Spruce birds, Coyote, Calf moose (20140821) Thursdays used to be Grizzly nights.

I have had a pretty good history of being able to find Grizzlies on Thursday nights during berry season, so I invited Brendan out for a tour to see if we could rustle us up a bear or three. The weather for the past couple of days had been dark and gloomy and today was no different. It was a cool evening with off and on rain, during one of the "off" times we found this Coyote.

An hour later we found the same young "dog" and grabbed some more shots as it passed.

Next up we found this rooster Spruce grouse. It has been awhile since the roosters have been around. They have terrific plumage. I love the golden tones.

Then 30 minutes later, we spotted one chick and the next thing we knew there were five of them in the air. I was able to find two of them. This one flew into a dead tree, and was still pretty well hidden.

This nest mate looks a little more developed, but very able to hide in the foliage.

At half past eight on our way out the highway we found this mother and daughter taking in a little water. This is my first moose calf in quite a while, it would have been nice to have a little more light.

I have often found moose on their front knees either feeding or eating, it is always great to get the opportunity to grab a shot while they are in that position. It  is a special time when the critters allow you to observe and they still go about their normal behaviour.

At last light we found this nice Whitetail buck out grabbing a meal with his lady.  He is on the border of being a big boy.

While we didn't get any bears, we had a terrific wildlife night in the mountains of Alberta.
Turbo