Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

Is this photo showing as my main photo, or as my second? Hopefully not as my main shot, as it is a grainy, poor quality image! I have been taking so few photos recently, so am now having to dig into my archives most of the time. The few times I have been out, I have either seen nothing or nothing that I can photograph. I am longing for a day out with tons of things to see and photograph : ) This was maybe one of half a dozen photos taken on a walk at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, on 14 February 2017. Poor light in the forest resulted in a grainy image, but this little Red Squirrel was quite amusing. There he was, right in the middle of the narrow trail we wanted to turn on to. He scampered a few feet from the path, found something to eat and returned to the middle of this trail, as if to say this was his trail and we were not allowed. He kept repeating this behaviour, until finally we felt brave enough to face this fierce wild animal, ha, ha. Thought this was quite a cute shot, despite the poor quality. I left my group of friends part way through the long walk and returned to my car. Just before reaching the parking lot, a group of about 8 deer came running along the hillside. It was obvious that something had startled them - maybe a coyote or someone's dog that should have been leashed? From Fish Creek Park, I decided that, as I was already part way there, I would call in and see if the Northern Hawk Owl was still to be seen. It was, but during the 10 or 15 minutes I was there, it was on the top of one high power pole or another. Not good for photos. Many people seem to be saying the same thing, so I was very lucky on the first day I saw it, when it perched on fence posts, nicely out in the open.

The forecast was for a rainy, gloomy day yesterday, 28 April 2016. Wanting to keep the next few days free just in case I get time to drive somewhere outside the city, I decided that I would go on yesterday's walk anyway. Thanks, Flickr automated tags, for deciding this was my pet cat : ) We started the birding walk from the Sailing Club and headed west towards Weaselhead. We followed the rough path along the edge of the Glenmore Reservoir and then returned to our cars along the main paved path. We saw a reasonable number of bird species, but everything was too far away for photos, except for a little Pine Siskin who was busy gathering nesting material in the forest. Also, this Red Squirrel was enjoying his cone seed snack too much to immediately run away out of sight. Will add the final species list compiled by our leaders: "FFCPPSoc. Spring Birding, S Glenmore Pk, 24 St SE, Calgary, 0915-1200, Thursday, 28Apr2016. Overcast, SE wind 15kph, 4 8°C. Combined results of two groups. Canada Goose-2 Gadwall-2 American Wigeon-2 Mallard-40 Green-winged Teal-2 Northern Shoveler-6 Lesser Scaup-10 Ring-necked Duck-5 Bufflehead-6 Common Goldeneye-60 Common Merganser-4 COMMON LOON-2 HORNED GREBE-8 WESTERN GREBE-2 Red-tailed Hawk-1 Swainsons Hawk- 1 BONAPARTES GULL-1 FRANKLINS GULL-100 Downy Wodpecker-1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-1 Blue Jay-1 Black-billed Magpie-5 American Crow-15 Common Raven-2, on nest TREE SWALLOW-6000+ Northern Rough-winged Swallow-1 Black-capped Chickadee-18 Red-breasted Nuthatch-3 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 heard YELLOW-RUMPED (Myrtle) WARBLER-3 SAVANNAH SPARROW-1 Red-winged Blackbird-1 House Finch-1 Red Crossbill-11 White-winged Crossbill-4 Pine Siskin-20 Red Squirrel-8 Least Chipmunk-2 Muskrat-1 Snow-shoe Hare-1"

