A few of our feathered friends from this year.

This years birding season!


Reflecting back on this year, I thought let's have look at some of this years birds that wandered into the crosshairs of the big lenses. One of spring's first birds is the Red winged blackbird, early morning squawker in the marsh. Shortly after that are their relatives the Yellow headed Blackbird which I still have not gotten an image of.

Then as soon as the flowers start to bloom the hummingbirds show up in mass. These birds go all over during the summer, countless times I have been hummed on at the tops of mountains far from any flowers at all. That is a rare sight. In the valleys the Calliope and Rufous are the main hummingbirds seen, however the Black Chinned Hummingbird do visit the Columbia Valley once in awhile, and it is on my list to capture.

I was able to catch the Sandhill Crane, which is local to BC/Alberta, and the Arctic in our summer.
These big birds are such a treat to see and even more so when they cross in front of the lens. There are lots of big birds in the Columbia Valley wetlands, and this area is a known haven for birders.

Another commonly seen, and my favourite the Wood Duck. One of the more colourful ducks in the pond and certainly easy to spot when in the open. A very lucky chance, while I was at the Alpine Clubs General Mountaineering Camp this summer, several of us including Jiri Novak a birder from Calgary, identified a Semi-palmated Sandpiper shown below. This bird would normally be in the Arctic Ocean areas, but a small number of them were in Battle Brook right beside our dining tent. I wasted no time in capturing this fellow as it waded the stream in front of us.

Marsh Wrens are also numerous in the Columbia Valley, but getting them on camera is a different story. With a large lens and being able to chase it in your viewfinder is key, albeit a crosseyed affair.

Then the Common House Sparrow below found lurking in the spruces and firs.

 

 

The Great Blue Heron which is found all over the place, including marshes, ponds and rivers. These birds are numerous and skittish. Near Golden a large rookery of GBH nests are watched for their arrival in the spring and finally for the departure in fall. As many as 35+ nests have been counted there.

 

Osprey are also numerous in the Columbia Valley, as one drives along Hwy 93. They nest on fake, old and dedicated power poles. It always impresses me that they have to nest near or on power poles, and in some cases on the huge hydro towers carrying 500 KV of power. That would be to much static for me.

 

Now as the leaves are all gone snow berries are abundant, Grosbeaks have found an autumn feast, holding them well into the winter snow. Stellar Jays have come down from the mountains, and can be heard off in the forest. Winter is quiet with only a few dwellers around, but when spring arrives once again, our feathered friends will arrive happily and ready for new season in the mountains.

Bighorns Sheep! Wow thats gotta hurt...

Jasper National Park

As late fall comes, it is getting colder and the snow that looms on the mountains is dropping lower and lower. Most of us head south or certainly indoors for warmth, but the Bighorn sheep and Elk are just warming up, so to speak. It is the rutting season for these big guys, jousting for dominance and impressing the girls with strength and maleness. That is not unlike most males in any species, however these guys really bang heads over the girls. I wanted to go and see them, and catch some of there reputed efforts of jousting.

With a little help from one of his buddies, possibly to be more aggressive, the three-some cracked heads.  There is a lot of pushing and kicking of under bellies. But in the end it is a show of who is who, with no apparent winner. These three repeatedly took turns provoking each other to butt heads all morning only to take a panting rest to look around, and then start over again. In the cold air, the sound of smashing horns echoed against the mountains above to announce that the rut is on.

The area I was in, had over 30 large Bighorn males. The group was spread out all over the hillside, allowing me and a few other photographers to wander around them, with no apparent threat. Females mingled about as if to say... boys keep playing, once you are done we are over here! A spectacle for anyone wanting to capture Bighorn's in action.

With the Bighorn Sheep doing there ritual, others in the area were also out and wandering around.
The Elk who has just finished the peak of their rut, were still bugling about, displaying their herd of female followers. Many large 5 and 6 point males were seen on the grassy plains of the Athabasca River. They seemed more elusive and certainly more aggressive to be near, but that can be the case with most wildlife.
On the cliffs above Hwy 93 many Mountain Goats can be found through binoculars, with an occasional one nearby for photos. As the snow lowers in elevation the Goats will follow the snow line down, and stay until it accumulates on the valley floor, and then trudge back to ridge levels for the winter. A risky time as predators will be around to hunt them and the others.
With the changing seasons, these animals can be seen in their new winter woolies, ready for the cold to come..

Hiking with Rog!

Glacier National Park, British Columbia

 I am just getting around to posting my hiking pictures since late August. The weather was good
back then,  prior to our deluge in the mountains in late August to mid September. Roger' Pass is
one of those places now which gets overlooked by the masses as they drive by.. Okanagan bound. I visited Abbott Ridge again, as it had been sometime since doing so. It has such spectacular views of the Sir Donald Range and into the Mt Dawson Massif.

The views were amazing,  and it was a rare day as the recent forest fire smoke has not overwhelmed the area yet.

 

 Glacier National Park has many sides to explore.  One area which does see more in the way of hikers is the Purcell side of the park. Here are a couple views looking into the Beaver River and the east sides of the ranges. The terrain is rolling ridges with meadows and deep valleys. There are great vistas to the Rockies, Purcells to the south and the Selkirks.

Looking into Connaught Creek where the highway goes to Rogers Pass and to the west towards Glacier Park.


Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park 

With the wet weather arriving in late August and September,  I only had a couple of chances to visit the larches of O'Hara. In my 2 attempts of getting there, the weather did apply a different style of hiking for me..looks like winter!

While fresh snow always has a special way of showing us that we are not in control, it also  gives a special beauty to the mountains. On my first trip they were not ready, and even late one could say. But there were hints of larch heaven, and I knew I had to try again.

O'Hara is spectacular in most any condition, and the second trip gave me a little more of the peak colors I had been waiting for,  but it was not for long.

 

The colors were showing up in the plants as. The highlight of fall can warm the heart.

The hiking was good in the snow, I just did not want winter so early. Things did end up getting better and we enjoyed some clear spells in late October. The mountains along with nature will always do what they need to do...and not what I want it to. With that said I still seem to be able to capture what I want..