Tag Archives: Elk Island National Park

Project 366 – Post No. 140 – The eye of the Wood Bison

What is Project 366? Read more here!

After seeing plenty of Wood Bison at a distance dotting pastures, fields and forest edges I imagined that the day I would get close and personal with the largest terrestrial animal in the americas would be along a remote trail far away from human civilization. Well I could not me more mistaken. I came across this gigantic male Wood Bison right by the fence along Highway 16. I had stopped on a gravel road turn-out along the highway and there he was, a solitary male Wood Bison, right on the other side of the fence. I could have reached out and touched him if I wanted to. I decided not to give him any reason to tear down the fence and go after me. He was certainly curious though. As I approached the fence he came right up to meet me, not the least shy. Although the wire fence looked solid and was at least 6 feet tall it would not stand a chance against an adult Wood Bison hellbent on getting through. I did manage to get some nice closed up pictures of him, including this one where he is staring me down probably wondering what my intentions were.

The eye of the Wood Bison at Elk Island National Park. August 8, 2019. Nikon P1000, 325mm @ 35mm, 1/60s, f/4.5, ISO 400

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.

Project 366 – Post No. 120 – Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

What is Project 366? Read more here!

Right by the parking lot at the south side of Elk Island National Park there was an energetic Yellow-bellied Sapsucker hard at work trying to drill holes in the posts of a widening fence. Sapsuckers are known for creating symmetrical rows with large number of shallow holes on trees in order to harvest tree sap. I wonder if it was working on the wooden fence by mistake (which clearly will not have many sap) or if it was looking for insects (which the fence posts may have). Sapsuckers can make a large number of holes in a single tree and there are known instances where trees are girdled by overly enterprising sapsuckers. The Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers is our only woodpeckers that migrate south in the winter.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varios) at Elk Island National Park. June 30, 2019. Nikon P1000, 756mm @ 35mm, 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO 400

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.

Project 366 – Post No. 099 – Brown-headed cowbird

What is Project 366? Read more here!

Intermingled with the massive bison were these small brown birds that were mostly hiding in the tall grass and occasionally emerging and landing on the back of a bison before diving down into the grass again. These were Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater), a species commonly associated with grazing animals. The tend to look for insects and seeds to eat on the ground stirred up by the larger animal. Before European settlement, the Brown-headed Cowbird followed bison herds across the plains. Because of their nomadic lifestyle they engage in brood parasitism laying their eggs in the nest of unsuspecting birds of other species. These days the species is commonly seen around domesticated livestock and at suburban bird feeders. At Elk Island, however, they still live their traditional lifestyle in close association with bison herds.

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) going for a ride on a Plains Bison at the Bison Loop at Elk Island National Park. June 30, 2019. Nikon P1000, 756mm @ 35mm, 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO 280

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.

Project 366 – Post No. 098 – Boys will be boys

What is Project 366? Read more here!

While most of the bison on the meadow were pretty chilled and seemed to just enjoy the sunny morning a few of the males had other things in mind. These two males were ogling and sizing each other up. Just as it looked like they were about to walk away, they turns around and crashed their heads together. Their horns locked together and a twisting wrestling match ensued were the two bulls trekked to outmaneuver each other. This went on for a while when suddenly one of the bison lost his footing and crashed down on his side. He was back on his feat at once and they were back in staring competition mode. Bison bulls engage in head butting battles fort mating privileges. I am not sure when the mating season for the bison in Elk Island starts, but these males might be getting ready for it.

Male Plains Bison head butting at the Bison Loop at Elk Island National Park. June 30, 2019. Nikon P1000, 605mm @ 35mm, 1/250s, f/5, ISO 100

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.

Project 366 – Post No. 097 – Bison calf having a snooze

What is Project 366? Read more here!

