Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Red Fox

I so rarely see a Red Fox, so I wanted to add this to my albums, just for the record. Unfortunately, I was sitting on the 'wrong' side of the car, and also zoomed in too far. I suspect heat distortion also added to the awful quality of this image. I joined nine birding friends on 25 March 2018 for a trip east of the city. Not a lot of birds to be seen, but we were lucky to start the day with a Brown Creeper and end the day with a single male Mountain Bluebird. This was the first Bluebird I had seen this year - they are just starting to arrive now. No Snowy Owls were seen. A new bird species for me was a juvenile Iceland Gull. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It is way past time that I add apologies for falling way behind, not only with my commenting on other people’s photos, but also on keeping up with my own postings. Over the last three or four months, it has been one thing after another that needed to be dealt with – why is it that the unwelcome things never seem to come one at a time, ha? Times like Thanksgiving and Christmas are always difficult times for me, along with various 3rd anniversaries connected to my older daughter. For some reason, this season was more difficult than last year. I could definitely have done without the whole hassle of having to sort out and fix the mess that was caused when someone (or two separate people) tried to make suspicious purchases using my credit card, resulting in my card being cancelled (without any notification from the Bank!) and various services being shut down. Took about five weeks to get everything sorted out. Throw in a long issue with a camera that I bought more than a year ago and am still trying to get the manufacturer to fix the problem. When I use Playback, the camera keeps skipping over some of the photos, and it has done this since I first used the camera. When I went back to the store at the beginning, I was told that it would have to be sent off for repair. I couldn’t do that because I needed it for my Trinidad & Tobago trip. Finally, I let it be sent off just before the warranty ended, shortly before Christmas. It was so-called “repaired” and returned, but in fact it was exactly the same as before. Now I am without it for the second time, hoping that this time it will actually be fixed. Not the end of the world, that’s for sure, though photography is vital to me. I am still working on a major photo contract, which I will describe once the whole thing is finished. I’ll just say that it is a very special and exciting project for someone, involving a set of images that I took a few decades ago. Stress over my daughter’s upcoming major surgery is unavoidable and we will both be enormously relieved when it is all over with. Heavily overshadowing everything during the past three or so months was my own health. After worrying myself sick, and for much too long, I finally saw my doctor, who ordered various tests including an ultrasound, to see if I had cancer. Three days ago, I was told that nothing of any concern had been found, to my huge relief. I’d like to think that I will never be in that situation again, as ‘terrifying’ would be the word to describe it. How I feel for all those who are not so fortunate to get good news. Anyway, all these things left me feeling totally stressed out and drained, with no energy to do much at all. The day before I had my tests done, I knew I just had to get out and look for an owl, and I was so lucky : ) I have taken so few photos the last few months, which I always find depressing. Yesterday and the day before, too, I just had to get out on a couple of day trips with friends. Too tired to add descriptions on Flickr the last two mornings, but hopefully I will catch up. Thank you to anyone who happens to read this!

Yesterday morning, 26 January 2015, was spent in the mountains with friends, Cathy and Terry, exploring along the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail in Kananaskis Country (the closest area of the mountains west of the city). This gravel road, south of Canmore, travels through the heart of the scenic Smith-Dorrien Valley, which is one of the of the wildest areas in Kananaskis. For years, I had read about this road and how not to drive along it when the weather was poor or if it had been raining. However, usually when I have been there with friends, Cathy and Terry, we have found the road to be in good condition, unlike much of yesterday. The afternoon was spent along the Bow Valley Parkway. The three of us had a great day, even though we had to deal with ice almost everywhere. Parts of the road were bare, other parts wet and muddy and the rest was a solid sheet of ice. Each time we stopped to take photos or watch wildlife, we had to park on ice and were surrounded by a solid sheet of ice. Consequently, I took most of my photos either from inside the car (which usually doesn't work!) or else standing and holding on to the car, which resulted in heat distortion/blur from the car. Most of my shots need to be deleted : (( This photo and the Moose photo are poor quality, but I'm posting them for the record. This beautiful Moose had crossed over the road in front of us and disappeared a little way into the forest. We pulled over and stopped and watched and waited. At first, she stood with just part of her back end visible through the trees and then she turned around to face us. She seemed a little curious and at ease, watching while Terry came up with a solution of how I could get out of the car. The pure ice made it treacherous and so two of the car mats were placed like stepping stones for me. Unfortunately, though, if I moved more than a few inches to either side, my view of the Moose was blocked by the trees. However, at least I could remain upright but leaning over the hot car, which resulted in a set of very cute, but horribly blurry, images. We were very grateful for this beautiful encounter. The Red Fox surprised us all - usually, you see them near the edge of woodlands or on the prairies. Don't remember seeing one in the mountain forest before. This animal was on the large side for a Red Fox (so maybe a male?), but it does have the black back of the ears and it had black on its legs, unlike a Coyote. There wasn't time to get a decent shot (from inside the car), but this photo is enough for ID purposes. Thanks so much, Cathy and Terry, for yet another great day in the mountains - always so much fun! I really needed this wonderful day spent with the healing power of nature! Posting really late today, as I did't set my alarm and ended up sleeping till about 1:00 pm..

