Wild goats and sheep frequently graze the slopes overlooking the town of Banff. Whenever we come here, we drive up the Mt. Norquay road to see what's going on, it usually doesn't disappoint, especially in the Spring when this photo was taken.
If you want that perfect picture without having to take more than a few steps from your car, this is the place to be. Often shared by both wildlife and tourists taking selfies with the Bow Valley in the background. One can sit here and take in the view for hours.
More goats in the town of Radium, this is in British Columbia, on the other side of the Rocky Mountains from Banff. Radium is another mountain town with a hot spring, just like Banff but less picturesque. Radium is in Kootenay National Park.
We see many birds on our hikes, but most are too far away to take photos of without a zoom lense. Grouse are well camouflaged and stupid so you can get within a few feet of them. We probably pass dozens of unseen Spruce Grouse, some stand out more than others.
As you can see, they are not the most visible of birds but the grass up in the alpine zone is short so there is nowhere to hide. These are popular birds to hunt as they taste delicious but there is no hunting within park boundaries. These Grouse were spotted in Yoho National Park.
We took a lot of photos when going up to Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park and if you follow my blogs, you would know this area is a hikers paradise. We saw many Grouse, Pikas, Marmots, Chipmunks, and even a Weasel high up in the Canadian Rockies.
It's not common to get both a Pika and a Chipmunk in the same shot. Pika's tend to live high up near the peaks where they don't have to content with other rodents but in some places their territory overlaps.
Do you think the Chipmunk is cuter, pictured above? Or do you prefer the Pika pictured below?
I prefer Pika's just because Chipmunks are common and found all over North America. We only see Pika's when hiking in the alpine zones during the summer season.
Due to the short season up here, all creatures are busy eating. There are only a few months of good foraging for fresh food.
The marmot you see below is the largest rodent found in these parts. They are giant squirrels that live high up in the mountains. They're relatively shy and tend to keep their distance.
We don't see them very often but saw at least two this day, hiking the Alpine route above Lake O'Hara. This one was up on the Opabin Plateau, perfect Marmot Habitat.
This really makes me want to get a better camera but alas that's going to have to wait for next season. It's a big purchase that requires a lot of thinking. The quality difference is immense, especially when shooting wildlife that isn't right in front of you.
Much of the wildlife in Banff and the Canadian Rockies is seen at the side of the road. The animals here are used to people and aren't shy, but the rarer or more dangerous creatures are best viewed at a distance.
Here's our cottontail hair before we renovated the lawn. It lives in our yard under the deck and helps us keep the grass trimmed.
The Hare changes colour from white to brown depending on the season. It needs a thick white coat to survive the Canadian Winter. But now it's Spring so we should be seeing lots of animals and their babies soon. Thanks for reading and have a great week!
All photos taken with an s22 or iphone 13 pro and are unfiltered
It's so great you can get up so close and personal with so many different animal on your hikes.
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We hike a lot, most hikes there isn't much animal excitement
The life of the mountains is very beautiful, seeing the mountains and such beautiful animals gives a lot of peace and the weather there is also very good.
The weather is so good it's snowing in May!
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