Among the hundreds of bison covering the meadow I found this one calf that decided to take a snooze in the sunshine. It did not have a care in the world and was clearly oblivious to my presence. An adult bison walked by and deposited a bison sized turd a few feet from it’s head, but little bison baby just kept snoozing on. With coyotes, bears, vehicles and pooping bison around you think this youngster would be a tad more wary, but I guess if your mom is a half a tonne (500 kg = 1100 lbs) lady capable of running as fast as a horse, anyone even thinking of messing around with her precious baby would soon regret it and would probably not live to tell the tale. Since the bison were introduced at Elk Island National Park in 1907, over 100 generations of have been born and raised in the park. This calf was in the northern par of the park which means it is a Plains Bison. In the southern part of the park the Wood Bison live. It would be interesting to see some of their calves. Would they look different? That sounds like an exciting field trip; tracking down some Wood Bison calves.

Plains Bison calf having a snooze at the Bison Loop at Elk Island National Park. June 30, 2019. Nikon P1000, 806mm @ 35mm, 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO 100

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.

Project 366 – Post No. 096 – Mom time

What is Project 366? Read more here!

At the edge of a grove, away from the melee, a lonely bison mom and her calf were having a moment. The reddish brown calf was quite assertive, pushing its head into the mom’s groin, clearly letting her know what it wanted. I was probably not more than 25 meters from them, stuck in a bison traffic jam in the Bison Loop at Elk Island National Park. Mom and calf seemed not to mind my presence at all. I opened the sunroof of the truck and climbed out with my camera. This vantage point gave me an unobstructed view of the surroundings. As I was observing mom and calf I was surprised when I realize that the cow had horns, something I had assumed only male bison would have. It turns out that the physical differences that distinguish males (bulls) from females (cows) are quite subtle so determining a bison’s sex is not entirely trivial. Clearly the presence of horns cannot be used to tell males and females apart. Although a cow’s horns are slightly more curved and slender than a bull’s, one would likely have to be quite experienced to be able to pick up on this. Obviously a bison feeding a calf is one sure-way of positively identifying a female.

Mom and her calf at the Bison Loop at Elk Island National Park. June 30, 2019. Nikon P1000, 258mm @ 35mm, 1/125s, f/4.5, ISO 280

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.

Project 366 – Post No. 095 – Bison traffic jam

What is Project 366? Read more here!

So here is another bison post as promised yesterday. This was the view as I entered the Bison Loop at Elk Island National Park yesterday morning at 6 am. Those bison were in no hurry anywhere and took their sweet time. They were mainly just standing around, occasionally a few of them decided to lie down in the grass or on the dirt road. I was slowly inching my way along in my vehicle. Mostly I was standing still waiting for a few of the bison to lumber on. A few times I got too close and I got some dirty bison looks thrown my way. Clearly the message was, this is our turf and here we are the traffic.

Today is July 1 and other than it being Canada Day it also marks the half way point of my Alberta Big Year. 178 day down and 178 days left to go. My current tally is 114 species seen in Alberta since 00:01 January 1 this year. According to eBird 404 species of birds have been reported in Alberta since the beginning of times (or at least since the beginning of the eBird record). Looking at the species reported this year only, the number is 317. Clearly I have long ways to go to reach the stratosphere of birding in Alberta. I am hoping to boost this number by going to some targeted hotspots beyond Edmonton during the summer, e.g. Frank Lake and Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, both these locations are located in and around Calgary. Other than this, my bread and butter will be my two main field locations, the Whitemud Creek and Elk Island National Park. With 153 species recorded at Whitemud Creek and 243 species reported at Elk Island there are plenty more treasures waiting to be found.

Bison traffic jam at the Bison Loop at Elk Island National Park. June 30, 2019. Nikon P1000, 157mm @ 35mm, 1/100s, f/4, ISO 100

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.

Project 366 – Post No. 094 – An obstinacy of bison

What is Project 366? Read more here!

