Great horned Owl

There are not a lot of opportunities to spot an owl in the mountains. Any help from others is appreciated. Help for me often comes from wildlife, particularly from the birds. They are always helpful letting me know what else is going on. Just in the last few days, thanks to the birds like the robins, chickadees and juncos mobbing. I got to see a Barred Owl and a goshawk. The more you understand what is going on around you and what different calls mean. The more chances you have of seeing the uncommon. 

For this picture, it was another day for birding, getting my camera ready before following the trail into the woods. I could hear magpies and crows calling out. By their calls, it sounded like they were mobbing a predator. Slowly and carefully, I moved closer until I could see an adult Great horned Owl. After a few minutes, the owl had enough, it tried to fly away from the other birds. In pursuit were the crows and magpies. Just then, I realized there were two adult Great-horned Owls. The second was out of my view at first, but when it flew after the first owl, I got to see it. It looked as if both owls had enough and wanted to get away. The calls of the crowns and magpies got fainter and fainter as the owls got farther and farther away from where I was still standing. 

Black Bear

When out on the trails in the mountains, even if birding. You must be ready to deal with bear encounters. For this encounter, it was about an hour into the morning. The birding was going well. With the warmer temperatures, the camera was in my hands, ready to take pictures at any opportunity. After watching for birds across a small pool of water, I decided to head into the nearby woods to see what I could hear or see. I was about ten meters from the woods when I heard a sound to the left of me. I looked in the direction, one of the local black bears was sitting on the edge of the woods. It seemed he was having a nap and my approach to the woods had awakened him. I backed up until he lowered his alert head and then lowered his head to his paws to get his remaining beauty sleep. This adult male has been collared and tagged by the Banff’s Parks Canada wildlife team to make sure he does not get into trouble. The collar is sending out a signal to the satellite, spaced out so the battery does not drain too fast. But the collar is also sending out a radio signal, helping the wildlife team locate him as needed. With me being out regularly, I have already seen him a few times this season. It’s best to stay calm during these encounters. With a bear spray next to me, the best option was to give him space until he stopped focusing on me and then for me to find a different route for my purpose.

Mealy Primrose

With the lack of snow over the winter and the early start of the warm weather, everything seems to be two to three weeks early. A few weeks ago, I was looking at glacier lilies starting to bloom and other flowers as well. I was having a quiet walk around the lake, looking at the wildflowers and birding in the background. After having a quick chat with a friend/colleague who was training new team members, I had the trail to myself. Until my walk back to the parking lot. Time goes by fast when photography opportunities go up during the spring. When I saw this very small mealy primrose with dew growing next to the inlet water to the alpine lake. I spent five to ten minutes trying to get the right image, with only the flower in focus and those nice light circles formed in the background. The circles get formed when spots of reflective light on the water become out of focus. As is always the case, when I have the space and the time, I can take the time to show all the beauty of the flower in an image.

Say's Phoebe

I was coming toward the end of a long bird walk, when I noticed Say's Phoebe. If you’re going “say what?”. Say’s Phoebe is a bird that is a member of the flycatchers.  In the picture, it was trying to catch a fly just out of the frame. This bird breeds farther north than any other flycatcher. Breeding range goes from central Mexico to the arctic tundra. We normally see one or two passing through during spring migration. Say’s Phoebes are not picky when they decide where to build a nest. Machinery, mailboxes, old nests by other species and even on top of an oil pipeline. When I first saw this phoebe midday, it was mostly spending its time perched. But when I popped back out early in the evening, a light rain was falling. It was hanging out with a few Yellow-rumped Warblers. They all put on a great show, catching insects in the air.

Long-toed Salamander

Banff National Park has one reptile, the western terrestrial garter snake. Most are found on the slopes of Sulphur Mountain, thanks to the several thermal springs keeping the ground warm. And Banff has four amphibians; boreal toad, columbia spotted frog (I still have not seen one), wood frog and the long-toed salamander. The salamander in the pictures was trying to cross the road to get to the water. For the last number of years, there have been signs placed on the Bow Valley Parkway, asking visitors to slow down from 60 km/h to 30 km/h for a few hundred meters. Below the road is the wetland and above the road is where the salamanders go to hibernate during the winter. Surviving on energy stored in their skin and their tail over the cold months. Already a vehicle had whizzed by, doing more than the normal speed limit as the salamander was about to go over this human path. I parked at the nearby pull-off and decided this little one was going to get across. Already I could see what looked to be the outline of one who did not survive the tire that went over it. And another that was just starting its journey on the road when it met a bike tire from the looks of it.

