Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014September26

I won't say that this find made up for the almost complete lack of fungi this year - because it didn't! However, it was a real treat to come across the huge cluster of small mushrooms on 6 September 2014, at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park (SW of Calgary). With a weather forecast of rain and mixed precipitation for a few days (8-10 September 2014), there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to straight away. The first one was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I had been there recently, and only found a couple of things. My visit on 6 September was slightly more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch a rare adult and a juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a MInk that a friend had told me about (thanks, Phil!). Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them (see a photo uploaded today). One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs/feet that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing OK. I was luckier with the Mink, catching it in a couple of very quick shots.

With a weather forecast of rain and mixed precipitation for a few days (8-10 September 2014), there were a couple of places that I thought I had better get to straight away. The first one was Brown-Lowery, to check if there were any mushrooms. I was there recently, and only found a couple of things. Yesterday's visit was slightly more rewarding and I found several large clusters of tiny mushrooms growing on tree stumps or at the base of trees. Also found several patches of bright orange Coral Fungi. Quite a few people were in the park, so I felt safer going a very short way in. Far enough, as it turned out, to watch an adult and a juvenile Three-toed Woodpecker feeding together on a tree trunk. The young one was copying Mom or Dad, but its soft squeaking sound resulted in the adult feeding it, too. On the way home, I decided to call in at Fish Creek Park, hoping to find a Beaver or a MInk that a friend had told me about (thanks, Phil!). Though I did see a couple of Beavers, I wasn't able to get a decent photo of them (see a photo uploaded today). One of them was a huge animal - this was the one that was recently found in a trap, biting off one of its front legs/feet that was caught in the trap. Someone had been there when this was happening and she made several reports about it. Thanks, Linda, for doing this. Such a cruel way to deal with any Beaver problem! The now three-legged animal seems to be doing OK. I was luckier with this Mink, catching it in a couple of very quick shots. I did post a similar shot previously, but decided to post this one as well, as I very rarely ever see one of these animals. This particular one had a really dark coat. There were various things blocking part of my view, which is why I got pale or discoloured patches in the lower half of the image. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_mink "Mink are ferocious predators that are about the size of a housecat and chocolate-brown in color. Their long, thin bodies, short legs, small eyes and ears, and sleek fur make them just the right size to fit in many holes, crevices and burrows to pursue prey. They may eat ground squirrels, rats, snakes and even birds. Mink are also semi-aquatic and their webbed feet allow them to capture frogs, clams and even fish .... They are generally shy creatures but can be very bold if their curiosity is piqued. Those who are fortunate to observe a mink’s behavior should use caution. The animals have scent glands under the skin and when they get excited or stressed, musk is released. The obnoxious odor can be just as repulsive as a skunk’s." A different website, for Alberta, states that Mink eat ducks, fish, Muskrat and other small birds and rodents. www.wildlifedepartment.com/wildlifemgmt/species/mink.htm IT TAKES UP TO 65 MINK TO MAKE JUST ONE FULL-LENGTH FUR COAT!!!

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