Wolves of Yellowstone and Jackson Hole

We took off looking for wolves, and we found them! I have always believed that gray wolves are the top predators on this North American continent. I often argue about this status to myself as well as smarter people and it often ends up as a tug of war between the grizzly, polar bears, cougars and wolves. There are of course many smaller predators who are efficient and deadly predators also such as any members of the weasel (Mustelids), shrews, lynx, predatory birds and vicious insects of all types, most of whom we discount because of their lack of size or perceived threat to ourselves. There is a mysticism about wolves, a great misunderstanding and fear, even, because of what we don't really understand about their values and way of life. Everyone who wanders around the wildness of this great continent does so with a heightened awareness and keener senses in the hopes of, or of not, encountering wolves, bears or wild cats, and escaping with life and limb intact. I believe it is because of the presence of the great predators that makes our wilderness experiences most satisfying. If there was no chance of an encounter with an apex predator, our senses would not be challenged and the wilds would no longer be wild and we would be forever civilized.

Last week I took some very civilized people, from one of the worlds largest most densely populated cities, to try to find wolves. The wolves were their main reason for travelling for hours by plane and car. All the other stuff you see while travelling is nice, but just give us wolves. We spent time watching pronghorn antelope, herds of bison and elk, birds, spectacular scenery, culture, history, beautiful hotels and great food, but it became a successful trip after we spotted our first timber wolf. The wolf we first spotted was half a mile away, gnawing away upon an old worn out carcass. It was recognizable as a wolf, silhouetted against the snowy background in the distance, but the excitement of the moment was infectious as camera shutters began clicking away. Mission was accomplished, we have seen a wolf, now lets relax and see if we can get a better look. The next day was better. Early in the morning we headed for the spot we had chosen to have a good chance to get a closer encounter with the elusive pack. Other wolf spotters had already spotted our quarry so we pulled up to see them too. With the help of one of their spotting scopes we were able to determine that there was a wolf lying under a dead tree behind some shrubbery about 300 yards away. We will hang around for a while to see if it emerges from it's secure hiding spot. Finally it began to move, then another joined it. They came right out into plain view and trotted closer to us where a kill was hidden in a small wash. Over the next hour or so we enjoyed a very good visit with 8 different wolves of the Lamar Wolf Pack. Along with the wolf pack we watched the mountain sheep grazing on the exposed mountain slope above us, a mountain bluebird flitted about, a young moose calf grazing in the thin willows and bison calmly chewing their cud while monitoring the wolves.

What a great day so we decided that it was time to head down to see the geysers of Yellowstone. We did see a black bear grazing on very short grass emerging from between the snowdrifts, a grizzly bear searching for winter killed carcasses preserved by the deep snow and freshly dropped bison calves guarded closely by protective mothers. The atmosphere in the car was calm, serene with polite chatter and observances as we drove away from the wolf pack. It was as if everything from here on for the next few days was an anti-climax, a time filler to be endured until finally getting on the plane home. The geysers were fine, the scenery spectacular the drive beautiful as we made our way to Jackson, Wy. The Lexington Hotel was beautiful and luxurious with very reasonable rates during this off season. The weather was dreary so we scouted a few locations and did some shopping and general sightseeing. The National Elk Refuge at Jackson Hole was loaded with an estimated 4000 to 5000 elk. This is a wondrous sight to see. We decided to leave early in the morning to see if the sun would highlight the Grand Teton Mountains and give us a great photo of the iconic barn we always see pictured.

As we left the hotel in the chilly, dark, overcast morning we had little hope to see the mountains shrouded by the low hanging clouds, but lets go take a look anyways.