But this little friend was moving well, no thoughts about stopping until it was in the grass. Any incoming vehicles were easily going to see me, even if they were not going to stop for a salamander. The sight of a person with a camera in hand on the side of the road. Well, that’s a clear sign that there is wildlife in the area. The salamander made it across and rested in the grass before going down the slope to the water. Long before the road was built, this salamander’s ancestors were making the same journey, minus the asphalt. This and many other salamanders today have the same instinct to go up the slope to survive the winter under dead vegetation and back down without getting eaten by predators in the spring. Even if the road is empty, they still deal with hotter than normal temperatures on the road and are easily spotted by birds. Slowing down to 30 km/h or more is a very small price to pay for this small species.

Red-breasted Merganser

Handful of times I have come across Red-breasted Mergansers in Banff National Park, as they make their way north to their breeding territory. As this migration season, I normally come across one Red-breasted Merganser, but in 2020 there were 7. In the fall they migrate in larger groups, up to thousands at time. Unfortunately we don’t get to see them in the fall. In the thousands would be quite the site.

Grizzly

One of the animals sleep researchers are looking at to get a better understanding why they don’t have to deal with the negative effects from long terms of inactivity, is the bear. How are they able to sleep for months with no negative effect on their muscles and bone mass? A possible answer could be shivering in the den, which might help maintain muscle tone and a way to avoid bedsores as well. We humans deal with rapid bone loss due to inactivity. For example, when recovering from an injury, when a tiny few of us spend time in space or when some of us just sit around and eat chocolates. Researchers have found bone degeneration does occur while the bears are in deep sleep, but they do not deal with bone loss. Likely because they recycle calcium and phosphorus right back into rebuilding bone. 

On March 23, 2023. This big guy was the first bear spotted in Banff NP this year. Probably got up to make sure he did not miss the Northern Lights that night. He slept for about three and half months. I got to see him when there was plenty of snow in the valley, well rested and ready to battle it out for another season.

Tundra Swans

A week before this picture, I was looking at four Trumpeter Swans in the same open water. I did not have my camera gear on-hand, so I watched them take off and circle the water before gaining enough altitude to fly away. Then a few hours later, three trumpeters came down in the same area. I had my camera with me this time, but the three decided to stick around.  A week later, I spotted the other species of swan we see here during migration, Tundra Swans. Unlike the Trumpeter Swans, who have a much broader latitude in terms of where they nest. The Tundra Swans nest on arctic tundra. We get to see both species passing through Banff NP during spring migration and sometimes during the fall as well.

As soon as I saw the Tundra Swans about 100 meters from me, some of them were bobbing their heads up and down, they wanted to fly. But it took them about fifteen minutes to reach a consensus, they all moved to the very east of the water and started flapping their wings and running on the water. Due to the heavy winds from the west, they were quickly in the air. I got this picture when they were deciding whether to go left or right with the snow-covered mountain range in the background. For a few weeks, I was trying to get a black and white picture of the swans and the snow in the background. Having them in the air was a bonus.

Short tailed Weasel

The short-tailed weasel, also known as ermine when it’s in its white winter coat. Is a member of the Mustelidae family. This weasel family includes some pretty tough members. Such as wolverines, honey badgers, and otters to name a few. Although the short-tailed weasel may be on the lower end of the weight scale in the Mustelidae family. But pound per pound, or should I say ounce per ounce, it’s a pretty tough character. Coming in at 11 ounces or .03 kg and up to 41 cm in length. The short-tailed weasel preys on mammals and birds. It’s great at hunting voles, but it can also kill larger prey such as rabbits. During the summer, the weasel is dark brown and white, but it molts to all white during winter, except for the black tail tip.

Even though it's longer and heavier than a vole, because it's about the same diameter as the vole it preys on, the weasel can easily chase the voles in the snow tunnels formed by its prey. Short-tailed weasels are relentless predators. On one occasion, one was spotted giving a ground squirrel a chase. It ended up chasing the squirrel into the burrow of its prey, and after a few screams from the squirrel, all was quiet for several seconds. We waited as we looked toward the entrance to the squirrel's burrow. Out came the weasel with the heavier squirrel in its mouth.