‘Twas the morning before Canada Day, when all through the park not a human was stirring, only the bison. Well, it’s not that time of year yet (as a matter of fact, today is day 178 so we are exactly halfway there), but it sure felt like that time of year this morning. At 6 am I rolled into Elk Island National Park and as the Bison Loop emerged around a curve in the road, for a second, I though I was dreaming. The field surrounding the Bison Loop and Mud Lake was filled with bison. There must have been several hundreds of them. Adults, awkward and mangy looking teens and milk chocolate coloured calves dotted the grassy field, more bison were hiding in the tree groves, bison were blocking the road and the Bison Loop gravel road was a veritable traffic jam of bison. One of the collective nouns for bison is an obstinacy of bison (the other ones are a heard of bison, a gang of bison and a troop of bison). The term seems quite fitting to such a massive animal that clearly has the attitude that they can do whatever they want. If they decide to cross the road and stand in front of your vehicle, they will do just that. As I approached the Bison Loop I thought to myself, “if I drive into the loop, I will be stuck for who knows how long”. This is one traffic jam I would love to be in. Said and done, I drove into the loop and was soon surrounded by bison and stuck in my first bison traffic jam. A few hours later I emerged on the other side of the loop with tones of picture and unforgettable memories. It was almost as if I had travelled a few hundred years back in time to the heydays of the bison when an obstinacy of bison roamed the grasslands as far as they eye could see. Much more could be said about this experience, and I will say more…, expect the next few days to have a bison theme. Tomorrow is Canada Day and the plans are to spend the day in the great canadian outdoors at Elk Island with family and friends and, hopefully, another obstinacy of bison.

An obstinacy of Plains Bison (Bison bison bison) at Elk Island National Park. June 30, 2019. Nikon P1000, 157mm @ 35mm, 1/125s, f/4, ISO 100

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.

Project 366 – Post No. 092 – Black bear at Elk Island NP

What is Project 366? Read more here!

Sometimes nature throws you for a loop of the least expected kind. As we were driving into the Bison Loop at Elk Island National Park I had barely finished mentioning that we would never encounter bears here when we, you guessed it, spotted a bear. We saw it clear as day meandering along the forest edge. I was so taken back that I did not even reach for the camera. As the bear turned around and started heading into the forest I came to my senses and drew the cameras in best Lucky Luke style and managed to take one single picture before the bear was gone. As far as a wildlife picture goes it is a pretty crappy picture with a somewhat fuzzy focus of the bears behind. Sure it would have been nice to get a better picture of the bear but for all intents and purposes this photo serves as a documentation of something I have believed was impossible, a bear encounter at Elk Island National Park. This park is the smallest national park in Canada and is, just as the name suggests, an island. This island is not, however, surrounded by water, but rather by farmers’ fields, roads, towns and cities. Even the official web page of Elk Island does not mention bears as one of the animals one might see. Further research revealed that bear sightings are reported once or twice a year. Considering the number of visitors the park gets (about 500000 in 2018), that is a very low number. So clearly the bears are there, but it is likely a small population. The various reaction people have to bear sightings are interesting. For example, my better half is now concerned with me heading out to the park alone in the mornings the way I have been doing over the last few months. I on the other hand, I am strategizing about how I can track down another bear in the park for a closer look. Considering the serendipity of our sighting I am really not sure how one could track down a bear in Elk Island, other than just continuing to visit the park as often as one is able to and hope for another chance encounter.

Black Bear (Ursula americanus) at Elk Island National Park. June 23, 2019. Nikon P1000, 1109mm @ 35mm, 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO 320

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.

Project 366 – Post No. 091 – Wood Frog

What is Project 366? Read more here!

Elk Island National Park is the home to two species of frogs; the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) and the Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris maculata). I am not a frog expert by any means but I do believe that the white stripe down the middle of this fella means that it is a Wood Frog. We encountered sneaking about in the leaf litter as we were hiking the Simmons Trail. It was quite far away from the closest water source, but it has been raining a lot the last few weeks and the understory was very wet and muddy, so I imagine a frog is going to find it quite comfortable even on dry land under those conditions. The camouflage on this individual was quite remarkable as it blended in with the leaf litter perfectly.

Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica ) at Elk Island National Park. June 23, 2019. Nikon P1000, 218mm @ 35mm, 1/60s, f/4.5, ISO 360

May the curiosity be with you. This is from “The Birds are Calling” blog (www.thebirdsarecalling.com). Copyright Mario Pineda.