In the early light I spotted something familiar as I drove along. Can it be? A wolf? Here, so close to civilization? Yes! "There are two wolves!" I blurted out to my dozy companions as I guided the car to the shoulder of the highway. We got out quietly with binoculars in shaking hand and carefully confirmed my sighting. There were 8 wolves in total, strung out in a long line with destination in mind. As we watched quietly another vehicle pulled up to see what we were watching. A local fellow could not believe it when I told him. "We never see them here, we can hear them and will maybe see 1 or 2, but never a pack!" His excitement was gripping as he phoned his wife to get out of bed and, "get over here with the spotting scope!" The wolves laid down for a couple minutes waiting for a limping member to catch up. Suddenly, a couple of them began running, then the whole pack. I was frustrated that we had chased them off as more vehicles joined us to watch these ghosts of the gloom. As I watched I could suddenly see a coyote dodging and darting, trying to out maneuver the chasing wolves. There was no competition and the wolves caught and mobbed this hapless coyote. In seconds it was dead, the wolf pack all huddled over the coyote corpse. They howled their victory into the gloom of the lightening morning. As quiet, patient observers, we silently rejoiced in what had just transpired before our eyes. There was no time to get the camera but I enjoyed the moment anyways. We have just witnessed one of Mother Natures cruel realities of competition, dominance and strength. We have just watched an event that happens everyday in the civilized and uncivilized world. The strong take over the weak, competition for food resources is powerful, the weaker members can survive, but only by the good graces of the more powerful. Even the Wiley coyote can survive, but he should not have let his guard down. Can you imagine his thoughts this cold dark morning; I have found a kill, I have a free and easy meal, my belly is full and now I need a nap. All was good in his day as the sun began to poke through the clouds, but he forgot to watch for the wolves. "Oh crap!" were his final thoughts.

Needless to say, this was the highlight of our trip. We had seen what we had come to see. Thousands of elk and bison, herds of deer and antelope, a few bears and birds, 5000 kilometers of beautiful scenery, but nothing to compare to 20 minutes of time watching one of Mother Nature's great predators defend their space.

www.seasonsofthegrizzly.com

Photography for Fun

In the last post, I put in a lot of technical stuff that you need to know a bit about to get the photos you want. I don't like to stay bogged down with all that technical jargon, so I will continue on with how to get a great picture and have fun doing it.

We don't normally have to go very far to find interesting subjects in the neighborhood. I have sat in the comfort of my home and taken great photos of birds around the feeders. I do recommend that you put up some natural looking perches for them to sit on. The perch is often what makes a so so picture of a bird into a great photo. A good perch can be something like your used Christmas tree, a stump or a dead tree snag with a natural looking back ground that can be focused out in your camera settings. I don't particularly care for a bird feeder as the backdrop, unless you are selling bird feeders.

Look for some scenery in your area also. Don't get lulled by complacency into thinking that nobody wants to see any thing around here, just because you are used to it. There is beauty wherever we live. I can get used to seeing the boats in the harbor and walk right past them without a second look, but someone from a different town or province will be enamoured by this sight. One advantage you have to your own neighborhood is that you are there in all different kinds of weather and light conditions. If you see a great sunset coming, it just takes a minute to get to the marina for a very interesting photo opportunity.Get to know the area you are in so you can find the best viewpoints. Once you have scouted a scene, you will be able to get there quickly when storms or light conditions are changing.

It took me about 2 hours to get this Great Blue Heron to trust me enough that it would carry on fishing while I crept close enough to get a decent picture. His body language warned me every time it seemed to get nervous and when it finally got comfortable enough that I could creep closer. This heron has caught a gunnell for supper.

Scouting wildlife is also essential so you begin to see their patterns and get to understand their body language. Body language of animals is a universal language that we all have the ability to recognize with practice. You can learn by watching you own dog or cat. Watch for the subtle differences in posture as you meet another dog while you are walking your own. Most wildlife act very similar to our own domesticated pets. Body language is the universal, inter-species lingo that announces if you are to become prey, mated, or if you are within someones safety zone. With wildlife photography, I believe it is unethical to enter into that "personal space zone" that we all feel comfortable with. This is the zone where we figure we can run away from the danger encroaching upon us. If you get much closer we may have to fight to protect ourselves or our families. Over time, certain critters will allow you closer than others and we each have our own comfort space requirements.

Use camera gear that is appropriate for the kind of shooting you want to do. If you want to get a full frame photo of a friendly dog, you don't need as large a lens as if you want a picture of a wild bear. You might want a long telegraphic lens to photograph a bee hive but a single bee in a flower will require a macro lens. These different equipment requirements also allow you to be comfortable;e with your subject. Not everyone is comfortable having bees humming around your head as you try to picture them with a macro lens.