William J. Bagnall Wilderness Park is named after Mountain View County’s first reeve, who served in the position from 1961 to 1981 and also served as a councillor until 1985. The William J. Bagnall Wilderness Park (34.7 acres) is located seven kilometres west of Water Valley just off Highway 579. "Remediation efforts for the wilderness park were undertaken after the area was made inaccessible following the flood of 2005. Included in the upgrades is a new entry and parking lot on the south side (just off Highway 579); two walking trails that will form a 1.2-kilometre loop; a historical sign detailing the history of the site as a coal mining area; a small picnic area, including outhouses, tables and pest-proof containers; along with several stairways for steep-grade accessibility." From an article in the Mountainview Gazette on 14 June 2011. www.mountainviewgazette.ca/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201... Yesterday, 18 April 2016, I went NW of Calgary with a small group of friends to explore the William J. Bagnall WIldness Park. This was actually my very first visit to this wilderness park. A couple of friends had mentioned it recently and two weeks ago, on 5 April 2016, I finally decided to go and explore the area. That day, I drove through some beautiful scenery, but discovered after I got home that, in fact, I had not even been in the park itself. Instead, I had kept driving past the entrance way along what I think is the Harold Creek Rd. William J. Bagnall Wilderness Park is only small, with a fairly short trail that loops back to the parking lot. It leads through the forest, down the forested hillside to the creek which still has a layer of old snow and ice on it, and then back up the slope to where the cars were parked. It was still too early for plants and fungi to be growing, but the friends I went with are specialists in mosses, lichens and fungi, with most impressive knowledge of every kind of nature, including birds. The second photo I posted this morning shows one of the rather attractive lichens that we saw on a rocky outdrop that was covered in these circular patterns. As far as photography goes, there was not very much to photograph, though I did catch this little Red Squirrel near the parking lot. I also stood listening to the call of a Varied Thrush and, when I was ahead of the rest of the group, I suddenly saw a bird fly into a distant tree. Couldn't find it in my viewfinder, but I could tell exactly where the call was coming from. Then the bird flew and I got a tiny glimpse of its colour. A tiny Comma butterfly gave me a chance to use my camera, too. We stopped and ate our lunch at the small picnic area that has an outhouse. Always a welcome sight! Once back at the cars, we then returned to the city via Highway 22. Thanks so much for driving, Peter - much appreciated. It was pure luxury to travel my usual owling route with someone else driving! A great day in glorious weather and in great company. Nothing like having summer weather in mid-April. It's supposed to get up to 27C this afternoon, which is crazy. A week from today, though, the forecast is for 3C and snow, lol!

A week ago, on 22 February 2016, I went on a birding walk at the Bow Valley Ranch, Sikome & Hull's Wood areas in Fish Creek Park. This little Red Squirrel was welcome on this rather birdless day. We had split into two groups, and the list is a combined list from both. My group didn't see the Pheasant or Shrike (i.e the two best sightings!). FFCPPSoc. Birding, FC Hq & Sikome, FCPP, Calgary, 0915-1200, Mon22Feb2016. Sunny, N. wind 15kph -2 to 6°C. Two groups; 1. Canada Goose- 500 2. Mallard-100 3. Common Goldeneye-30 4. Bufflehead-10 5. Ring-necked Pheasant-1 m 6. Bald Eagle-2 (1ad/1juv). 7. Great Horned Owl-2, pair nesting. 8. Downy Woodpecker-10 9. Hairy Woodpecker-1 10. Northern Flicker-15 11. Northern Shrike-1 12. Blue Jay-1+ 13. Black-billed Magpie-6 14. Common Raven-7Black-capped Chickadee-25 15. Black-capped Chickadee-15 16. Red-breasted Nuthatch-3 17. White-breasted Nuthatch-5 18. European Starling-5 19. House Finch-2 20. White-winged Crossbill-8 21. Pine Siskin-4 22. House Sparrow-3 Eastern Gray Squirrel-3 After going home for lunch, I then called in at Fish Creek Park again, but at a different location of the park. I was really hoping to see the Varied Thrush again and hopefully get a few much better photos. I passed a couple that I recognized and asked them if they had seen the Thrush and they told me that, yes,it was there. Well, do you think I could find it, lol?! Of course not! Also had a most interesting chat with another couple down there, whom I had never met before - Mike and Cheryl. So nice to meet you both. From Fish Creek Park, I finally went and washed my absolutely filthy car. A few months of driving through muddy slush in the city and on the gravel backroads out of the city, you couldn't tell what colour my vehicle was.

This photo was taken on 4 February 2016, when I was on a birding walk with friends, in Weaselhead. Unfortunately, it was heavily overcast, but though there was no sign of the sun, it wasn't that cold. Many of our temperatures this winter have been so ridiculously mild. Makes you wonder what our summer is going to be like! theweaselhead.com/ www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SW-parks/Weasel... Very often, my photos of Red Squirrels come out very blurry because of the low light deep within the forest. This one actually came out sharp enough. They are such fun creatures, timid, but they do seem to like to perch and watch as we walk past. They defend their territory with a lot of loud, fierce "chattering". "The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, T. douglasii and Mearns's squirrel, T. mearnsi). American red squirrels are also referred to as pine squirrels, North American red squirrels, boomers, chickarees, and fairydiddles. They are medium-sized (200–250 g) diurnal mammals that defend a year-round exclusive territory. The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific coast, where they are replaced by Douglas squirrels. Recently, American red squirrels have been expanding their range to include primarily hardwood areas." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel The following is a list of the species seen on 4 February 2016: FFCPPSoc. BIRDING, Weaselhead Natural Area, Calgary, 0915-1215, Thu, 04Feb2016. Heavy overcast, NW wind 15kph, -2 to 3°C. Combined results, 2 groups. 1. Bald Eagle-1ad 2. Downy Woodpecker-5 3. Hairy Woodpecker-2 4. Northern Flicker-1 5. Blue Jay-3+ 6. Black-billed Magpie-3 7. Common Raven-5 8. Black-capped Chickadee-20 9. Boreal Chickadee-3 10. Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 heard 11. White-breasted Nuthatch-2 12. Bohemian Waxwing-1 13. Pine Grosbeak-40+ 14. House Finch-8+ 15. White-winged Crossbill-1 16. Common Redpoll-150 17. Pine Siskin-50 18. American Goldfinch-1 Coyote-1 Red Squirrel-8 White-tailed Deer-4+