Northern Lights

The Sun's magnetic field goes through a solar cycle roughly every 11 years, with the current one expected to peak in 2025. During this cycle, the magnetic field flips, and the north and south poles switch places. After another 11 years, they flip back. The Sun becomes more active and stormier toward the end of the 11-year solar cycle, going from solar minimum to solar maximum. During solar maximum, a larger number of sunspots appear. Sunspots are areas where the magnetic field is around 2,500 times stronger than Earth's, much higher than anywhere else on the Sun. Solar flares, which release large quantities of energy from the Sun, are more likely to occur during this period.

During solar maximum, with more active sunspots releasing energy, intense radiation storms can collide with Earth's outer atmosphere. Causing electrical disruptions and satellite and communication problems. However, these storms can also bring us Northern Lights. The stronger the storms, the more intense and the further south the lights will be visible. There are different levels of solar flares, with class A being the smallest, followed by classes B, C, M, and X. With each class, there is a smaller scale from 1 to 9, with X9 being the highest. There have already been six X-level solar flares this year, as many as there were throughout 2022.

If the sunspot from which the flares are coming is not facing toward Earth, the chance of seeing Northern Lights is small. That has been the case for most of this past winter. However, on March 23-24, 2023, we had X-level solar flares that caused a category G4 geomagnetic storm. G1 being a minor event and G5 being an extreme event. This was the most intense solar storm since 2017, the Northern Lights were visible across Canada and as far south as New Mexico.

Although the lights were visible in Banff NP. The lights were more intense and visible at certain times and locations. It's important to note that just like a snowstorm covering western Canada, it does not mean all areas always will be getting equal amounts of snow falling. Just as Earth weather, many factors play in space weather. Some locations in the park reported seeing green and red colors with the naked eye. However, it's worth noting that the visibility of the Northern Lights varied greatly depending on the time, location, and weather conditions.

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience for many locals and visitors who were out and about trying to find a dark spot to see the lights. I personally saw mostly green light, with a brief glimpse of red. My camera, having a more sensitive sensor than my eyes, was able to pick up deeper and more colours. The temperature was comfortable enough to stay outside and enjoy most of the night. Here's hoping for a few more nights like that before we go to the other side of the solar maximum.

Snowflakes

Only when I started looking for six-sided snowflakes, I started realizing we don’t get that many snowfalls with the classic snowflake shape we have in our heads when we think about snowflakes. The shape that’s used during the holiday decorations. This year I had two opportunities, one in December and one less than two weeks ago. Even though I was able to get some good results, my attempt to improve in snowflake photography is slow due to a lack of opportunities. But, the results were more than good enough that I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity.

Under different weather conditions, you get different shapes of snowflakes. With names like needle clusters, capped columns, simple prisms, and femlike stellar dendrities to name a few. In the picture, the main (about 4 to 5 mm in size) snowflake is a stellar dendritie, and the smaller (about 1mm in size) slightly out of focus, is close to what is called a simple star. Since you have to hand-hold the camera and use a macro lens, the depth of focus area is very small. For this image, I had to take over 15 images and then combine them to get one sharp focused snowflake. Even then, there are several unfocused areas on the big snowflake and half of the small snowflake is out of focus. This is where, like anything in life, to get better at something, there must be a lot of practice. 

Song Sparrow

The important event all birders wait for is here, Spring Bird Migration. Dust off your favorite field guidebook and your well used binoculars. The great thing is, no matter if you’re getting into birding or you can tell from 200 meters away which side of the willow shrub the singing Song Sparrow is perched on. The birds don’t show up at the same time. Providing you time to slowly get into the season. One lone Canada Goose showed up over a month ago. I assumed it was surprised to find no other goose in the area, as we were of its early arrival. It was not seen after that day. A few weeks back, three Canada Geese were spotted on the opposite side of the valley. For a few days, seven Tundra Swans were hanging out in open water. Yesterday, there were close to 50 American Wigeon in another open water spot. The crows are back, having been spotted with some of the other members of the crow family. Mating pair of Bald Eagles have been spotted around their nest, but they don’t have all that far to go for the winter. Some, if the winter is mild and there is open water and carcass available, will even stick around. Dark-eyed Juncos and American Robins can be heard throughout the valley’s bottom.