I would start clicking the shutter as soon as I would see the large transient orca fins periscope out of the water and hope that the whale would swim into my shots. It is too late to wait until you see the whale, then find it in the viewfinder and start shooting.

When you do get an opportunity to get your picture, take lots of photos. Keep that shutter clicking. It is not costing you anything but a bit of time on the computer later. It is very difficult to get just the right expression on a bears face. It is very tough to get all the puppies to look at you at the same time. What does it take sometimes to get everything standing still, facing the same direction with every body's eyes open.

Play with different camera settings if you have the chance. Try opening the aperture to get a different depth of field. Change the shutter speed to try stopping action, or blurring it if you want to emphasize speed. In the foxtail photo you can see the background blurred out by opening the camera aperture to something like f-8

Foxtail is a weed where I come from. It can cause damage to grazing animals digestive tract and plug up radiators on equipment. For a short time of the year it is very beautiful and colorful.

Check the background behind your subject often. Is there a distracting rock or a bright spot? Often you can just move over a few feet to make a much more interesting result. Look around to make sure danger is not encroaching into your own personal safety zone while you are concentrating on your subject. Most of the time your subject will be more aware of their enemies than you will be so pay attention to what they are doing.

Try to get down to the same eye level as your subject. The subject is then on even terms with the viewer of the post making it much more interesting and intimate.

Don't forget to take your eye from the viewfinder. Look around, enjoy the place, the critter, and the overall feel of your surroundings. Get a sense of your emotions and what other people around you are feeling. These senses are what will make your pictures special for you years down the trail. Photo albums are full of memories even if the pictures are not technically correct. Just by opening one of the old albums, I can be transported back years in time to remember great places, adventures and friends. All the photos in this article are taken within 5 minutes of where I have lived.

http://www.seasonsofthegrizzly.com/

To Photograph Wildlife 2

We have made our way to the magical place and found the most rare of birds, the biggest bear and the most spectacular sunrise poking its glorious light over yonder peak. Our favorite camera is ready to shoot, batteries charged, a new storage card and the right lens is on with the cap off. Click you go and nothing happens. "Format card" blinks in your viewfinder. "Oh crap! how do I do that? where is my book? crap, crap, crap!" or worse, you cry in frustration.

Before you go out on a shoot, fire a few test shots at home. We are using digital equipment and it doesn't cost anything to waste a few shots to make sure everything is working properly. Delete what you shoot and begin your trip. Even before the trip, I will preset the camera's settings such as "white balance, aperture, ISO," then, put the long lens on the camera. While wildlife shots are what I am looking for, I am also looking for pleasing environmental and scenic photos. Generally with the latter shots, you have time to change your lens before the light gets away on you, unlike most wildlife. If you have the short lens on the camera and the otter pops out of the water beside you, it would be rare if you had the time to dig your long lens out of the bag, change and be ready to shoot before the critter is gone. Of course, if money is no object, you may have a camera with a long lens and a second body with the shorter lens with you.

White Balance is one of the settings that you can program into most cameras by pushing a couple buttons in your camera's shooting menu. This setting is telling the camera photo processor what kind of light you are shooting in. Cloudy, Sunny, Flash illumination, Artificial neon lights or automatic settings all help achieve different photographic results. These settings may need to be adjusted through the day as light changes, but start your day with what you are going to be doing. On my camera, I have the ability to take a photo and then change the white balance setting to get an idea of what each setting looks like. You can become very "artsy" with this if that is what you want to do. Until you feel comfortable with the various settings, most cameras can be set to "automatic" and you will get fairly decent results. If you are shooting in your "Raw" format, some post processing programs will also adjust your white balance.

Set your "ISO" setting as the ambient light changes through the day. The higher the ISO is set, the more light will get into your camera processor and so the faster shutter speed you can shoot your picture. The faster the shutter speed is, the more likely you will get less blurry photos due to your shaky body or quick movements of the critters in front of you. Generally, the higher ISO you shoot, the more likely you will get some degradation of photos because of "Noise," or colored dots and undesirable grainy pictures. Shoot at the lowest ISO you can to get great quality photos, even in big enlargements.

