This male mountain bluebird had just picked an insect off of one of the aspen trees. The scars on the aspen trees are from elk that eat the bark and sap.
Category: North American Wildlife
A very young elk calf hides in the bushes while the rest of the herd was feeding in an open meadow several hundred feet away.
Banff National Park
I have been trying unsuccessfully for over a year to get a decent photo of this bird. Finally I got this photo with the help of my parents who were driving (which makes it much easier to take pictures when you don’t have to do both at the same time!).
This large adult male black bear was feeding on the last remaining berries of the season along the roadside in Waterton National Park.
This photo is from earlier in the summer before all the grass died and turned brown. Coyotes are one of the most adaptable, resilient animals and can be found in a variety of habitats including large urban centers where they prey on other urban wildlife and domestic pets.
It took about 30 minutes of sitting in my car with my camera pointed out the window with my finger held on the shutter release button to get this photo. Finally the kestrel flew off to go hunting and quickly returned with a large insect. This was one of many kestrels I saw flying around and hunting in the valley below Mt. Vimy.
Mom waiting for her calf to finish shaking the water off before moving on to feed farther down the lake. This particular moose is not bothered by my presence and I have learned that if I make myself visible to her instead of trying to hide in the trees she gets much more relaxed and will go back to feeding without paying much attention to me (except when the shutter makes a noise and then she will point one ear towards me, as you can see in this picture).
After spending a very cold night in my tent I woke up at 5am and drove down to the Maskinonge where I waited for the sun to start rising. One of the great things about Waterton is the sudden change from prairies to mountains which means you can get the equivalent of 3 sunrises as you make your way from the prairies into the mountains. On this particular morning I did just that. Started with this great blue heron spreading it’s wings in the fog, then to the elk making their way into the forest and about an hour later up near Cameron lake I photographed moose swimming and eating as the sun broke over the mountain and started evaporating the fog.
Across from Upper Wateron Lake the elk have started grouping up into small herds of 10 or so females with a bull elk trying to isolate the females for mating. As usual the elk headed into the trees for the day before emerging at night to feed.
About an hour after taking the picture of the elk I made my way to Akamina Lake hoping to find some moose in the morning fog. When I got out of my car and was getting my equipment together I could hear a moose calling to her calf and I knew I was going to have more good luck. Sure enough, by the time I hiked down to the lake the calf had joined her mom and was standing along the shore as the mom fed from the vegetation on the bottom of the lake.
When I was walking around Akamina Lake in Waterton searching for moose I almost stepped on this spruce grouse chick and her mother. These birds will often sit along trails and only at the last instant will they fly off and usually not too far which makes them great photography subjects, but you have to wonder how smart they are!
Owen Slater Photography 