Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Urocitellus columbianus

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!! The link below is to a 4:34 minutes video by the BBC. If you have never seen this before, you'll understand why I posted this link with this photo. It makes me laugh every time I see it. youtu.be/j5mHjpwitIA Yesterday morning, 30 June 2019, I woke up earlier than usual. Once I was on my computer, I checked the weather forecast and saw raindrop icons in the forecast for the next week, but yesterday was for sun. I knew what I had to do! Luckily, I had a tank full of gas, so I grabbed both cameras and a snack or two, and headed out the door. I must be the only person who hadn't been to Kananaskis recently and taken photos of the tiny Pikas (Rock Rabbits), and that was my destination. This is a long weekend for Canada Day, and my plan had been to keep off the roads, as I was sure they would be busy, making it more difficult to stop whenever I wanted, to take a photo or two. However, when I saw the weather forecast, it changed my mind. Sunshine, blue sky with clouds, made it a perfect day to be out - I'm sure you agreed, Bonnie : ) A day in Kananaskis is always great, but sometimes 'great' turns out to be fantastic! Can't believe how lucky I was, not just in the mountains, but on the journey there and, at the end of the day, calling in at my 'usual' area closer to home. I suspect the Pika is most people's favourite - around 6 inches long and almost impossible to see against the mountainside of broken rocks that are the same colour as the Pika's fur. Starting to believe that maybe I was going to be out of luck, the first one appeared, racing in and out and over and between the endless, sharp rocks. Take your eyes off the animal and you stand a good chance of not being able to find it again. Then a second one appeared, a baby - which I think is the one on this photo. It perched itself on top of this rock and simply stayed there for a few minutes. Several of my photos show the eyes closing slightly. However, eventually it did move, and off it went. When it appeared not too far away, I caught sight of it and thought at first it was a mouse, ha. So tiny! While I was searching for a Pika, a herd of Bighorn Sheep had come down the massive mountain side and, as they usually do, gathered right in the middle of the road to lick salt left by vehicles. After quite a time, there was an almighty BOOM that startled me and a handful of others. We hadn't noticed a Park's truck arrive, armed with 'bangers' to make the Sheep move from the road. Once the Park's person had left, the Sheep returned to the road. There were several young ones along with the females. It will take me ages to go through my photos, especially having to combine two cameras, but lots of images can wait till winter. More important, to me, is to continue editing and posting the remaining Texas photos.

The day before yesterday, 28 August 2018, I did another long drive, this time SW of the city into the mountains. This is a second area that I try to do on my own each year now, to make sure that I don't lose confidence to do the drive. Luckily, I saw a few furry, four-legged critters, which will make a change from all my recent photos. Though my main purpose was to simply do the drive, I knew I would be driving through spectacular scenery and I knew that I might just see a Bighorn Sheep or two and maybe even a tiny Pika/Rock Rabbit. Fortunately, I was in luck with all three. This photo is one of the only photos of a Bighorn Sheep that came out. All my photos were taken through the windscreen, but this was one rapid shot I managed to get when one of the sheep walked past my side window. The windscreen photos are all terrible - weird colour and oh, so blurry. but hoping I might be able to rescue one or two of them. A tiny Pika made my day, too. Sometimes, one is out of luck, but I was able to get a few photos, mainly more distant shots. It was a relief to find that there was no snow on the ground, as walking on a talus slope that is also covered in snow and ice is really treacherous. Snow had fallen in the mountains the day before - yes, it's August!! - but either it didn't reach the area I was in or else it had already melted. When i woke up that morning, it looked like it might finally be a day without smoke from all the wildfires - a day with some blue sky, not to mention that perhaps the mountains and foothills could actually be seen. We all know that they are there, but it is eerily strange when they all disappear from view. A quick decision was made and I knew the drive had to be done. As it turned out, scenic shots had a haze to them, especially when I reached my furthest point, which was Upper Kananaskis Lake. I need to check, but I'm pretty sure this was the first time I had ever driven myself to the lake, and I felt really uncomfortable once I turned off the main highway. So many small roads leading off the road I was on and I couldn't help wondering how on earth I would ever find the way back along this long road that seemed to go on forever. The view at the lake was so hazy, but I posted a photo yesterday, mainly to remind myself that I actually made it to the lake. Once I turned around to head home, an orange light came on, on my dashboard. Out came the car manual and I saw that it was the Maintenance light. I think this is only the second time it has ever come on (in just under 19,000 km), both times when I was far, far away from home. Must phone and make an appointment, hopefully for as soon as possible, as I have a couple of drives coming up. (Yay, they can do it early tomorrow morning!).