I shoot most shots in a setting called "Aperture Priority." This setting allows me to get the depth of field I want; that is what is in focus in your photograph. The wider you open your shutter, say F-5, a smaller area will be in focus. At F-22, you will have almost all of your picture in focus. The camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed to compensate for the light coming in to get a properly exposed picture. The wider your aperture is set, then your shutter will fire quicker thereby stopping speed and body shake helping to make a clearer photo. The smaller your aperture is the slower will then be your shutter, making some shots impossible. If you want that shot, the only option is then to use an external flash or raise the ISO to the point where you are satisfied with your results, but you may have too much noise to end up with a contest winning shot.

If there is plenty of light, I will set the camera to "Shutter Priority" where I can adjust how quickly I want the shutter to fire. If you are taking a picture of a Hummingbird flying, you need to get that shutter up to around 1/1500 of a second to stop the wings. That requires you to open your aperture as much as possible to get the proper depth of field, possibly raise the ISO to something like 800 or more, or use a flash, even in daylight.

There are many other settings you may want to use in the more expensive cameras. Camera manufacturers have all advanced way beyond the old brown Brownie box we used to use. We are really carrying around mini computers that have the amazing ability to record what we are seeing in front of us. Most camera allow you to shoot in an "Automatic" mode if you want to and get some great photos. When you start playing around with the settings, you increase the likely hood of getting better photos more consistently. You do need to practise and play with your machinery, read your manual and shoot with people who have similar equipment. There are some good courses to take through colleges and some camera shops. I also enjoy reading many of the camera magazines available at the grocery store or the books in the photo department of your bookstore and library. Some great tour companies also put on great photography only tours where you go to a very exotic location to take pictures under the guidance and instruction of a photo professional. Join an active camera club in your town if you are interested in socializing with like minded people and critiquing photos.

Photography is a great hobby that can be enjoyed by all people. Get out there and record what is happening in the world around you. You are recording history. Who knows, you may even be able to sell a picture one day.

If anyone has any tips, please pass them on in the comments section.

To be continued...

www.seasonsofthegrizzly.com

To Photograph Wildlife 1

Once we have found an interesting wildlife subject, many of us are interested in preserving our memory of this moment with a photograph. We all have different reasons for making pictures.We may want to have a reminder of when we saw our first bear, we may want to remember a magical moment with friends, prove that we actually saw a certain creature, some of us use the picture as a model for a future painting or myriad other ideas or reasons. I do understand some of the reasons for getting a photograph but I always remind my guests to take their eye from the viewfinder to better understand the ambiance around them. I often catch people who are so excited to see a beautiful bird that they will finally get a picture of that they miss the environment, the song, and the pure beauty of this subject that they are so excited to see. If you get a sense of the weather, the song, the smell or the forest, lake or light and the actions, inter-actions and the total space both you and your subject are in, at this magical moment, your photos will have much more meaning. Even if the picture does not come out as you remember, you can keep it as a treasured keepsake of a wonderful experience long ago.

What kind of camera should you buy, is a question we have all asked. These days, there are so many choices to make that it is difficult to choose just one model. Do you want something light and compact or are you willing to carry a huge monstrosity wherever you go? Do you want to take video or stills, or both? When my wife and I take a trip, we each carry our own choice. I carry a DSLR with a couple of lenses while Fay carries her little compact digital. Both cameras take very good pictures, if you use them properly. For flighty birds, jumpy animals and kids you need a DSLR. These cameras use inter-changeable lenses that have the ability to focus very quickly and continuously. Many of the compact cameras need time to focus, so it is almost impossible to get a clear picture of moving critters. There is nothing more annoying than clicking the trigger and the bird flies away before the camera can focus and trigger the shutter.

