Category: Canada


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One of the great things about Waterton is the wildlife and once you get to know the park it is relatively easy to see a lot of wildlife without having to travel very far to see it.  On this trip it was like none of the animals had moved since I was there almost two years ago.  The elk were still below Mt. Vimy hiding in the trees during the day and then would make there way out onto the plains at around sunset, the great horned owls were raising another clutch near the main gate and were perching in the dead trees in the marsh, the black bears were wandering around Red Rock Canyon Road, etc. etc.  It was so great to go back…my favourite place in Alberta!

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This adult female elk stood out like a sore thumb in the rest of the elk herd but obviously she has survived despite this variation in colour, although she was slightly thinner than the rest of the herd as evident by her prominent spine.  Sometimes white discolouration of animals can be caused by parasites, disease or wounds but these problems usually only effect a small portion of the fur.  This elk didn’t appear to have any of those and therefore the most likely cause is genetic.  If you search the web there are numerous pictures of white elk and piebald deer but it appears calico or piebald elk are not that common and I have yet to see another photograph of one. Please share if you have!

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This nest, built out of moss was on a steep cliff next to a series of rapids near the Akamina road to Cameron Lake.  There were three chicks nearing fledgling age that somehow managed to stay within the nest while extending their heads out to get fed by their parents.  The two adults fed these chicks every 5-10minutes and tended to the nest.  The fecal sacks produced by the chicks were removed by the parents and dropped into the rapids to wash them away.

An American dipper holds onto the slippery rocks after catching several insects along the river with the rapids splashing around the bird

An American dipper partially submerges in the rapids to search for insects to bring back to the nest.

Just like clockwork it took all of 5 minutes of sitting along Akamina lake before I heard an animal moving through the forest on the opposite side of the lake and this moose appeared along the water’s edge. She moved around the lake towards me feeding along the way.  Once she finally figured out that I was there she only briefly looked at me before going back to feeding on the plants around the lake.

After about 30 minutes of feeding by the lone female moose a yearling bull moose joined her in the water to feed.

Driving 6 hours from Edmonton and sleeping 2 hours in the back of the rental car was worth it to get back down to Waterton National Park for a day.  I was surprised to find so many wildflowers still out along the roadsides and I finally managed to get some good photos of American dippers.  Here are a few photos

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Banff National Park