West Hawk Lake, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba, Canada, June 2012

Whiteshell Provincial Park is a large area. Miles upon miles of nearly untouched wilderness, home to many of Manitoba's less common and secretive creatures. Normally I spend my time there in the less traversed areas in the north and central areas of the park, but I was invited on a camping trip to a popular area in the south in June 2012.

I got there in the evening just as the sun was setting, perfect time to be sitting by the lake.

Later in the evening while having a fire I realized a deer was standing right behind me. The deer in this campground must get fed a lot, as they were quite tame and would not run away even if you were only several feet away.

The next morning offered a perfect opportunity to go out on the canoe and paddle around the lake. The morning was cool and the lake was like glass.

A few animals could be spotted, such as this female Common Merganser, a type of duck. I know this is a bit hard to see!

This lake is actually a big crater, and the crystal clear water drops in depth very fast. The rocks below me in this photo are actually about 50 feet down, even though I was only about 20 feet from shore!

As I got back to the beach a pair of Common Loons showed up, swimming around the canoe totally unafraid! Loons are quite common in boreal lakes, where they feed on fish, crustaceans, frogs and insects.

 The afternoon offered the opportunity to go for a hike around the lake and nearby Hunt Lake. The Whiteshell is part of the Canadian Shield, and so has numerous granite cliffs, outcrops and hills. Some of these have small caves, such as this one. 

After packing up it was time to head home, but not before a final appearance from another one of Manitoba's amazing animals. This is a pair of Sandhill Cranes, which are often mistaken for storks or herons. The brownish tinge to their usually grey feathers comes from iron in their food and water sources. Cranes are normally birds of open country, but this pair was in a open ditch in a woodland. 

Definitely an interesting area, but a bit to modern and crowded for my liking!

Smithers-Houston, British Columbia, Canada, April 2012

In April 2012 my brother and I went to visit relatives in BC, the first time I had been to that area. Smithers and Houston lie on the plateau between the Rocky Mountain and Coast Mountain Ranges.

Flying from Vancouver to Prince George Provided many views of the mountain tops from the plane.

After the 3 hour drive from Prince George we arrived at my relatives. They have a small lake and mountain behind their house, and my brother and I climbed it several times to see what we could find. There were lots of moose tracks!

Smithers has a set of mountains immediately behind it as well, with a ski hill.

The top of the skiing area goes above the tree line, but that is for very experienced skiers and snowboarders. This is Crater Lake pictured here.

The next evening we went for a drive to spot Moose as they came out to feed. We did end up spotting several (I decided to not include the pictures however, as they were poor quality-I still had my little Olympus camera at this point). The sunset against the mountains was breath taking.

2 days later we went for a hike up into the mountains. We were headed up to the Silver King Basin, up in the Babine Range. The snow was still think on the ground and we couldn't drive to the actual trail head, so this added a couple extra kilometers to the hike.

Despite being a vigorous hike, it offered many spectacular views. 

Once we reached the actual basin we needed to be relatively quiet, as avalanches are a possibility.

We started our hike at 7 am and reached our destination at around 3 pm. A hike of only 13 kms, but up hill the whole way and through sometimes fairly deep snow, and with roughly 50 lb packs on our backs. In the dead quiet we could often hear Mountain Goats butting heads and calling.

A view of the other side of the basin. The trees are small because it is so high up, and it can get fairly cold.

We stayed in Joe L'Orsa cabin overnight, and headed out first thing in the morning after a light breakfast. The trip downhill only took 3 hours! When we got home it was nice to sit in the hot tub and relax our sore muscles. Despite being very strenuous, definitely something I would do again. 

Bird's Hill Provincial Park/Oakbank, Manitoba, Canada, January/February 2012

Early 2012 I had some interesting encounters with some native wildlife.

 January 2012 I got a text from my former boss saying that his son had found a owl, and if I wanted it. Of course I jumped on this, and I was ready to tackle a big Great Horned or Snowy Owl. When I got there what greeted me was this little Northern Saw-whet Owl. Saw-whets normally migrate south for the winter, as they have trouble finding food  through the deeps snow and keeping warm. They get their name from their call, which sounds like someone sharpening a saw blade on a whet-stone. This one seems to have been attacked by a predator, it couldn't fly and had some blood on its wing. I took it home, and promptly got it some water and a frozen thawed mouse, which it ate fairly quickly. The next evening someone from the Wildlife Haven picked it up, but they later told me it had to be put down, as it couldn't be released.

