Return of the Redpolls – 7 Dec, 2014

Redpoll

A Common Redpoll – Carburn Park, 7 Dec 2014

Winter 2013/14 in Calgary was virtually devoid of winter finches (redpolls, siskins, grosbeaks, etc) so it’s been great to see some of them return this winter. However, I had not seen any redpolls until today when a pair flew over my head and conveniently landed in the tree next to me. I love the colours of Redpolls, especially the pink males!

Kananaskis Critters – Summer 2014

zGrizzly7After 2 years of concentrating almost exclusively on birds as subject matter, early in 2014 my wife suggested I try my hand at shooting some of the many mammals that inhabit Alberta. Perhaps not unsurprisingly, I found bird photography skills to be very transferable to mammal photography and so, like bird photography again, the real challenge became finding the subjects!zGrizzly1a

zGrizzly6The highlights of the summer for me were undoubtedly the Grizzlies – a species I’d only ever seen once in my 7 years in Alberta.

Closely followed by the outrageously cute Pikas:Pika-3 Pika-1 Pika-2

Pika-4And of course, finally seeing a full-blown bull moose in peak condition:Bull Moose-2 Bull Moose-1

I hope to add to this initial portfolio next year, and will be on the look-out for some of the more elusive animals such as bobcats and lynx, wolves, and all of the weasel family! Any tips on where to find these hard-to-find creatures would be most welcome, so please drop me a line.