Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: fawn

Another smoky day here in Calgary (21 July 2017), with a temperature of 20C this morning and cloudy. The air quality yesterday was expected to reach High Risk, but it seemed to be bearable late in the afternoon. So, I took a drive along some of my favourite roads SW of the city, seeing a few of the 'usual' things. I really hope that rain will arrive soon to help the firefighters in British Columbia and in Alberta, too! So much devastation. In between photographing Mountain Bluebirds, I drove part way along a road that I had only ever been on once before, and that was quite recently. Usually, I am home earlier than I was yesterday. This later time meant that I was lucky enough to see two families of deer - White-tailed and Mule Deer. The animals in this photo were the second family I saw. A short distance before, I had seen a Mule Deer doe with her fawn standing at the edge of the road. I pulled over way down the road and waited till they had safely crossed. Managed to get a couple of distant shot through the windscreen, with the usual poor quality results. I knew that there would be a barbed-wire fence the far side of the road and I didn't want to spook them and risk them getting tangled in the sharp barbs. Several years ago, I had seen a huge Moose get spooked and then get briefly tangled in barbed wire - it spooked when it suddenly realized that some cows had quietly come up behind it!

Wow, "Western Montana rattled by strong earthquake (5.8, after midnight last night) felt as far north as Calgary." I hope there will be no aftershocks this weekend, as I will be much closer to it! globalnews.ca/news/3578563/magnitude-5-8-earthquake-in-mo... Friend, Pam, and I were delighted to see this beautiful little family on our long drive on Canada Day. At first, all we saw was the mother, who jumped over a barbed-wire fence, way off in the distance. Then we caught sight of her two gorgeous, spotted twins who had been hidden by tall grass. Yet another treat on this exciting day. Canada Day, 1 July 2017, was a great day. I picked up Pam just after 8:00 am and did a long drive in Southern Alberta. We saw our target bird - a Common Nighthawk, and all sorts of other things including plants, wildlife, and old barns. It took a round trip of 414 km to get the Nighthawks, but it was so worth it! Much further than I normally drive. Towards the end of our day, the rain arrived, accompanied by lightning streaks. This couldn't have been timed more perfectly, to wash off a lot of the dust that covered my car after 12 hours of driving hot, dusty roads! So welcome! We have another hot day today and the forecast is for very hot days (in the low 30Cs) for at least the next few days. It was such a thrill to see a Common Nighthawk / Chordeiles minor (a rather strange looking bird), as I had always wanted to see one actually lying on a fence post or wooden railing. People get such amazing photos of them like that, and that is what I was determined to find this summer. Last year, I had driven to this area in Southern Alberta, hoping to find one, but had been out of luck. Most of the Nighthawk photos I took four days ago were of Nighthawks lying on metal railings, but I was still thrilled to bits. We saw four individuals, together, and one was on a fence post - not the best angle, but it was still nice to see a fence post perch. How close we came to missing them! I said I wanted to just check the first part of a small side road first, before continuing on the road we were on - and there they were! I had seen a nighthawk on maybe five different occasions over the years, but most were in flight and one was perched very high up in a tree. For Pam, this was the first time she had ever seen one, and she was so happy to see this lifer. I was so tired after driving such a long distance and it was a hot day - the temperature got up to 30C. I so rarely do such a long drive, and I've barely driven all winter and spring. It felt so good to actually get out on a long drive like this, and we saw all sorts of interesting things that we just had to stop and photograph - of course! Every single time I go out with my camera for a drive, I never forget to be SO thankful to live in a country where I have the freedom and safety to go where I want, and to see such beauty. Thank you, Alberta and Albertans - and Happy 150th Birthday, Canada! Such a young country.