Plenty is going on outside, to keep us birders happy as we wait for the temperature to go up and more species to move in or pass through. This Song Sparrow was hanging out among the cattails, where we normally will see Red-winged Blackbirds. If you haven’t already, it’s time to bundle up and get out to the nearest open water.

Storm Mountain

Storm Mountain is located on the continental divide in the Bow Valley. It shares the boundary with Kootenay National Park and Banff National Park. I have never scrambled to the top but have enjoyed the hikes around the mountain. The last one was to Twin Lakes a few years back during the larch season. The mountain really stands out, thanks to its height (3,158 meters) and location. I’ll often look toward it in the morning for possible photo opportunities and whenever I can get to the mountain with the moon. For this image, I had forgotten to take a look at the mountain from a pull-off that gives a nice view of its Bow Valley facing side. A few minutes later, when I looked toward it, I realized I had to do a 180 to get the pictures of Storm Mountain. A black and white image was waiting for me at the pull-off.

Northern Shrike

This large songbird with a large round head and an equally thick neck can be spotted in Banff NP in winter. The Northern Shrikes come south to Banff in the winter as well to other parts of Canada and northern parts of the states. Breeding takes place far north, in parts of Canada and Alaska. Most songbirds do not hunt and eat animals. But the shrike does, using its toothlike spike on its upper bill to kill prey. Going after mice and birds up to the size of robins. Since they like to hold territories during winter and the male sings in late winter and early spring. A good bird to keep your eyes out for before they head back up north. This shrike I came across just as we were about to start a small hike over a month ago. It landed less than 10 meters from us, waiting for a vole to come out in the open. A few minutes later, it flew down to the ground to catch a vole. But it was far too fast for me to get the picture before it was in the woods.

Moose

A female moose will have its first calf when she is 3 years of age. Cows generally give birth every year, twin calves being born once every three years. Otherwise, a single calf is born. Giving birth to equal numbers of bull and cow calves. So, the average cow keeps giving birth until they are 14 to 18 years old. To do a bit of math. Over 14 years from one cow and her offspring, if everything is equal. Two hundred and twelve calves can be born in over 14 years. But factors such as predators, diseases, weather, hunting and road and railway accidents, end up playing a big role in the moose population.

This calf who first spotted me, was a bit nervous. As soon as I saw it was looking toward me and as well, its ears pointed toward me. I realized if I wanted to see more of the calf, I better stay put or move back. It soon relaxed and started eating the willow shrubs. As it ate and moved, the calf ended up disappearing into the shrubs. But, at no time did I see its mother. This calf was born last spring. Calves stay with their mother for at least a year and a half. Female calves can stay even longer. If this eight-month old calf was separated from its mother, perhaps predators playing a role, the chance of it reaching adulthood just got less. A healthy cow plays an important role in helping its calf survive and contribute to the ecosystem as an adult.

Fairholme Range

Visualizing what picture you want is an important part of photography. This step can also save you lots of time. By pre-visualizing, not only are you thinking about will the conditions in front of you will make for a good image. But also thinking can the camera pick up what our eyes are able to see. Our eyes still have a greater dynamic range than the best camera on the market, even more compared to our phone’s camera. The dynamic range is the ratio between the brightest and darkest parts.

During some sunrises and sunsets, the camera does not even come out of the pack if certain conditions are not met for a good image. During a full moon night, when your eyes can not only pick out the details in the moon, but also in the surroundings around you. With the camera, you will have to take multiple shots, exposing separately for the details in the moon and the ground. Then using an application on the computer to put different parts of each image together to create what your eyes were seeing. Even then, it will end up being different from what our eyes saw.

During the night or early in the morning or late in the day, there are flashes and portable lights you can use to get a half decent picture of wildlife. But that’s a terrible thing to do. Us humans are thrown off when a flash is used on us during the dark. Let along what the wildlife feels that have far more sensitive eyes than us. Last week, when I saw three red foxes at three separate locations as I was coming home in the dark, unless they were in my vehicle’s headlights, no picture was going to be taken. Later was the case. The camera stayed put.

