Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: intelligent

On 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of the lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned. Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River." wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/ On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature. A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there. Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!

Gentle or aggressive? It seems to depend on which website one is searching. Wikipedia (below) says Longhorns are gentle, but last night I read that they are aggressive. Standing there on the road, I know I felt glad that there was a fence between them and us! I stood in the road to take this shot, as two of these cattle were lying down and I didn't want to force them to stand up and move away, they looked so comfortable. "The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 7 ft (2.1 m) tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 in (0.91 to 2.03 m) tip to tip for bulls. Similar cattle were imported by Spanish colonists into other parts of North America, including California and Florida. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring. A longhorn can be any color or mix of colors but dark red and white color mixes are the most dominant. Texas Longhorns with elite genetics can often fetch $40,000 or more at auction with the record of $170,000 in recent history for a cow. Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn On 26 June 2016, a fair-sized group of people spent the morning on a walk with Erik Butters, out past Cochrane and near Waiporous, NW of Calgary. This land is rolling, open hills and areas of woodland, with the Rocky Mountains in the distance. This event was the 8th Annual Flora & Fauna Fundraising for Ghost River Watershed Outing. Fortunately, I knew how to drive to this distant location, so I was able to pick up friend Dorothy and off we went together. We allowed plenty of time to get there, just in case of heavy traffic or else we saw something interesting en route. This meant that there was time for me to stop and take a few photos of a Llama in someone's field, a couple of beautiful Longhorn cattle lying down and a small herd of maybe half a dozen Elk that we saw way off in the distance. I think everyone was more than ready for lunch by the time our hike was over! Going to our destination was all uphill, which I normally avoid at all cost. Coming down used less energy, but painful knees felt every step on the way down : ) Around 1:00 pm, Erik and his partner provided a great BBQ for those of us from Calgary and for the people who had joined us from elsewhere. As always, the food was delicious! Thank you so much, both of you! Amazingly, the sun shone and there was no rain, despite the weather forecast.

There were two of these American Crows sitting on my back fence two days ago, 1 August 2016, making a whole lot of noise. Not sure, but I think both were juveniles. Or maybe not, as I've just read the information below, saying that "when Crows molt, the old feathers can appear brownish..." Caught this one just as it was ruffling up all its beautiful feathers. Grabbed my camera just in time to get two or three shots and off they flew. Local Crows used to nest in my neighbour's Spruce tree, but the last few years they have been nesting somewhere else. "American Crows are familiar over much of the continent: large, intelligent, all-black birds with hoarse, cawing voices. They are common sights in treetops, fields, and roadsides, and in habitats ranging from open woods and empty beaches to town centers. They usually feed on the ground and eat almost anything – typically earthworms, insects and other small animals, seeds, and fruit but also garbage, carrion, and chicks they rob from nests. Their flight style is unique, a patient, methodical flapping that is rarely broken up with glides. American Crows are all black, even the legs and bill. When crows molt, the old feathers can appear brownish or scaly compared to the glossy new feathers." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Crow/id Monday was mostly a quiet day at home - it was a long weekend and I didn't really want to be doing a longish drive with a lot of traffic on the roads. Late in the afternoon, I did get out to see a pair of Swainson's Hawks and also drove to a local Osprey family, that I think has three youngsters still on the nest. Seeing the Hawks was quite an experience - I was dive-bombed three times in the two minutes maximum that I was there! A friend had told me about this family, but didn't have the same experience as me! Yesterday and today, I have been without my vehicle, because it suddenly developed a really bad, noisy muffler problem. It was going to be a major expense ($4,660) to repair/replace the various parts and I have just heard back that one part is no longer available. To find one would mean being without my car for two weeks! So, I think I will collect the car and just drive within the few roads by me (groceries, etc.) with an extremely noisy vehicle. It looks like I will have to buy a new car - something that I have been thinking about the last few years, as the car is now over 17 years old. Not something I wanted to do on the spur of the moment like this, though. Unfortunately, I will have to cancel my plans to take my daughter to the mountains tomorrow. For years and years I have longed to drive there myself and finally plucked up courage to go with my daughter to help me navigate.