The link below is to a 4:34 minutes video by the BBC. If you have never seen this before, you'll understand why I posted this link with this photo (of a Columbian Ground Squirrel seen in Waterton town). It makes me laugh every time I see it. youtu.be/j5mHjpwitIA To have the chance to visit Waterton Lakes National Park five days ago, on 24 June 2017, was such an absolute treat! This was an annual bus trip arranged by Nature Calgary, with the destination being different each year. To visit Waterton for just one day does make for a very long day, though - takes about 3 hours to drive each way, for a start. "Waterton Lakes National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is also an International Peace Park, and a Biosphere Reserve. No other park in the world has these three designations. Waterton Biosphere Reserve as it is officially called, was designated in 1979 under what is called the internationally recognized "Man and the Biosphere program" of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), that sure is a mouthful. Biosphere Reserves are designed to promote and demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature." www.wediscovercanadaandbeyond.ca/2010/11/red-rock-canyon-... We had two main stopping places in the park - the lookout at Maskinonge Lake and a longer stop at Cameron Lake. The views from both places are spectacular. Luckily, we had beautiful weather all day. Actually, we weren't too sure if the road going through the mountains to Cameron Lake was going to be open. It was due to reopen the day before out trip and, fortunately, the gate was open. Once at Cameron Lake, we found an empty picnic table right near the beach, and ate our picnic lunch. We were able to walk along the forest trail that followed the shoreline on the right edge of the lake. At a certain point, one has to turn around and go back along the same trail. Cameron Lake is one of my favourite places in the park, with a beautiful view of the lake and a pleasant, flat walk through the forest. There didn't seem to be a lot of forest wildflower species in bloom - maybe we were just a bit too early for them. However, the huge, creamy white flowers of Bear Grass growing along the edge of the road up to the lake had everyone in absolute awe. The road is only narrow and our bus was huge, so on the drive there, all we could do was gasp in amazement, with no chance for taking photos. We asked our excellent driver if there was any chance he would be willing and able to stop at one of the very small pull-offs at the edge of the road on the return drive - and he did! He was expecting maybe five or six people would get off, but I think almost everyone wanted to get a close look at these amazing plants. Even the driver himself got out to look and take photos. He had apparently never been to Waterton before and had never seen Bear Grass. We noticed tiny Crab Spiders on two of the flowers; one was lying in wait and the other had caught an insect. These spiders don't construct webs, but camouflage themselves by changing their colour to that of the flower they are hiding in, and then they wait. We also saw several stems of Striped Coralroot orchid in the ditch by some of the Bear Grass. After spending a couple of hours at Cameron Lake, the driver took us back into town, as some people had said they wanted to eat there before the long drive back to Calgary. Others, including myself, would have preferred to have spent the time somewhere else, seeing nature and taking photos. However, we were able to walk to the lake's edge, from where we were able to take a few scenic photos - something I had been hoping for. On our way back to the bus, some of us called in at a very popular ice cream shop - we all agreed it was the best, tastiest ice cream we had ever had! A huge, single scoop of wild cherry in a waffle cone - what more could one want? Penny, you did a great job of organizing this wonderful trip for us all! I know a lot of work goes into setting up an outing like this, and we all appreciate the time and effort you put into planning this. Such a perfect destination for this year's annual bus trip! Pam, thanks for your company on this long drive - helped make it far more enjoyable!