In February I went to have a fire in Bird's Hill Provincial Park with my family, we usually go to a trail that has several bird feeders, where we often feed the chickadees and other birds by hand. On this particular occasion I noticed an animal running about the feeders which was quite a bit larger than a Red Squirrel. Grabbing my camera I ran to where I saw it. Running up the trunk of a tree right in front of me was an American Marten! Martens are members of the Mustelid family, which includes weasels, badgers, otters, mink, wolverines, and ferrets. Martens are generally arboreal, but also spend some time on the ground. Their main prey items are Red-backed Voles and Red Squirrels, both of which are abundant around the feeders. I managed to snap this quick shot of him/her as they paused to watch me from directly above.

Pine Point Rapids, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba, Canada, December 2011

 As I had mentioned in an earlier post, my brothers and I got for a hike every winter. Normally we do the Pine Point Rapids trail, in Whiteshell Provincial Park.On this particular occasion it had been snowing (not fun on the remote roads, we had only seen 2 other people that day), so the trails had been covered in a fresh blanket of fluffy powder. What also made this difficult is that nobody had been down the trail in at least 2 days, so nothing was packed down and we had to break our own trail. By then end of the 8 kms our legs felt like jelly. Normally I would consider this a short hike, but considering the snow was about 2 feet deep in most places, this made the hike quite vigorous.

One great thing about winter and fresh snow is it makes it easier to spot animal activity. The snow having just stopped, it didn't take long for us to spot some interesting tracks, in this case a set of tracks from a wolf pack that had just used the trail before us. It was thrilling, the were probably there just moments before!

 We reached the Whiteshell River after about 45 minutes. The clear water appeared black against the pure white snow, and the river was so low it wasn't flowing over the rapids.

 At the bottom of the rapids the water was open, and I spotted this Mink playing in the snow. Mink love winter, this one was no exception, we watched him roll around in the snow for a good 10 minutes. 

 The next stop was Acorn Falls, which was also barely a trickle. Once again the water offered a stark contrast against the white snow and grey sky.

Viburnum Falls had some interesting  views, icicles forming from the spray of the falls. 

This was yet another great hike, the remoteness and quiet can be very relaxing, yet the trail offers a bit of a challenge. Certainly an interesting combination!

Kildonan Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, September 2011

At the end of 2011 the family went out for a day to Kildonan Park, on of the many small parks in Winnipeg. Kildonan Park is a nice little place to go for walks, it's a very peaceful area. 

The park has a small stream that usually has ducks in it, and we often go to feed them. However this time a Muskrat showed up, and I found that while ducks seemed to leave pumpernickel alone (they hate the taste), the muskrat loved it! Muskrats aren't rats, and despite appearance they aren't related to the beaver in any way either. Muskrats are in fact the biggest species of vole, small mouse-like rodents that normally burrow beneath the soil and eat roots and seeds. Muskrats are no different, they too burrow, but rather into the banks of water bodies. 

Wood Ducks are common here, as they like water bodies in deciduous forests. They are particularly fond of the rivers in Winnipeg, as oak trees grow along the banks and provide a food source in the form of acorns. This is a male fresh out of eclipse plumage, many of the birds there were still going through it.

I spotted this American Crow drinking from a water fountain a short distance away. Funny that he would drink from here rather than the creek right below. Crows are very smart though and he's probably seen people drink the nice clean water from there.

Just a few pics to keep the audience satisfied!

Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba, Canada, September 2011

*Small post* I might do a couple over the next two days, as it seems in late 2011 to early 2012 I went on several small day trips.

One such small trip was to Oak Hammock Marsh, a wetland protected wetland about 40 minutes north of Winnipeg. Many staging and breeding waterbirds of all types can be seen here, as well as many other wetland animals.

Usally in late September the pools and lakes are filled with ducks going through "eclipse" this is when ducks grow new flight feathers, and are unable to fly for a while. Male ducks will take on the less flamboyant female colours so that they can better camouflage themselves in this vulnerable period.

Besides ducks, other waterbirds that are often present are Sandhill Cranes. The more common of the two cranes here (Whooping Crane is endangered and very rare in migration, but pops up on occasion), Sandhills gather in large flocks in grain fields and marshes to feed before leaving for the winter. They're always a neat thing to see, and often you hear their gurgling trumpeting calls long before you spot them. 