Brand names are people's own choice just like people's choice of vehicles they buy. Do a bit of research on the Internet and you will find the equipment that will do a good job for the right price. I enjoy many discussions with fellow photo enthusiasts about Nikon, Canon, Sony or Pentax. I have taken great pictures with two of that list and of course seen great pictures from all of them. I think the key is to get to know your own camera, play with it in different situations, practise with it before you go on your first holiday and carry the manual with you. These cameras are getting very complicated with more settings than many of us will ever use, so read and practise before you need it.

Some of my best photos are in my mind; fleeting times that I did not have time to get the camera out. I have missed many photos in the past because I did not have my camera with me or did not have it ready to shoot. Last summer, I left the lodge in the boat, early in a beautiful morning, with my camera snuggled securely into it's protective case. I had not yet arrived at a place I was expecting to see anything worthwhile to photograph, when just a few meters away, out of the ocean depths, popped a River Otter with a Dungeness Crab meal in it's paws. It paused for about 8 or 10 seconds to see if I was a threat, plenty of time for me to get off a few shots, if my camera had been out and ready to go. Helplessly, I had to enjoy the moment with the otter, which I enjoyed anyway, but was sorry that I had missed such a valuable shot.

How many times have we all gone out, taken 2 pictures and the battery goes dead? I always carry 2 or 3 batteries with me. I always try to keep them charged right up. The batteries that come with modern cameras are very good; they can be charged up without running them right down. They will take many pictures between charges, I think mine can do several hundred. If you go to another country, make sure to carry a electrical power converter. They are cheap but invaluable.

Carry extra memory cards with you. These cards hold many pictures and are good storage units, so carry a few along. Airport x-rays don't hurt them. It is always a good idea to download your cards onto your computer or other storage device after a great day of super pictures, so don't forget the downloading cord or a card reader.

I use a water resistant, padded backpack to carry my equipment in. It has room enough for a couple lenses, a couple camera bodies, laptop, spare batteries, cards, tissues, cleaning kits and identification. All my gear has my name printed onto it in case of theft or loss as well as business cards inside the bag with my contact info. My backpack is the size approved as carry on luggage for the airplane, so I am carrying all my valuable electronic gear with me. Don't forget to insure your gear with an insurance rider on your household insurance plan. It helped me pay for an expensive repair to my large lens after I dropped it and broke it in half. It did not pay for an expensive camera that got wet in a rainstorm.

I do have a monopod and a tripod, which I confess, I rarely use. I find that with most of the situations I am in, there is little room or time to set up and use them. Boats don't bob still enough to provide a stable support, even if there was room. Birds are very quick as they flit through the underbrush or scurry about for worms. I compensate for my shakiness with camera settings that I will explain later.

To be continued...

http://www.seasonsofthegrizzly.com/

Seeing and Photographing Wildlife (How to Spot Wildlife)

I want to do a series of articles about finding, seeing and photographing wildlife. I hope these articles will help you better enjoy the beautiful wilderness and wildlife in our backyards and countryside.

How to Spot Wildlife

I was raised on a small farm in Northern Alberta and we hunted for our table fare. Without moose, deer or grouse, our large family would have gone hungry more often than not. Our ability to feed our family depended upon our knowledge of the woods and our ability to see our prey. I enjoyed many experiences in the forests and hills looking for animals to eat and to photograph. I have taught my kids and my wife to become very proficient at finding animals as we drive around the countryside on day trips or holidays. The ability to spot animals has added a new dimension and broadened our enjoyment of any outing. I now spend my summers as a wildlife guide showing people from around the world all the fantastic critters we enjoy in B.C.

Some of the easiest and most common things to see here are birds. My incomplete bird species list has over 120 different species that I have seen around the Campbell River area. Birds are easy to spot, they are on every street, in every garden and lining the beach wherever you walk. I don't think you can go for a walk anywhere in town, along the sea walk, the Quinsome River or in Beaverlodge Lands in any season without seeing several different species of birds.

Camouflage helps to conceal this robin in the crab apple tree until it moves.

