Calgary
& the Rockies
Aug
1-5, 2003
- narrated
by Henry Detwiler
A trip with Suzanne to visit
our friends Al & Helga in their summer home--Calgary, Alberta!
94
species total
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.
Al
and Helga picked us up on a sunny Friday afternoon. As we drove to
their home, we got our first introduction to Canadian birds,
Black-billed Magpies and numerous Swainson's Hawks.
|
Least Flycatcher |
After settling
into their home, we made a short trip to Fish Creek, where we added
Downy Woodpecker and the first of many Least Flycatchers and
Clay-colored Sparrows. This was the first Least Flycatcher I'd
ever seen away from Illinois.
|
| The weather was a
wonderful change from Yuma, never exceeding the mid 80s and dropping
into the 50s at night. On Saturday morning we headed an hour west of
Calgary to the breathtaking Rocky Mountains of Banff National
Park. |
Downy Woodpecker
|
Suzanne, Al, and Helga |
Rundell Mountain sits at the base of Banff, providing
a beautiful backdrop to the town. Behind Suzanne, Al, and
Helga are the Vermilion Lakes, and Rundell Mt. |
| At "Cave and Basin" we were treated to our first
exclusively northern forest denizens, Boreal Chickadees. They
were associating with both Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees. |
Boreal Chickadee |
|
Young Elk
|
At Fenwood Trail we
entered the dark fir & lodgepole pine forests, and were rewarded with views of our
first Gray Jays, Three-toed Woodpeckers, Wood Duck, Yellow-rumped
Warblers feeding juveniles, a lifer Winter Wren for Al &
Suzanne, and our first elk.
|
|
White-winged Crossbill |
Al spotted a male, and then a female, White-winged
Crossbill fly into a fir across the stream. As we watched them,
the male flew to our side of the stream and then started drinking
not 8 feet in front of me--it was an outstanding view, and my only
lifer of the trip! |
|
On
Sunday morning we returned to Banff, only this time with
Johnston Canyon as our first destination. The Black Swifts
were not in evidence, but we did find a Dipper at the Lower
Falls, as well as hundreds of gawking
tourists.
|
Lower Falls at Johnston Canyon |
|
Chateau Lake Louise
|
This is the back of the fancy hotel on the lake's
edge (photo at top of the page). Indoors a harpsichordist
strummed her melodies, while in the courtyard a man in lederhosen
belted out Amazing Grace on a long elk horn.
|
|
These nutcrackers were abundant around Lake Louise and at many of
the camping areas, fond of the handouts and table scraps left by the
many picnickers.
|
Clark's Nutcracker
|
Cherry-faced Meadowhawk |
During our five days there, I spotted only two types
of dragonflies, both species quite numerous. These mid-sized
red meadowhawks blanketed the grasses around Fenwood trail. |
|
We wanted to eat
lunch here at beautiful Lake Morraine, but the haze you see in the
picture is not fog--it's smoke from fires raging over the
mountains in British Columbia. The bad air forced us to feast
on lunch farther down the mountain.
|
Lake Morraine
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PAGE 2 - More Pictures
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