Wasn't sure whether to post this image, as it is rather blurry - don't bother to look at it in large size, LOL! However, it is yet another little moment captured in an amazing few minutes mid June. These young Red Foxes were just so beautiful!

Flickr friend, Ron, was kind enough to take me with him this morning, when he went to see this wonderful family of Red Foxes. Ron, I shouldn't have jokingly said that what I need, is for my photos from today to come out blurry so that I might have to force myself to try the drive myself some time. Guess what! Hardly any of the pics came out sharp - most were blurry and I mean quite blurry. No idea WHY! Still, I am so thrilled to have even a few photos of these gorgeous creatures - just adorable! Thanks SO much for the opportunity, Ron! Much appreciated, to put it mildly!

Another photo from last summer of one of the young Red Foxes seen outside the city. It will be interesting to see if they return to the same den(s) as last year. They are such amazingy beautiful creatures. Was out all morning, east of the city, and was happy to see my first Black-necked Stilt of the year - also Avocet, Gadwall, Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and so on. We were lucky to see the rare, recently reported, Common Teal/Eurasian Green-winged Teal. It was very distant, at first swimming away from us, and then in flight. Better to have seen this distant, almost-silhouette bird, than not at all, LOL. No chance for photos this morning - all birds were much too far away. Gorgeous day, though. Crazy Calgary weather - supposed to get up to 20C today and even 23C on Tuesday (I think). Might just hop in my car again and drive a little way south west of the city before more of the afternoon slips away. I have SOOOO much I should be doing (including my Taxes), but the blue sky and sunshine are calling me ... sigh.

I'm still coming across the odd photo of these gorgeous Red Fox kits that I still haven't posted to Flickr. What beautiful animals they were. Seen south east of Calgary last summer.

Back to the little Red Fox kits that I photographed mid June last year, south east of the city. I'm still finding the odd image that is fit to be posted, despite the lack of clarity, especially along the lower edge.

All three of my photos today happen to be from my archives. Not intentionally done : ) This young Red Fox was one of several that I saw and photographed early to mid June this year, south east of the city. Most of my photos came out blurred, especially the lower part of each image. Not sure why, as I thought I made sure I was well cleared of the lowered car window. I managed to rescue several images and this is another one that I hadn't posted earlier. They are such beautiful creatures - just love that little face.

Another brief glimpse into the world of a young Red Fox, seen on 12th June, south east of the city. Apparently, this fox family has now moved to a new location. "The Red Fox is one of the most widely distributed mammals in the world .... In Alberta, they occur throughout the province." Talkaboutwildlife website.

...but oh, so adorable : ) I'm still picking out the odd image I took of these Red Fox kits that day. Most of my photos came out far too blurry, for some strange reason, but I'm still finding the odd one or two that are just about fit to be posted. I wonder how these little guys are doing now. Maybe they have already dispersed?

I haven't quite run out of photos of the little Red Fox kits, southeast of Calgary. So many of the photos I took came out horribly blurry, but thought I'd share the ones that came out OK. Love the white tip of his/her tail, and the black markings on those little legs.

Another photo that thankfully came out well enough to upload : ) This young Red Fox was hanging out in the den area with one of his/her siblings while we watched from the car.

This adorable little Red Fox kit showed itself for a couple of seconds this morning and then disappeared into its den and stayed there. Last week, I had seen this family with a friend, and two or three of the kits had seemed quite comfortable with the presence of our vehicle. This morning, I went with another friend who knew about these Foxes, but all we had was this one quick view. I really hope that not too many people have been going out to see them - which is why I have given no location. Sadly, some photographers spoil things not only for other people, but also cause stress on the wildlife - which is definitely thoughtless and can be devastating for our furry and feathered neighbours. My thanks to all those photographers who ARE thoughtful and put the well-being of wildlife before getting that "important" shot!