Gentle or aggressive? It seems to depend on which website one is searching. Wikipedia says Longhorns are gentle, but I have also read that they are aggressive. Standing there, I know I felt glad that there was a fence between them and us! "The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 7 ft (2.1 m) tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 in (0.91 to 2.03 m) tip to tip for bulls. Similar cattle were imported by Spanish colonists into other parts of North America, including California and Florida. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring. A longhorn can be any color or mix of colors but dark red and white color mixes are the most dominant. Texas Longhorns with elite genetics can often fetch $40,000 or more at auction with the record of $170,000 in recent history for a cow. Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn Just over a month ago, on 26 June 2016, a fair-sized group of people spent the morning on a walk with Erik Butters, out past Cochrane, NW of Calgary. This land is rolling, open hills and areas of woodland, with the Rocky Mountains in the distance. This event was the 8th Annual Flora & Fauna Fundraising for Ghost River Watershed Outing. Fortunately, I knew how to drive to this distant location, so I was able to pick up friend Dorothy and off we went together. We allowed plenty of time to get there, just in case of heavy traffic or else we saw something interesting en route. This meant that there was time for me to stop and take a few photos of a Llama in someone's field, a couple of beautiful Longhorn cattle lying down and a small herd of maybe half a dozen Elk that we saw way off in the distance. I think everyone was more than ready for lunch by the time our hike was over! Going to our destination was all uphill, which I normally avoid at all cost. Coming down used less energy, but painful knees felt every step on the way down : ) Around 1:00 pm, Erik and his partner provided a great BBQ for those of us from Calgary and for the people who had joined us from elsewhere. As always, the food was delicious! Thank you so much, both of you! Amazingly, the sun shone and there was no rain, despite the weather forecast.

Gentle or aggressive? It seems to depend on which website one is searching. Wikipedia (below) says Longhorns are gentle, but last night I read that they are aggressive. Standing there on the road, I know I felt glad that there was a fence between them and us! I stood in the road to take this shot, as two of these cattle were lying down and I didn't want to force them to stand up and move away, they looked so comfortable. I did remove three strands of barbed-wire that ran across the width of the image : ) "The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 7 ft (2.1 m) tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 in (0.91 to 2.03 m) tip to tip for bulls. Similar cattle were imported by Spanish colonists into other parts of North America, including California and Florida. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring. A longhorn can be any color or mix of colors but dark red and white color mixes are the most dominant. Texas Longhorns with elite genetics can often fetch $40,000 or more at auction with the record of $170,000 in recent history for a cow. Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn This beautiful Longhorn was lying down in a field along Highway 40 yesterday morning, 17 June 2016, when two friends and I travelled to the meeting place for a day's walk in the Benchlands area, NW of Cochrane. The walk was in the Meadow Creek area, Ghost River Watershed, and our leaders were Heinz Unger (from Benchlands) and Gus Yaki. Just remembered that my two friends and I spotted a Red Fox at the meeting place, while we were waitng for everyone else to arrive! "Benchlands is a hamlet in Alberta within the Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8.[ The Ghost River is located on the hamlet's south side, while Highway 40 borders the north side." From Wikipedia. The trail took us through forest and across open meadows, with a wonderful view of the distant mountains the closer we got to our destination. I only took a few photos, including of Spotted Coralroot, a beautiful wild orchid that has tiny flowers and grows mostly in montane woodlands. I think this was the highlight for me, as I rarely get to see it. Another interesting thing that was pointed out to us was a bear 'rubbing tree', with a few strands of hair still caught in the bark. A relief that there was no bear to be seen! Thanks so much for the ride, Sandy - glad you were able to come at the last minute. Also glad that the weather was kind to us, starting off rather chilly in the morning, but gradually warming up to around 21C later in the day. Thanks so much, Heinz, for arranging for us to explore this private land and accompanying us on the hike - always a treat.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! All three photos posted this morning were taken in the United States in September 2012. Thought I would dig into my archives and find three photos to remind me of what a great country the US is and what treasures it holds. Not that I ever forget that. Wanted to wish all Americans everywhere, at home or living in other countries around the world, a wonderful Thanksgiving. Special thoughts to those who are serving their country, and their families, especially those who will not be able to spend this special day together. Common Ravens look black, but when seen up close, which doesn't usually happen, you can see the variety of colours in those beautiful feathers. This was a slightly scruffy Raven that was hanging around one of the parking lots along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River (North Rim?), no doubt hoping to find some easy food. Taken on 14 September 2012, during my week's holiday with dear friends from England, down as far as Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. "Common Ravens will eat almost anything they can get hold of. They eat carrion; small animals from the size of mice and baby tortoises up to adult Rock Pigeons and nestling Great Blue Herons; eggs; grasshoppers, beetles, scorpions, and other arthropods; fish; wolf and sled-dog dung; grains, buds, and berries; pet food; and many types of human food including unattended picnic items and garbage." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_raven/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Raven