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, everyone! This little Red Squirrel was busy feeding in a wooden sign down in Weaselhead when we were on a walk on 7 February 2016. It was another very slow day for both birds and photography. I only took five or six photos during the whole morning walk. These native Squirrels are such fun creatures, timid, but they do seem to like to perch and watch as we walk past. They defend their territory with a lot of loud, fierce "chattering". "The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, T. douglasii and Mearns's squirrel, T. mearnsi). American red squirrels are also referred to as pine squirrels, North American red squirrels, boomers, chickarees, and fairydiddles. They are medium-sized (200–250 g) diurnal mammals that defend a year-round exclusive territory. The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific coast, where they are replaced by Douglas squirrels. Recently, American red squirrels have been expanding their range to include primarily hardwood areas." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel theweaselhead.com/ www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SW-parks/Weasel...

All three photos posted today were taken yesterday morning, 4 February 2016, when I was on a birding walk with friends, in Weaselhead. Unfortunately, it was heavily overcast - though there was no sign of the sun, it wasn't that cold. Many of our temperatures this winter have been so ridiculously mild. On Monday and Tuesday of next week, the forecast is for PLUS 11C! This morning, as I type, it is +6C (windchill +2C). Makes you wonder what our summer is going to be like! theweaselhead.com/ www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/SW-parks/Weasel... Very often, my photos of Red Squirrels come out very blurry because of the low light deep within the forest. This one actually came out sharp enough. They are such fun creatures, timid, but they do seem to like to perch and watch as we walk past. They defend their territory with a lot of loud, fierce "chattering". "The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, T. douglasii and Mearns's squirrel, T. mearnsi). American red squirrels are also referred to as pine squirrels, North American red squirrels, boomers, chickarees, and fairydiddles. They are medium-sized (200–250 g) diurnal mammals that defend a year-round exclusive territory. The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific coast, where they are replaced by Douglas squirrels. Recently, American red squirrels have been expanding their range to include primarily hardwood areas." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel The following is a list of the species seen yesterday: FFCPPSoc. BIRDING, Weaselhead Natural Area, Calgary, 0915-1215, Thu, 04Feb2016. Heavy overcast, NW wind 15kph, -2 to 3°C. Combined results, 2 groups. 1. Bald Eagle-1ad 2. Downy Woodpecker-5 3. Hairy Woodpecker-2 4. Northern Flicker-1 5. Blue Jay-3+ 6. Black-billed Magpie-3 7. Common Raven-5 8. Black-capped Chickadee-20 9. Boreal Chickadee-3 10. Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 heard 11. White-breasted Nuthatch-2 12. Bohemian Waxwing-1 13. Pine Grosbeak-40+ 14. House Finch-8+ 15. White-winged Crossbill-1 16. Common Redpoll-150 17. Pine Siskin-50 18. American Goldfinch-1 Coyote-1 Red Squirrel-8 White-tailed Deer-4+

After today, 5 December 2015, our weather forecast is for five consecutive days of temperatures between 7C and 9C!! Fantastic weather for December! Wish the sun would come out, though - it's another overcast, dreary day. Though this little Squirrel doesn't look very "red", it was seen down in Weaselhead, so it would be surprising if it was an Eastern Gray Squirrel and not a Red Squirrel. The photo was taken on 25 March 2013, too long ago for me to remember for sure. Very often, my photos of Red Squirrels come out very blurry because of the low light deep within the forest. This one actually came out sharp enough. They are such fun creatures, timid, but they do seem to like to perch and watch as we walk past. They defend their territory with a lot of loud, fierce "chattering". "The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, T. douglasii and Mearns's squirrel, T. mearnsi). American red squirrels are also referred to as pine squirrels, North American red squirrels, boomers, chickarees, and fairydiddles. They are medium-sized (200–250 g) diurnal mammals that defend a year-round exclusive territory. The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific coast, where they are replaced by Douglas squirrels. Recently, American red squirrels have been expanding their range to include primarily hardwood areas." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel

Lol, according to Flickr's added tags, this is my pet cat. Will now delete those tags. Very often, my photos of Red Squirrels come out very blurry because of the low light deep within the forest. This one actually came out sharp enough. Taken in Weaselhead on 25 March 2013. They are such fun creatures, timid, but they do seem to like to perch and watch as we walk past. They defend their territory with a lot of fierce "chattering". "The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, T. douglasii and Mearns's squirrel, T. mearnsi). American red squirrels are also referred to as pine squirrels, North American red squirrels, boomers, chickarees, and fairydiddles. They are medium-sized (200–250 g) diurnal mammals that defend a year-round exclusive territory. The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific coast, where they are replaced by Douglas squirrels. Recently, American red squirrels have been expanding their range to include primarily hardwood areas." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel

It was cold yesterday morning, when I met friends for a three hour walk at Griffith Woods. Temperature was -10 to -4°C. Eventually, the warmth of the sun could just be felt, which always makes such a welcome difference. This little Red Squirrel looks like he's puffed out to try and keep warm, with his bushy tail draped over his back. Looks like he has been eating Spruce cone seeds. Not a huge variety of birds - but we saw so many Bohemian Waxwings flying overhead and sometimes landing near the tops of very tall Spruce trees. Canada Goose-110 Mallard-10 Bald Eagle-1 juv. Merlin-1 Downy Woodpecker-1 Hairy Woodpecker-1 Northern Flicker-2 Northern Shrike-1, chasing a Blue Jay Blue Jay-4+ Black-billed Magpie-7 Common Raven-3+ Black-capped Chickadee-25 Boreal Chickadee-4+ Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 White-breasted Nuthatch-3 Golden-crowned Kinglet-1 Bohemian Waxwing-600+. Pine Grosbeak-4 White-winged Crossbill-4+ Common Redpoll-2 House Sparrow-1 On a totally different note, I had a wonderful surprise yesterday. After receiving a notificiation e-mail telling me that someone had 'buzzed' me on the FriendsReunited website that I had joined quite a few years ago, I discovered two words, "Remember me?" To my amazement, it was from someone who had been in the class I taught for one year in England (my very first year of teaching, in a mixed class of Grade 5/6 (equivalent). He had been a delightful, quiet, shy boy and I remembered him as if it was yesterday : ) I am so impressed with what he has done with his life - I'm still in awe today! Most of his 36 years of working were spent teaching. When he sent me the message yesterday, he had just finished taking part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race - the boat he was on came in third place out of twelve! Such a good, good feeling to hear that a student from so many years ago has used his life so well!

"The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, T. douglasii and Mearns's squirrel, T. mearnsi). American red squirrels are also referred to as pine squirrels, North American red squirrels, boomers,[3] chickarees, and fairydiddles. They are medium-sized (200–250 g) diurnal mammals that defend a year-round exclusive territory. The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific coast, where they are replaced by Douglas squirrels. Recently, American red squirrels have been expanding their range to include primarily hardwood areas." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel All three photos posted this morning were taken yesterday, 7 September 2015. This image and the mushroom were seen at Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park. After about four days of rain, I made myself go for a walk and saw more than I was expecting to see, including a few reasonably photogenic mushrooms. Just as I was leaving the park, I noticed the dark clouds rolling in and I wasn't sure if some Mammatus clouds (sagging pouch-like structures) were forming. Most unlikely, but I wanted to be sure, so drove out towards the SW edge of the city. None to be seen, but it still felt good to see the very distant mountains. A word of warning: if you don't like potholes (and I mean a lot of potholes!), avoid driving along 146th St (that then becomes 69th, eventually getting on to 22X)! The temperature is 4C early this morning (8 September 2015), though it is supposed to get up to 16C this afternoon. There was a frost warning for last night. It's really feeling a lot like fall.