Get yourself a good pair of binoculars to help increase your pleasure. Binoculars are one tool that is worth whatever you pay for them. The more money you spend, the better quality you will have. Better quality glass will allow you to look through them without any eye strain, once they are adjusted to your eyes. Get a set that are light enough to carry around your neck. Waterproof glasses are a necessity here on the west coast. You may not need a powerful glass such as 10x or 12x, as a quality pair of 8x will do very well as the shake from your body will not be as magnified as much as the higher power. As important as the power, you need to be able to gather as much light as you can. For example, a pair of 8 x 50 will be brighter than a pair of 8 x 42, especially in shadows or at dawn and dusk. Binoculars can be used to find birds and animals as well as isolating smaller parts of a big scene. You can get a good sense and feel of a snow capped mountain from down here on the dry road with good glasses. They will last you many years and provide hours of free entertainment as you try to identify a bird species list of your own.

You do have to practice in order to be able to spot birds and animals as you wander the wilderness. The more time you are out there, the easier it will be to see animals. The quicker you spot an animal, the safer you will be as you are walking down a trail along the river. Imagine you have to get out of a boat along a forest trail and you are unable to spot a bear and her cub. You will get to know the places that animals like to feed, walk or sleep. Get used to watching edges. Edges are the borders between different habitats such as a field and the bush, Animals use edges as security. They can wander into a field to eat where they are exposed to many eyes but can quickly step into the forest if they feel threatened. Another edge is the beach. Bears often come down to the beach to feed on inter-tidal life but with a few steps can be into the security of the dark woods if they feel insecure.

Can you see the mother and the cub in this picture?

Birds are famous for utilizing edges of all sorts for their favorite hangouts. Most bird species are found very close to the habitat edges that they are designed for. Smaller birds such as a winter wren will flit about in the lower brush. Shore birds are most often found at the edge of the water picking through the mud for insects and seeds. You will hardly ever see an Oyster catcher from from the waters edge as the tide drops.

You will also get to observe many different types of textures as you spend more time in the outdoors. Animals and birds have a different texture to their fur and feathers than trees or rocks and stumps. Even though camouflaged, there is a subtle difference when you are used to seeing it.

Your eyes will notice movements, especially out of your peripheral vision. Quick movements are more noticeable than slow movement. Watch for ripples in the water, tree or branch movements and the actions of other animals or birds around you.

The ripples in the water forewarned me that something was wading in the river toward our group. Get ready! Do you see the bear emerging?

You also need to look for parts of animals. Not often does an animal show it's whole body. Most often you will see the ears or horns sticking up out of the grass. Sometimes it will just be the silhouette of it's back or head that you see. Many of us expect to see some preconceived notion of, say a bear; this huge raging beast running all out toward you, rather than a benign solitary animal grazing grass.

I spend a lot of time every year showing people from around the world our plentiful wildlife. It can be most exasperating when someone can't see the animal that is grazing right in front of us. Most people are amazed that a large bear can hide on the beach right in front of us just by standing still. It just takes practice to better enjoy the gifts of the wilderness.

The Wild Salmon Odyssey, RELEASED!

It takes a long time to bring a book from idea to a real copy. Seasons of the Grizzly took one year from start to end result with the help of a local designer and printing company. I thought that was a long time.

The Wild Salmon Odyssey has taken almost two years. The actual writing took a few months and the artist, Ted Rechlin, spent a few more months compiling his work. This was the easy part. I spent a year looking for and waiting for replies from Canadian publishers. I finally stumbled upon AEG Publishing and Strategic Book Marketing who took on this project. All correspondence has been via email, so I have run the full emotions from excitement at finding a publisher, to exasperation with my computer and my own lack of computing skills. Whatever happened to good old snail mail? Some parts of the whole process went very well and some seemed to take forever, especially when I had an artist who was getting impatient and I had deadlines I wanted to make. It has been a very steep learning curve, but I am happy to have finally completed the first steps. Now comes marketing, a very simple word with huge possible consequences. Marketing is something not all of us are comfortable with, including me. Self-promotion is not my long suit, so I will once again be depending upon the anonymity of the computer and the Internet. I hope my computer survives without any major dents. I am looking forward to working with Strategic Book Marketing in the next and most important step to the success of our hard work.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ecological tale is a powerful eye-opener for all ages

The Wild Salmon Odyssey follows the life-cycle story of two salmon, Humphrey and Sally, as they migrate their way through danger, swimming thousands of miles to reproduce.

