Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014September23

There were a few of these very cute Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels at Cameron Falls, in Waterton Lakes National Park. There were picnic tables nearby and where there are people, these little creatures know that, if they are "lucky", someone will give them food. This one managed to get a Sunflower seed from people who were at one of the tables. I love the tiny hands of these little guys, and of any of the species in the Sciuridae family that consists of small or medium-size rodents. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots (including woodchucks), flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. "Spermophilus lateralis is found in Canada and the United States. It ranges from southeast British Colombia and southwest Alberta, into the western United States as far east as western Colorado and down to northwestern New Mexico and southern California. Golden-mantled ground squirrels have little positive economic importance to humans. They do however, provide amusement and enjoyment for many campers as they can become quite tame, living at campgrounds and taking food from eager campers hands. (Bartels and Thompson, 1993). Spermophilus lateralis can have a negative impact on the timber industry. In the fall, coniferous seeds make up a large portion of their diet, and S. lateralis can harm reforestation efforts by eating newly sprouted conifer seeds. They have little impact on agriculture because of habitat selection." animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Spermophilus_late... During three days away (26, 27 and 28 August 2014) with friends, Cathy and Terry, we saw so many things, including breathtaking scenery, 4 Black Bears (including one that was swimming in the lake), Bison, Deer, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Chipmunks, various bird species including endangered Burrowing Owls (way east of Waterton, on our last day), a few wildflowers, several Yellow-bellied Marmots (a first for me, and also way east of Waterton Park!), a few different insect species, and a family of Dusky Grouse that are uncommon in the park. I even got the chance to see three or four new-to-me old, wooden grain elevators. Definitely a great trip! Even the weather was perfect - that is, till the moment we decided that it was time to start driving back to Calgary. Around 5:00 p.m., a mesocyclone rolled in, totally engulfing our car and bringing pounding hail, maybe 3 feet visibility, and tremendously strong winds. Fortunately, we weren't caught in the very centre of the storm - can't imagine how bad that would have been!

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