Yesterday, I slept right through an hour of very loud music and then woke up nearly five hours later (around 11:30 a.m.)! As a result, I missed a trip with friends to a great place SW of the city, Brown-Lowery Provincial Park - one that I don't like going to on my own. Knowing that there would be other people in the area, I decided to still go, but not go very far into the forest on my own. Hopefully, the others would scare any Bears and Cougars out of the forest and not in my direction! To say that I could kick myself is to put it mildly! So much for hoping that other people would scare off any bears. When I arrived at the not particularly well-known natural forest, I signed the "guest book" as I often do. Before I turned the page to sign on a nice fresh page, I happened to read a comment that someone had written - a Black Bear had been seen that day, on the very trail I wanted to go on! I put the can of Bear Spray into my fanny-pack (can't use a backpack because of the rotator cuff inflammation in both my shoulders), but after a few steps, knew it felt just too heavy. Put it back in the car and instead, attached my bear bell to my camera strap and clutched a small air-horn in one hand. I only spent about an hour in the forest, but did not enjoy a single step of it, lol! I was determined to at least go a very tiny way in, having driven all the way there. Very thankfully, there was no sign of the bear - but also no sign of any mushrooms other than one tiny cluster of Pholiotas at the base of a tree stump. Absolutely nothing, despite recent rain. Maybe it's still too early, especially after such a late spring? Saw very little on the drive home - a couple of Hawks (one on a hay bale), a few Ravens and a few Crows, one Cedar Waxwing, and several very distant ducks. No sign of any Red-winged or Yellow-headed Blackbirds and no Wilson's Snipe. The Raven in this photo was not a local one, but one that friends Cathy and Terry, and I, saw on a 2-day trip to the mountains on 14 and 15 May 2014. I took so many photos of this bird - but nearly every time I clicked the shutter, it would turn its head away. Managed to get a handful of OK shots, though. These birds are always so fascinating to watch, especially knowing that they are very smart. This one was, of course, hoping for food - which it didn't get, I should add! When I see Ravens within the city, they are usually flying overhead or perched near the top of a very tall tree. Out in the mountains, they have, unfortunately, learned to follow people and like to hang out at stopping points. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_raven www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/id?utm_source=Co...

Gentle or aggressive? It seems to depend on which website one is searching. Wikipedia (below) says Longhorns are gentle, but last night I read that they are aggressive. Standing there on the road, I know I felt glad that there was a fence between them and us! On 14 April 2014, I spent a wonderful, fun day with my youngest daughter, driving the backroads SE of Calgary. Some of the roads were familiar to me, but others were new territory, which gave us a chance to discover some different abandoned barns and anything else that we thought was interesting and/or beautiful. We knew where our destination was going to be, more or less Mossleigh and Arrowwood, though it was disappointing that the heat distortion was just too great to get distant, zoomed photos when we got there. It was quite a hazy day, which never helps. Once we got really close, the problem thankfully lessened. We were both happy to come across two of these beautiful Longhorns along one of the backroads. I think I'm right in saying they are Texas Longhorn - I usually just call them Longhorns. "The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 7 ft (2.1 m) tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 in (0.91 to 2.03 m) tip to tip for bulls. Similar cattle were imported by Spanish colonists into other parts of North America, including California and Florida. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring. A longhorn can be any color or mix of colors but dark red and white color mixes are the most dominant. Texas Longhorns with elite genetics can often fetch $40,000 or more at auction with the record of $170,000 in recent history for a cow. Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn

I took so many photos of this Raven - but nearly every time I clicked the shutter, it would turn its head away. Managed to get a handful of shots to keep, though, and this is one of them. These birds are always so fascinating to watch, especially knowing that they are very smart. This one was, of course, looking for food - which it didn't get, I should add! When I see Ravens within the city, they are usually flying overhead or perched near the top of a very tall tree. Out in the mountains, they have, unfortunately, learned to follow people and like to hang out at stopping points., which does make it easier to take photos. Taken on 15 May 2014, during a two day trip to the Canadian Rockies with friends, Cathy and Terry. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_raven www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/id?utm_source=Co... Later: was out doing my volunteer shift today, so I haven't been on Flickr for much of the time. Checked My Contacts' photos just now, and there are hardly any posted. I wonder if there is Flickr problem somewhere, or if people just aren't posting much now that spring/summer is here.

I took so many photos of this Raven - but nearly every time I clicked the shutter, it would turn its head away. Managed to get a handful of OK shots, though. These birds are always so fascinating to watch, especially knowing that they are very smart. This one was, of course, looking for food - which it didn't get, I should add! When I see Ravens within the city, they are usually flying overhead or perched near the top of a very tall tree. Out in the mountains, they have, unfortunately, learned to follow people and like to hang out at stopping points. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_raven www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/id?utm_source=Co... My friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had left Calgary early morning on Wednesday (14 May 2014) and I think it was around 12:15 a.m. midnight (Thursday, 15 May 2014), that they dropped me off at home after two long, wonderful days in the Rocky Mountains, west of the city. Wednesday night was spent in a spotless motel, in a place that had so many Mountain Sheep roaming the streets, lol! Though we were hoping to see at least one Bear, I was happy as can be to see absolutely anything beautiful : ) Over the two days, we had 7 bear sightings, with three definitely different Black Bears (no Grizzlies), and possibly four. The rest of the sightings were of Bears we had already seen. My friends are good at telling individual bears, sometimes by a certain scar and, of course, the actual location. Many of the bears we see, they have seen before. Basically, it's all about timing, as with any wildlife. A few minutes earlier or later and we would have missed seeing something special. We just happened to be lucky. All wildlife/nature photographers know it's all about timing : )

I took so many photos of this Raven - nearly every time I clicked the shutter, it would turn its head away. Managed to get a handful of OK shots, though. These birds are always so fascinating to watch, especially knowing that they are very smart. This one was, of course, looking for food - which it didn't get, I should add! When I see Ravens within the city, they are usually flying overhead or perched near the top of a very tall tree. Out in the mountains, they have, unfortunately, learned to follow people and like to hang out at stopping points. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_raven www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/id?utm_source=Co... My friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had left Calgary early morning on Wednesday (14 May 2014) and I think it was around 12:15 a.m. midnight (Thursday, 15 May 2014), that they dropped me off at home after two long, wonderful days in the Rocky Mountains, west of the city. Wednesday night was spent in a spotless motel, in a place that had so many Mountain Sheep roaming the streets, lol! Though we were hoping to see at least one Bear, I was happy as can be to see absolutely anything beautiful : ) Over the two days, we had 7 bear sightings, with three definitely different Black Bears (no Grizzlies), and possibly four. The rest of the sightings were of Bears we had already seen. My friends are good at telling individual bears, often by a certain scar and, of course, the actual location. Many of the bears we see, they have seen before. Basically, it's all about timing, as with any wildlife. A few minutes earlier or later and we would have missed seeing something special. We just happened to be lucky. All wildlife/nature photographers know it's all about timing : ) I was so tired after the trip, that I had no choice but to fall into bed at 7:00 p.m. yesterday evening, thinking that a short nap might be a good idea. I slept for something like 13 hours with a couple of hours awake in the middle. I think the excruciating pain in both arms and shoulders was a factor in my utter tiredness, too. Not good timing, to say the least. After seven or eight months of brutal winter weather, spring has finally arrived and normally I would be getting out on lots of walks and day-trips. I suspect I will have to miss many, if not most or all of these, which will be really difficult! Here in Canada, it's a long weekend, as Monday is Victoria Day. No doubt the roads and highways will be absolutely packed. Hope everyone has a safe journey to and from wherever they are going - please do drive carefully.