Their epic journey faces man-made and natural threats, while the fish search for food. Join Humphrey and Sally as they grow into strong adult salmon. To spawn, they struggle valiantly over waterfalls, past hungry seals and grizzly bears, so they can return to the river of their birth.

A glorious depiction of wilderness and the battle for survival by its inhabitants, The Wild Salmon Odyssey describes in unique terms how these creatures heed nature's plan.

THE WILD SALMON ODYSSEY (ISBN: 978-1-60911-883-9) will be available on November 22, 2010 for $18.50 USD and can be ordered through the publisher's website:

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TheWildSalmonOdyssey.html or at www.amazon.com or http://search.barnesandnoble.com

Wholesalers please email BookOrder@AEG-Online-Store.com

About the Author: Robert Scriba, a wildlife guide living in Campbell River, British Columbia, finally has the time to appreciate Mother Nature's gifts. "Age and life experiences tend to make me reflect on the damage we have created ourselves and how can we give something back in compensation. I have learned how important salmon are to the environment and have witnessed what happens when they do not return as expected. Every day we are bombarded with bad news about the plight of the wild salmon and how slowly regulators are responding."

A Walk in the Snow

Tuesday I made my weekly trip to the Oyster River hatchery on a chilly Nov. morning. There was no snow on the ground in Campbell River but there was about 3 inches on the ground along the Oyster River. It was too cold to do anything with the fish, so I walked along some of the less used trails around the hatchery site. Icicles hung from some of the overlying branches, built up by the splashing river rapid below. It was a cool, calm, grey morning so I could hear the birds twittering in the underbrush whenever I stopped my crunching feet. On the trail in front of me suddenly appeared a trio of Spotted Towhees, hopping along the old track looking for any seeds that may have dropped overnight. At first I thought they were robins, but they did not have that distinct robin hop, pause for a listen, then hop again. Red breast and grey bodies show similar color patterns, but the Towhee is a bit smaller and has a longer tail. I did not have my binoculars and had only the short lens on my camera, so it took a bit to be sure of what I was seeing.

All along the trail I was using were black bear tracks and side paths. The bears have been regular visitors to the area all summer and fall and have been seen many times by all of us. There is a young bear, quite brave, who scours the side channels for any spawned out and dead salmon. Same with a mother bear with two cubs, not quite so brash, but unafraid of the conservation minded humans. All four of the bears will be hibernating under a tree or a stump somewhere in the nearby area. They are all looking for the final calories that will be stored in fat reserves that will be badly needed through, what promises to be, a cold and long winter. I followed some of the bear trails to see if I could find a den site to no avail. They did use fallen trees as bridges to cross some of the water channels. I am not as agile on these snow covered trees, so did not try to balance my way over the ice covered waters. It reminded me of a time I crossed a dead tree bridge with my own kids when Trina slipped and was left hanging upside down over a water puddle. To her chagrin and embarrassment she has been the brunt of many remarks since then.

As I continued my stroll through the tall trees, I could see signs of other animals that use the area also. Mink tracks, ravens and gulls were scouring the river banks for dead fish as well. Squirrel tracks had pounded a skinny trail between a few coniferous trees and cone caches buried in the ground. Deer, wander aimlessly, snitching the tops off some of the course browse they need to keep up their energy reserves. Deer, I think, also chewed off some of the sweet bark from the base of a maple tree. A tiny, brown winter wren rustled through the lower shrubs and salmon berry bushes with it's identifying tail pointing to the sky. Look, up in the skeleton of the big leaf maple is a pair of eagles, watching over the snow blanketed landscape.

There is a sense of peace in the forest after the first snowfall of the year. The tracks in the snow show that the critters have to make a living outside too. Some of them seem to be making last minute arrangements before their long sleep. As I write this story today, a fresh snow fall is burying old sign but promising a whole new crop of tracks to investigate soon.

(let me know if you think something other than a deer could have chewed this bark off this maple tree.)