campground to find an outhouse before starting on a hike along the Crandell Lake Trail, in Waterton Lakes National Park. The least chipmunk (Tamias minimus) is the smallest species of chipmunk, and the most widespread in North America. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_chipmunk I was so lucky to be invited to join friends Sandy and Heide on a three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park, from 19-21 (inclusive) June 2015. We met up with other members of the Alberta Native Plant Council for their annual Botany Alberta weekend. Most people who attended stayed at the Crooked Creek Campground, a 5.6 km drive east of the Waterton Park Gate on Highway 5, but my friends and I stayed at the Crandell Mountain Lodge on the edge of Waterton town. The ANPC people had a list of species that they hoped to find, and they were very successful. Our stay down south overlapped the annual Waterton Wildflower Festival, but we came across very few people on our various drives and hikes. Needless to say, I was extremely fortunate to spend three days with people who are very knowledgeable about plants (and other things). This meant that I got to see many wildflower species, including several that were new to me, such as the gorgeous Mariposa Lily. It was one of the flowers that was on my Wish List - and there were hundreds of them to be seen! I had also never seen the spectacular Bear Grass and I was so thrilled that there were still several plants in bloom. Absolutely made my day! Our two main hikes of the weekend were the Bertha Lake Trail as far as the Bertha Falls (on 20 June), and the Crandell Lake Trail (on 21 June). Makes me smile when a described "short, easy hike" in a book or on the Internet turns into a full day of exploration along the trail, taking hours to reach the destination, though returning to the cars in a much shorter time. Our walks/hikes are very slow-paced with endless stops to look at/for plants and to take photos. This makes it possible for me to go along. Crandell Lake from the Crandell Campground trailhead: Return distance 4.0 km (2.4 miles), elevation gain 150 metres (492'), hiking time 1.5 hours (we took all day!). Bertha Falls from the townsite trailhead: Return distance 5.6 km (3.4 miles), elevation gain 150 metres (492'), hiking time 1.5 hours (again, we took all day). For me, this hike felt much further than it was! The wind made photographing plants a real challenge, including the beautiful Mariposa Lilies in the meadow along the Hay Barn road. Though I took plenty of photos, I wasn't sure that I would end up with any that were sharp enough. Trying to catch a quick shot when a flower is blowing in and out of the viewfinder is not easy! Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to get down and take macro shots (my lens needs to be about 4" away from the subject), so my photos have to be telemacro. I've been trying to find a list of plant species in Waterton Park, but have so far been out of luck. I do have the book, "Wildflowers of Waterton Park" by Jacinthe Lavoie and Ian Wilson, which has an Index of Plant names, but I was hoping to find a list that I could print out.

Not the greatest quality, but this is the same little guy who was in a recently posted image, sitting on a very short, broken off branch, looking straight at me. These Red Squirrels are smaller than the introduced Eastern Gray Squirrels, and really are very cute. They defend their territory with very loud chatter. Taken on 20 February 2014 at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park.

Very often, my photos of Red Squirrels come out very blurry because of the low light deep within the forest. This little one was a bit closer to the edge of the trees and actually came out sharp enough. They are such fun creatures, timid, but they do seem to like to perch and watch as we walk past. They defend their territory with a lot of fierce "chattering". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Red_Squirrel

This little guy/gal posed so nicely for us near the side of the road. Seen on a great day out with friends, Cathy and Terry, when we went west of Calgary to the mountains, on 20 May 2012. If I remember correctly, this was taken along the Smith-Dorrien road. Here, in the city, we only get the Richardson's Ground Squirrels, but in the mountains, you see these attractive Columbian Ground Squirrels. Don't like to say it, but I suspect the main purpose in life for Ground Squirrels is to provide snacks, lunches and dinners for predators such as Coyotes, Hawks, etc.. www.nhptv.org/natureworks/columbiangroundsquirrel.htm

I was surprised to find that this photo came out OK, as usually my photos taken in the forest in Weaselhead don't come out - not enough light. A few of us had been standing, waiting, hoping that a Boreal Chickadee would appear, but we only lucked out on Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatch and a Downy Woodpecker. Shortly before we carried on with our walk, this little Red Squirrel joined in the fun. Unlike the Eastern Grey Squirrel, the smaller Red Squirrel is native to Alberta. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Red_Squirrel

This is a typical view of one of these Black-tailed Prairie Dogs that reside at the Calgary Zoo. Amazing how they can live on thin bits of "greens" and yet end up so rotund, lol! "In Canada, Richardson’s ground squirrels are ubiquitous throughout the mixed-grass and fescue prairies of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, whereas Black-tailed prairie dogs are found only in the vicinity of Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan." From www.albertapcf.org . en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-tailed_prairie_dog Some of you might be interested in this link to an article about an "Ice Age plant revived after 30,000 years in frozen burrow | CTV News". Thanks for sending me this link, Gerry (altamons)! www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/SciTech/20120220/Ice-Age-plant-resurre...