On 14 April 2014, I spent a wonderful, fun day with my youngest daughter, driving the backroads SE of Calgary. Some of the roads were familiar to me, but others were new territory, which gave us a chance to discover some different abandoned barns and anything else that we thought was interesting and/or beautiful. We knew where our destination was going to be, more or less Mossleigh and Arrowwood, though it was disappointing that the "heat wave" distortion was just too great to get distant, zoomed photos when we got there. It was quite a hazy day, which never helps. Once we got really close, the problem thankfully lessened. We were both happy to come across two of these beautiful Longhorns along one of the backroads. I think I'm right in saying they are Texas Longhorn - I usually just call them Longhorns. "The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 7 ft (2.1 m) tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 in (0.91 to 2.03 m) tip to tip for bulls. Similar cattle were imported by Spanish colonists into other parts of North America, including California and Florida. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring. A longhorn can be any color or mix of colors but dark red and white color mixes are the most dominant. Texas Longhorns with elite genetics can often fetch $40,000 or more at auction with the record of $170,000 in recent history for a cow. Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn

Took myself off for a short drive along the backroads SW of the city yesterday afternoon (20 April 2014), partly because the sun was actually shining, but also hoping to give my painful arms and shoulder a bit of a rest. Not sure that it helped, though, as I had to keep starting and turning off the car, which may have been worse, or just as bad as, mouse clicking, ha. One of the times I pulled over was to catch this (unfortunately, "eyeless") Crow, perched along one of the gravel roads within the city limits. I don't usually get chances to photograph these large, black birds., but there were several of them flying low over a field. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Crow www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_crow/id A few minutes ago, I discovered how to open two separate screens in My Pictures, simply by holding down the shift key before clicking on My Pictures. That discovery should save a lot of unnecessary mouse clicking, which is greatly to blame for my excruciating arm and shoulder pain.

As usual, I wasn't thinking about names when I photographed this gorgeous bird at the Calgary Zoo the other day. Actually, it is so rare that I manage to get a sufficiently sharp photo of any bird through the glass, that I wasn't expecting either of my two quick shots to turn out at all. If I remember, I'll have to go back and find out the name. Later: this is an Eastern Rosella, native to southeast Australia and Tasmania.

Common Ravens look black, but when seen up close, which doesn't usually happen, you can see the variety of colours in those beautiful feathers. This was a slightly scruffy Raven that was hanging around one of the parking lots along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River (North Rim?), no doubt hoping to find some easy food. Taken on 14 September 2012, during my week's holiday down as far as Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. "Common Ravens will eat almost anything they can get hold of. They eat carrion; small animals from the size of mice and baby tortoises up to adult Rock Pigeons and nestling Great Blue Herons; eggs; grasshoppers, beetles, scorpions, and other arthropods; fish; wolf and sled-dog dung; grains, buds, and berries; pet food; and many types of human food including unattended picnic items and garbage." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_raven/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Raven

A Common Raven that was hanging around one of the parking lots along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River (North Rim?), no doubt hoping to find some easy food. It hopped just a little too close in this photo - I did not intend cutting off the beak : ) Taken on 14 September 2012, during a week's holiday down as far as Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. "Common Ravens will eat almost anything they can get hold of. They eat carrion; small animals from the size of mice and baby tortoises up to adult Rock Pigeons and nestling Great Blue Herons; eggs; grasshoppers, beetles, scorpions, and other arthropods; fish; wolf and sled-dog dung; grains, buds, and berries; pet food; and many types of human food including unattended picnic items and garbage." www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_raven/lifehistory en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Raven

Common Ravens are usually so difficult to see up close - usually, they seem to be flying high overhead : ). So, I thought I would post a second image of one of these intelligent, omnivorous and highly opportunistic birds. We were discovered by this one, and presumably its mate, on the way to Lake Louise from Calgary recently. I find these all-black birds so fascinating to watch.