Another day of black skies and pouring rain today, 15 July 2016. We are certainly making up for the very mild winter and summer-like spring! Hope nowhere gets flooded again today. These little Columbian Ground Squirrels are seen only in the mountains, not in Calgary, where we have the Richardson Ground Squirrels (commonly known as Gophers). A few of us watched this little creature while it collected dried plant material around the end of a small bridge near the camp where we were staying for two nights in Waterton. Not sure if it already had babies and was perhaps adding some clean grass to the den/nest. This walk was a result of hearing a few people discussing at breakfast a strange plant they had just seen in the woods by the Canyon Church Camp in Waterton Lakes National Park, where we were staying for two nights. After breakfast, I went with them to see and sure enough, it turned out to be what I had guessed from their description - wonderful Pinedrops. This is a rare, LISTED S2 plant. A year ago, I had seen some on the hiking trail to Blakiston Falls in the park, and a bit later on 10 JUly 2016 found more of these plants at the same location, shortly before reaching the Falls. After this exciting find, we continued our walk as far as the small bridge that leads to the Camp, where we saw this busy little Ground Squirrel. I always think of these animals eating grass and plants, so I found the following information interesting. "Diet includes a wide variety of vegetation: roots, bulbs, stems, leaves, seeds, and berries. Also eats some animal food (e.g., insects, mice, dead fish). May climb into trees and shrubs to obtain buds and fruits. Spends about 70% of year in hibernation." www.iucnredlist.org/details/42466/0 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_ground_squirrel Five days ago, late afternoon, (I think around 5:15 pm), on 10 July 2015, I arrived back home from my holiday of the year - a two and a half day trip to Waterton National Park. It was wonderful to again be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few pleasantly slow walks/hikes with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds and animals. Lots of great company with (22) people, some of whom I already knew and lots of new faces, too. The trip was organized by Nature Calgary. Everyone was free to go wherever they wanted each day, but for the two nights, we stayed at the very basic Canyon Church Camp, off the Red Rock Parkway. Dorm-style cabins (about which I will say nothing, lol!), but they do have showers and even flush toilets at the camp. We were fed so well - lots of variety and good food. We were given two breakfasts and two suppers, plus a packed lunch for the two days. Our thanks go out to the lady (can't remember her name, sorry, but she was also there for us in July 2015) who cooked and prepared these meals for us! They were so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated! "Waterton Lakes National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is also an International Peace Park, and a Biosphere Reserve. No other park in the world has these three designations. Waterton Biosphere Reserve as it is officially called, was designated in 1979 under what is called the internationally recognized "Man and the Biosphere program" of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), that sure is a mouthful. Biosphere Reserves are designed to promote and demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature." www.wediscovercanadaandbeyond.ca/2010/11/red-rock-canyon-... Thank you SO much, Janet, for driving your friend and me to and from Calgary and around the park some of the time, too. Thanks to Debbie, too. To say that I appreciated it is a huge understatement!! Our thanks, too, to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly, as usual! A great time was had by all. Andrew, I am SO happy and relieved that you were finally able to find a bear (and her cub) on the last day - yes, we came across the same ones shortly after you saw them. Not sure if they were two of the three I had seen at more or less the same location the previous morning, 9 July 2016. If it was the same female, then her second cub must have been really well hidden in the tangle of bushes and trees yesterday. We didn't get a good view, though I did take a handful of photos, including when the cub looked towards us for a split second. I had never seen such a young cub before, so I was thrilled to bits. Can't forget to add my huge thanks for finding me a Lazuli Bunting, too, at some unearthly hour (well, 7:30 am). No idea how on earth you managed to spot such a small bird from so far away - just a tiny speck in the far, far distance. Also was delighted that you found two Nighthawks flying high overhead at the Nature Conservancy area. So, I guess you and I both returned to Calgary feeling really happy : )