Yesterday, 5 September 2016, was one of those days that I wasn't really feeling like bothering to get myself ready and go for a walk, but something kept 'telling' me to go. So, I drove over to Fish Creek Park, hoping that I would be able to find one of the Black-crowned Night-herons that people have been seeing recently. Last year, I was lucky enough to see a juvenile on a couple of occasions at this location. However, I was out of luck with the herons and everything else, till just before I got back to my car. I spotted a patch of tan colour way off in the distance, through the bushes. Stopping to take a better look, I saw that it was a beautiful doe and her twins. They walked up a slight hill and I was able to get a clear look at them. Yes, the photo is blurry, but I so rarely see White-tailed Deer fawns, so I wanted to post the image for the record. Love it when the young ones still have their white spots. Definitely worth getting lightly rained on : ) "White-tailed deer, the smallest members of the North American deer family, are found from southern Canada to South America. In the heat of summer they typically inhabit fields and meadows using clumps of broad-leaved and coniferous forests for shade. During the winter they generally keep to forests, preferring coniferous stands that provide shelter from the harsh elements. Female deer, called does, give birth to one to three young at a time, usually in May or June and after a gestation period of seven months. Young deer, called fawns, wear a reddish-brown coat with white spots that helps them blend in with the forest. White-tailed deer are herbivores, leisurely grazing on most available plant foods. Their stomachs allow them to digest a varied diet, including leaves, twigs, fruits and nuts, grass, corn, alfalfa, and even lichens and other fungi. Occasionally venturing out in the daylight hours, white-tailed deer are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular, browsing mainly at dawn and dusk. In the wild, white-tails, particularly the young, are preyed upon by bobcats, mountain lions, and coyotes. They use speed and agility to outrun predators, sprinting up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour and leaping as high as 10 feet (3 meters) and as far as 30 feet (9 meters) in a single bound." From National Geographic. animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/white-tail...

This peaceful photo of such beautiful, innocent creatures is in such stark contrast to the scenes of horror that are emerging from Orlando, Florida, following the shooting to death of 49 people and injuring 53 others. My heart goes out to all those affected by this atrocious act of terror and hate. Fully zoomed (EXIF data gives Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm) and cropped, so this image leaves a lot to be desired as far as quality goes. However, I'm still thrilled to have seen this White-tailed doe with her tiny fawn and to get any photo at all. They were down at the bottom of a valley, so far away, and for one brief moment, they both stopped and turned to look in my direction. This special moment happened yesterday, 13 June 2016, when I took a short drive SW of the city. Later today, I have to drop my car off to get it serviced and won't get it back till late tomorrow afternoon, so I was itching to get out somewhere. I had been looking for a Great Gray Owl and had turned off the main road in order to turn around. Caught sight of a Mountain Bluebird, so pulled over. It disappeared and didn't return and then I spotted a bright yellow male American Goldfinch singing its little heart out. Just as I was taking a few distant shots, a truck came round the corner and the guy came to a stop. He started telling me where he had just seen something - and I was expecting him to say a Great Gray Owl. Instead, he told me about this beautiful deer and her baby and said it would make a beautiful photo. Without his kind directions, I would never have seen them. Even with his help, it took me a little while to find them. They more than made up for not being able to see an owl!

This photo was taken yesterday morning, 16 August 2014, on a birding walk at Carburn Park with friends. It's the time of year when the various tiny Warblers are passing through the city again. I had heard about these gorgeous Deer twins and we were so lucky to see them. They have grown a lot, but still have their white spots. They were hidden with Mom deep in the bushes and trees, making getting photos really difficult. Such a treat to see these gorgeous wild animals. Wish I hadn't caught it mid-chew, lol! I ended up being out all day as Flickr/birder/photographer friend, Pam, asked if I wanted to go SE of the city to the Frank Lake area. We had a fun afternoon, with a few reasonable bird sightings. The clouds were amazing, though somehow I didn't manage to get any good photos of them. Seeing them reflected in the lake was perhaps the best place. Thanks, Pam, for suggesting a drive to one of my favourite areas! Hope your photos came out better than mine, lol!!

This little cutie with the enormous ears was seen yesterday at the Calgary Zoo. There were three young ones and the adults and the fawns were quite playful, which was so much fun to see. They have a really pleasant area to roam and browse and can even go down to the water's edge where three Pelicans swim and feed.