For this image. I was coming back home when I saw the moon, clouds and the mountain range in the late evening light. I knew before even getting off the highway and getting on the Vermilion Lakes Road. I had an image in front of me waiting to be taken, where I needed to go and take it from and it was going to end up as a black and white image. Other than the trees in the foreground, which I wanted to be dark anyway, the peaks, clouds and the moon were under the same light. The camera was going to give me the image I was seeing. Making it black and white was my creative choice. Visualization and getting good images. The more you practice, the easier it gets.

Red Fox

The red fox is the largest member of the true foxes. Members of the genus vulpes of the sub-family caninae, are referred to as true foxes. True foxes are separated from other members of the genus Canis, such as dogs, wolves, jackals, and coyotes, by their smaller size, longer tail and flatter skull. The red fox’s typical lifespan is 2 to 4 years, but can live up to 10 years. It is found across the Northern Hemisphere, North America, Europe and Asia. Including parts of North Africa. Its range has expanded with human expansion, as well been introduced to Australia. Where it is harmful to native mammals and birds, helping it to be in the “world’s 100 worst invasive species”. Climate change has also helped expand its range, helping it move north in Canada into Arctic Fox territory. Becoming one of its predators.

In Banff National Park, Red Fox is native to the area. In the last number of years, are becoming spotted more often in the Bow Valley. Unfortunately, also in a few locations that are frequented by park visitors, possibly being fed.  Red Foxes are perfectly fine finding their own food, the Bow Valley has everything they need to survive. Most of the time, I tend to see red foxes in the colours we normally associate them with, and on occasion the variant of the red fox, called the cross fox. Which has a long dark stripe running down its back and another intersecting stripe to form a cross over the shoulder. This one was out hunting on the edge of the woods one morning, when I came across it.

Mount Rundle

Landscape photography, I find, is the most relaxing part of nature photography. I would go as far as saying it’s rather peaceful. It helps when I tend to look for spots with no one else around. That way, I can enjoy the sounds of nature while watching the scenery change and waiting for the sky or peaks to light up. Waiting and picking out the sounds of birds I can hear as my mind identifies them. That morning, thanks to all the spruce cones on the trees, crossbills were filling the air with their calls.

When I got to the parking lot for this image, no one else was in the area. I still went to a location where no one would follow. There were still twenty minutes to go before I thought the colours would pop on the clouds. There was one possible problem on that very windy morning. The ice I was standing on was not going anywhere, but the clouds were moving fast, heading east. The set of clouds that were there when I arrived, would be gone when the sunlight would hit them. But would the next set of clouds move into place? In the end, I missed out on the reds, but I did get the warm yellow colours to end the peaceful outing.

Northern Goshawk

Being able to listen when exploring or just walking through the outdoors can be very important. Sometimes it can help you see things that you otherwise might miss, but can also prevent you from walking into a dangerous situation. A number of years ago I heard a moose calling out. When I came out in the open, I could see a female with her calf across the creek in the willows. They were surrounded by barely visible members of the wolf pack. In the end, the adult female moose was too strong, resulting in the wolves giving up and moving away.

A few weeks back, I was walking through the woods. I could hear a red squirrel giving out alert calls. After spending a lot of time outdoors, you start noticing the different calls of wildlife. When I also heard the calls of Red-breasted Nuthatches and Mountain Chickadees, I was certain there was a predator present. As I took a few steps towards the calls, I looked around and saw nothing on the ground. So either it was a small mammal predator on the tree or a bird of prey. As I moved forward, I could see the squirrel and also where the birds were calling from. I looked down at the trail I was standing on, there was a fresh bird dropping. I looked straight up, a juvenile Northern Goshawk was looking down at me. This was the predator the squirrel and the birds were warning about. There were no larger birds to mob and have the goshawk fly away, so for now it stayed perched five meters above the ground.

I slowly moved forward to get far enough to stand back and watch. Several minutes passed, the goshawk had enough, it defecated and then flew away to a quieter place where it could ambush its next meal.

Mount Rundle

The Canadian Rockies, like many other places in Canada, are not having their normal winter. Well, it’s the case for much of the world. The "new norm”. I have not had too many opportunities to get out in the morning and see everything covered with snow this winter. So far, we've had above-average temperatures and below-average snowfall. The last time we got a decent snowfall was in the later part of December, when this picture was taken. Luckily, I had the day off following the snowfall, getting out and taking pictures wherever I could. I When we had normal winters, I never wanted them to end. Now, I try to get the most out of each snowfall. When everything looks like a postcard to my eyes.