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Mike Mockler

Canada -
The Rocky Mountains
September 2011

STUNNING SCENERY AND ELUSIVE WILDLIFE

As this was Mike’s first visit to the Rocky Mountains, he wondered how they would compare with other famous mountain ranges he had previously visited in search of wildlife.  Would they be as spectacular or productive as the Himalayas, the Andes or even the European Alps?

The start was promising.  On the very first evening, in a small-town park in the foothills of the Rockies, a Beaver was seen swimming to its lodge in the river, a couple of joggers reported a Black Bear a short distance away and, as darkness fell, a Great Horned Owl (the largest owl in the Americas) started calling from a nearby tree.  After a few minutes’ searching, Mike spotted the owl and a dialogue ensued between the owl and Mike’s wife, Pat, who mimicked the owl’s deep calls!

Elsewhere in the Rockies, a few other species were also relaxed in the presence of humans.  In the wooded grounds of one lodge, Elks grazed while guests and staff went about their everyday business.  On one night, three female Elks blocked the path back to the room and Mike had to ease these large deer aside in order to get past.  In Banff, White-tailed Deer could be seen jay-walking through the traffic, feeding in suburban gardens and nibbling on roadside verges.  Bighorn Sheep were regularly encountered at the roadside and, in one car-park, a flock of Bighorns had discovered some tasty fluid seeping from the rear of a parked coach and gathered to lick the coach’s undercarriage, much to the alarm of the coach-driver who tried, without success, to chase them away. A few species of birds were also common in parking areas and picnic sites, most notably attractive Grey Jays and, incongruously for European birdwatchers, Ravens which scrounged food from visitors.

Nevertheless, most wildlife proved hard to find and extremely difficult to photograph.  Mountain Goats were well out of photographic range as they browsed high above on massive cliffs, Hoary Marmots were preparing for hibernation and most bears had moved from the valleys up to inaccessible, higher slopes.  Mike found himself using binoculars on a Grizzly rather than a camera with a big telephoto lens.  Some mammals were tricky to photograph simply because they were so small, such as Least Chipmunk (the world’s smallest chipmunk) and the delightful little Pika, aptly described in one field guide as “a tennis ball with ears”.

Birdlife was very thin on the ground, as expected.  Most summer migrants had flown south so it was primarily the hardier species that were present.  For much of the time, forests were eerily quiet:  only the calls of American Crows and Ravens, along with the chattering of American Red Squirrels, broke the silence.  Species seen included Northern Flicker, Belted Kingfisher, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Steller’s Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Pine Siskin, White-winged Crossbill, Dark-eyed Junco and White-crowned Sparrow.  By the end of the month, ducks were seen on pools and lakes, among them Buffleheads, American Wigeons, Hooded Mergansers and Common Goldeneyes.

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The Elk rut was in full swing so there were regular sightings of this magnificent deer, a relative of Britain’s native Red Deer (some have suggested they are the same species).  In fact, they looked even taller than Red Deer and the big males were awe-inspiring. 

To find Moose, it was necessary to be out in the field at dawn and dusk. On one occasion, a mother and calf were found wading through a lake. As dawn crept up, the light improved and Mike managed to approach the two animals as the early golden glow of sunrise created a quite magical effect on the surface of the water.  

Coyotes, though not uncommon, were elusive. Persecuted for so long, these intelligent animals have learned to be very wary of humans so Mike was pleased to get close enough to a family of three Coyotes to obtain photographs.   

Wolves were the most elusive of all.  In fact, a visitor has to be incredibly lucky to get  even the briefest sighting, let alone a photograph: locally-based wildlife photographers and film-makers devote many hundreds of hours to this task.  Nevertheless, there were reports of a small Wolf pack which was being seen from time to time so there was cause for hope.  Repeated searches in the early mornings and evenings produced no more than fresh faeces (which at least provided some encouragement).  Then, eventually, on the very last day, only five hours before driving to Calgary Airport for the flight home, Mike and Pat came across one of the Wolves.  This was a magnificent jet-black individual (several of the local Wolves are black or very dark grey) and, for just a few minutes, it was possible to admire it and even grab a few photographs.  Eventually, the Wolf moved off through the forest, presumably to rendezvous with the rest of the pack.

So how did the Rockies measure up?   They are certainly very commercialised and “touristy” and the small number of roads means that everyone is channelled into the same overcrowded areas.  There are very few quiet side roads so it is frustrating trying to get away from the crowds to look for and photograph wildlife.  In popular places like Lake Louise, hordes of tourists congregate and hundreds of cars fill enormous car parks.  As it was September, most camp-sites were closed for winter so visitor numbers were down but what must it be like in July and August when all those camp-sites are full to capacity?

Even so, despite the traffic and crowds, the brash tourist developments and ugly winter sports infrastructure, there is some breathtaking scenery to enjoy.  And the timing of this trip was perfect to enjoy the ever-changing colours of the season.  As late summer tilted towards winter, Aspens, Larches and Poplars created more and more glorious scenes in gleaming, luminous colours: amber, lemon-yellow and burnished gold. 

 

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