This was a really quick shot, which luckily came out OK. I pushed myself out the front door yesterday, as the forecast was for cloud and sun. I have done barely any walking for months - actually, all this year - and I'm supposed to do those 10,000 steps every day. After deciding to drive over to Carburn Park again, just in case the Clark's Grebe was still in the area, by the time I had eaten breakfast and got myself ready, the sky was overcast. By the time I reached Carburn, it was snowing and completely overcast. Decided I would still just walk around the small pond - my body was still feeling the effects of a long walk three days earlier, ha. Bumped into a fellow birder and we got talking and ended up walking round the large pond, too. I had just said something about deer in the park, turned around and there was a White-tailed Deer right behind us ; ) Then two more appeared from amongst the trees. Just managed to click in time to catch this sweet moment. No sign of the Clark's Grebe (same as the day before), so I feel really lucky to have seen this bird on Sunday - a bird that is not usually seen in Alberta. By the way, the wire netting you can see in the background is actually wrapped around a tree, in hopes of protecting it from local Beavers. These animals seem to be cutting down an awful lot of trees in our natural areas. It's -6C (21F) this morning and snowing. Forecast for this afternoon is -3C (27F) and ice pellets. Sounds like it might be a fun drive for my volunteer shift, ha. What just happened with Flickr? All I could get was a blank, white page and then I had to try three times to get Flickr to load at all. Anyone else have the same? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_deer www.hww.ca/en/species/mammals/white-tailed-deer.html

These beautiful deer crossed the road well ahead of me when I was on my way to Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on 26 August 2012. Light was not good within the trees and I had just a quick moment to pull over and get a shot before a car came barrelling down the road and the deer disappeared. I never seem to get photos of fawns with their beautiful spots, so was happy to get even a half decent shot. I guess no one else turned up at the meeting place for this trip - I had decided to drive straight to the park, but hadn't told anyone my plans. After waiting an extra half hour at the park, I realized no one else had been able, or wanted, to go. The forest sure looked dark before the sun reached it and, even though there was one vehicle parked there, I just didn't fancy going in there. I thought the bears and cougars might still be looking for their breakfast, lol! So, I drove out to Maclean Pond, off Elbow Falls Trail, and had a look around. Funny how things work out - I was amazed and delighted to come across several small Strawberries and Cream fungi hidden in the grass under the Spruce (?) trees. The previous day, I had been on a mushroom foray in West Bragg Creek, and one of the fungi species we were keeping our eyes open for was Strawberries and Cream - but we were out of luck. Couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted them at Maclean Pond. My last photo posted today shows a close-up view of one of these strange fungi. On my way home from Maclean Pond, I decided to call in at the west end of Fish Creek Park, as I have found various species of fungi there before. Was happy to find several little Earth Star fungi (image posted yesterday). So, it definitely turned out to be a rewarding day.

Please try to convince yourself that this is an action shot and so this cute little Mule (?) Deer fawn should be a little (all right, a LOT) blurred, LOL. Yesterday evening, we were out in Fish Creek Park to see a variety of wildflowers. By the time we got back to the parking lot, it began to spot with rain and there was an incredibly beautiful double rainbow. As I pulled out of the parking lot, I spotted a Mule Deer doe and her little fawn. Drove around for a few minutes to watch them and then returned to the parking lot, where we stopped. This little creature was exploring and having fun and then suddenly looked over at my car and came trotting in a dead straight line towards it. Wasn't able to get my camera to focus through the windscreen, but managed to get this quick and blurry photo when it realized that Mom was too far away : )

This Mule Deer fawn and its family live at the Calgary Zoo. They have an area of woodland with a small stream to wander in. I've noticed two or three young fawns there and they seem to be happy, playful youngsters. I haven't seen any young ones in the wild this summer.

On 25th June 2004, around 5:30 p.m. on a quiet evening walk in Fish Creek Park, this is the scene that I came upon. This must have been an almost new-born fawn, it was SO tiny. I was SO excited that I could barely remember how to even turn on my camera, and I'm sure I was trembling with awe, so the image is not as sharp as it might have been. And that annoying piece of grass! Also, though I was at some distance to them, I was extremely careful and very conscious of intruding on such a special moment. The mother stood still for a while, allowing her fawn to nurse, and I felt very privileged.