I was surprised to see that while most birds were under migration, these Barn Swallows were raising a brood of babies! Apparently this isn't uncommon, as they will raise broods, sometimes two a year, up until October. As long as flying insects stick around, so can they.

Oak Hammock Marsh always seems to hide a little surprise in its extensive network of reeds and water bodies. If you live here or ever visit Manitoba, definitely worth a visit!

Big Whiteshell, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba, Canada, August 2011

The month after coming back from Brazil my family went to the lake for two weeks, which they do every year. I would come on weekends. This year we went to Big Whiteshell, on of the many lakes in Whiteshell Provincial Park. The Whiteshell is my favourite place because it is so remote, yet easily accessible from the Winnipeg area. It also has variety of habitats so it allows a lot of diffferent animal species to coexist. It offers great camping, hiking, boating, and fishing. My home away from home!

The quiet August nights with the glass lake and distant loons is probably the most relaxing thing to me.

Anyone who has been to the Whiteshell probably also knows about the ancient history as well.

In several areas of the Whiteshell, petrofroms like this can be seen. The meaning of the petroforms is uncertain, They are often in the form of animals, such as this turtle. Many of the earlier ones are thousands of years old, but some depict things from Post-Columbian times, such as one that shows a man on a horse, something that was only seen after European contact, when horses were brought to the Americas.

Aside from real scenes and creatures, some also depict things sacred to the First Nations of the area. This one is my favourite petroform, and it depicts the Thunderbird. 

The bare granite rock creates nice basking spots for snakes, and the petroforms offer shelter. I have actually found this exact same snake in the exact same spot in subsequent years, identifiable by the large scar on his head. I had no idea Red-sided Garter Snakes went to the same spot every year.

Grey Jays are ever present on the petroform site, as the regular visitors often bring food with them, and the bold birds are not beyond asking for a peanut or too. I tossed a handful in front of me and took pics while the jays hopped about me. They take the nuts and then store them, so they can have a food source to endure the long harsh Manitoba winter. They have excellent memories and can remember caches several years later.

Red Squirrels like handouts too, as did the resident Blue Jays at the cabin. On one evening at around 10 pm, when it was pitch black I noticed a squirrel eating peanuts on our deck, illuminated from the lights inside. I wondered what a Red Squirrel was doing up so late, as they're diurnal. When I went outside said squirrel glided to the tree next to the cabin. It glided! I knew what it was right away--a Northern Flying Squirrel! Unfortunately it was too dark for a picture, and the squirrel was too fast, but it was a thrilling experience! 

The next morning my dad and I woke up early and went fishing. It was gorgeous out, as the lake was misty, and dead calm.

This is still one of my favourite photos.

Granite cliffs, rocks and escarpments are a defining feature of the Canadian Shield, and there is many spectacular views in the Whiteshell with them. These are often covered in lichen and juniper, as well as cactus, some grasses and jack pines, which thrive on the bare rock. 

Hiking up these rocks was fun, the view was great!

Boreal Chickadees were around, and I spotted some on the rocks.

Fireweed is also a common plant that grows in this area.

Least Chipmunks were also common on the rocks. In Manitoba we have two chipmunk species; the larger and more common Eastern Chipmunk, and the smaller Least Chipmunk. Least Chipmunks like drier areas, such as the rock faces. These ones were eating juniper berries. 

Ravens are also common here, as they are over most of the province. Adaptable and smart, they can live pretty much anywhere.

The next day we packed up and headed home. On the way back we stopped for a hike at Alfred Hole Goose Sanctuary. This is a nice hike, but unfortunately the high rick of forest fires from dryness meant we couldn't go far. Nonetheless I was able to take some pictures!

The small lake is always filled with water lillies, providing shelter for fish and frogs. 

There were lots of flowers on land as well, such as Black-eyed Susans (top) and Daisies (bottom). Both are common wildflowers here.

And of course, the Goose Sanctuary has Canada Geese! There are loads of them here! The lake provides a breeding and staging ground for the largest subspecies of Canada Goose, which is fairly uncommon (hard to believe, I know). On subsequent trips other animals would be seen, but the closed trail only offered minimal views this time.

After the hike, we headed home, and unpacked. It was a great trip and it is one that I won't soon forget!