The quality of this photo is really bad, but I did want to post it, as I don't remember ever seeing a Two-toned Eastern Grey Squirrel before. There were lots of black Eastern Greys together, running around a wooded park area in the residential area of High River, but this one stood out because of its mixed colours. A few of us were standing there, hoping for the appearance of a wonderful, rare visitor to Alberta - a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Though quite a few people have been lucky enough to be there at the right time, some of us were out of luck that day, when we were doing the High River Christmas Bird Count. I have marked the town of High River on my map, but not the exact location of the park. I read that some people call them “Copper Tails” and others call them “Brown Backs.” Haven't yet been able to find out for sure what causes this colouration.

This little Ground Squirrel came over to see us when we were hiking up to Arethusa Cirque, Kananaskis, on July 30th. "The golden-mantled ground squirrel is a type of ground squirrel found in mountainous areas of western North America. It eats seeds, nuts, berries, insects, and underground fungi. It is preyed upon by hawks, jays, weasels, foxes, bobcats, and coyotes. A typical adult ranges from 23–30 cm (9–12 inches) in length ... They dig shallow burrows up to 30m (100 ft) in length with the openings hidden in a hollow log or under tree roots or a boulder. The female gives birth to a single litter of 4–6 young each summer." Can you imagine, a comedy about birding, lol? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden-mantled_ground_squirrel For you bird lovers out there, Cornell Lab of Ornithology added the following link to their Facebook page. Apparently, there's a movie about birding coming out this fall, called The Big Year, starring Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black. youtu.be/JCBAP2wId5M

This cute little guy/gal came out of its pile of lichen-covered rocks to check me out. I had been walking ahead of my two friends on Sunday, when we were on Plateau Mountain again. They had stopped to check for mosses and lichens on the ridge we were climbing, when I caught sight of this little Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel. The deep green bokeh is from the spruce (?) trees on a distant mountain side. This was the only wildlife I saw, other than a group of maybe a dozen Mountain Sheep on the distant slope below the actual flat top of Plateau Mountain. I've only ever once been on the flat top and that was about 30 years ago! It's just too far for me to walk to get from the meadows to the flat top, unfortunately. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden-mantled_ground_squirrel Thunderstorm Watch for Calgary - and it looks like it is about to happen any moment now - just when I have to go out to meet a friend for an early supper, ha. And, here comes the rain and the thunder! Quite welcome, though it would have been nice to have had it overnight instead : )

These Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels are the cutest litle things, but they move so fast. I managed to get just this one, almost sharp image : ) Photographed at Kananaskis Lakes, in Kananaskis Country, on August 7th. A typical adult ranges from 23–30 cm (9–12 inches) in length. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden-mantled_ground_squirrel

Suddenly decided to upload Saturday's images tonight - well, actually it's about 1:15 a.m. on Saturday morning. I have a whole day of botanizing again tomorrow (plus some clean-up), this time south east of the city at the Nodwell Sanctuary (i.e. a few dry hillsides plus some wetter wooded area at the bottom of the hills). I didn't want to send my best wishes for Father's Day later tomorrow evening, when the special day is just about over, so thought I'd better post it at the unearthly hour of 1:15 a.m.. I still haven't got all my stuff ready for tomorrow yet! So, Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there (for Sunday 20th June) and to those of you who will quietly think of your Fathers who are no longer living. My own Father died about 33 years ago - people called him an exceptional photographer and he was the one who awakened my interest in photography (for which I am truly thankful every day). Everyone has or had a Father, so the day means something to each and every one of us - very different things for some compared to others. I hope that YOUR memories will be happy ones. A special Father's Day wish to my son, Steven, who is a really great Dad to his bright, smart, amazing 9-year-old son - oops, sorry, that's the Grandma in me talking, LOL! These three adorable baby Richardson's Ground Squirrels will find (or may have already found) that their Dad goes into hibernation any time soon, LOL. So much for having a Dad to look up to and spend time with. Seen at the top of the steep Weaselhead hill, North Glenmore Park. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson's_ground_squirrel

Can never remember if this is a Marmot, Groundhog or Prairie Dog at the Calgary Zoo. There is no sign (that I could see) saying what these roly-poly animals are. (Later: this is a Black-tailed Prairie Dog).