On 8 February 2015, I decided that I would join a group of friends for a morning birding walk in Fish Creek Park. I tend to miss most of the walks, so felt it was OK to go a second time this week. We started at Shannon Terrace, covering a good part of the area, and then the group started heading eastwards, towards Bebo Grove. At that point, my body was telling me that I had done enough walking, so I left my friends and made my way back to the parking lot. We had seen a beautiful Pileated Woodpecker, which was perhaps the highlight of the walk. The light was not good as the Woodpecker was quite deep within the trees. I timed my return walk well, as I saw a pair of these spectacular birds out in the open. I also stopped to take a few photos of this little Red Squirrel, busily feeding on some seeds that someone had obviously left for the birds in this cold weather. On the way home, I called in at the area of the park where the tiny Northern Pygmy-owl had been seen on many days for the last few weeks. However, when I was at that location yesterday, no one there had seen the owl at all, apparently making it the fifth day in a row that it had not been seen. Shortly after I arrived there, a friend drove into the parking lot and we got chatting about the extremely confusing system of the way roads outside the city limits are numbered. Roads can have two different numbers - a Range Rd/Township Rd number plus a street or avenue number. All the maps that I have seen give the RR/TWP number only, so it's very difficult to find a location given in St. or Ave. numbers. The reason for this chat was that some of us were unable to find on a map the locations for Wild Turkeys and Northern Hawk Owls that have been reported recently. My friend told me to hop in and we'd go looking for turkeys : )! He already knew this whole area SW of the city, but I had never driven that part. Even though we were unlucky with finding any of the birds, it was extremely helpful to me to just see what the area looked like - more hilly than I had imagined. An area where I know I could very easily get totally lost, especially given the confusing mess of road numbering! Many thanks, Phil, for this unexpected and very helpful trip!! I really appreciated it! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel www.arkive.org/american-red-squirrel/tamiasciurus-hudsoni...

This photo was taken one week ago, on 4 December 2014, when I went for a short walk in Fish Creek Park. I was trying to do several short walks to see if it made any difference at all to the level of pain in my back (had back X-Rays taken two days ago, for the umpteenth time). The weather has been beautiful this week, too – we all know that it is going to change back to “winter” before too long. Still 10 days till WInter officially begins. Also, a short time in the park can (if you are lucky!) be simply amazing. I happened to come across a female Pileated Woodpecker near the base of a tree. Almost impossible to get a sharp photo because she just didn’t stop banging her head against the tree. While I was trying to catch one split second when the action actually slowed down, a much smaller bird flew over my head and landed on the same tree, about 4’ higher. Couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that it was a male Black-backed Woodpecker (rare in Alberta, just like the two American Three-toed Woodpeckers that I saw in a different part of the park, on two different days this week). Talk about being lucky! Even this little Red Squirrel was most obliging, sitting in a spot of sunshine in the forest. The sun really brings out their beautiful colour.

Yesterday morning, 25 October 2014, I met up with friends to go birding. It was quite chilly first thing, only 3°C warming up to 6°C three hours later. We had 22 species of bird, though as usual, I don’t always see them all as I don’t have binoculars. To mention just a few of our sightings - a formation of 15 Trumpeter Swans flying high overhead; a female Pileated Woodpecker; a male American Three-toed Woodpecker; a huge flock of Bohemian Waxwings swarming in the distance, plus a few smaller flocks. We had a very brief sighting of a bird of prey that flew out of some distant trees and was nowhere to be found – it was reported as a Barred Owl. This was at a different part of the park from where I was lucky enough to see one a few days ago. The only bird photos worth keeping were a handful of the Three-toed Woodpecker. Always a treat to see one of these rare birds. This little Red Squirrel was a cute little guy, as they always are. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel After our walk, we drove to a small pub fairly close by for lunch. So enjoyable to just sit and chat and enjoy good company and good food – the Baked Lasagne was excellent! This afternoon, 25 October 2014, we are supposed to get a brief touch of winter. Temperature is 5°C this morning (windchill 2°C) and it is very overcast. Forecast is for mixed precipitation this afternoon and light snow this evening.

Not the greatest quality, but this is the same little guy who was in a recently posted image, sitting on a very short, broken off branch, looking straight at me. These Red Squirrels are smaller than the introduced Eastern Gray Squirrels, and really are very cute. They defend their territory with very loud chatter. Taken on 20 February 2014 at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park.

We came across this little Red Squirrel when we were on a walk at Bebo Grove, in Fish Creek Park, on 20 February 2014. Not much in the way of birds to be seen, and the light was really bad for photos, so I was surprised that this photo came out well enough. "The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific coasts where they are replaced by Douglas Squirrels. Recently, American Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) have been expanding their range to include primarily hardwood areas." From Wikipedia. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/13379941744

Very often, my photos of Red Squirrels come out very blurry because of the low light deep within the forest. This little one was a bit closer to the edge of the trees and actually came out sharp enough. They are such fun creatures, timid, but they do seem to like to perch and watch as we walk past. They defend their territory with a lot of fierce "chattering". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Red_Squirrel

I was surprised to find that this photo came out OK, as usually my photos taken in the forest in Weaselhead don't come out - not enough light. A few of us had been standing, waiting, hoping that a Boreal Chickadee would appear, but we only lucked out on Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatch and a Downy Woodpecker. Shortly before we carried on with our walk, this little Red Squirrel joined in the fun. Unlike the Eastern Grey Squirrel, the smaller Red Squirrel is native to Alberta. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Red_Squirrel