Fur, Feathers, Fins and Flying Insects

Time to devote a post to the wildlife we have encountered on the way!

Most animals are shy and hard to spot….. unlike in the early days of the First Nation people, when humans were sometimes the prey.

 

Most memorable encounter was with beaver at Boya Lake in BC, with impossibly clear water.

We were able to follow one along as he swam beneath the surface!

Moose are especially elusive, although we spotted several as we flew overhead, quietly browsing in marshy wetlands…… and found this giant print on the bank of the lake.

Like most deer, those racks on their heads are shed and re-grown every year.  Truly amazing!

We have seen white-tail and mule deer, and maybe a dozen black bears (usually ambling through a clearing on the side of the road), and a lone wolf in Idaho as we flew overhead.  Pronghorn in the American west, generally thought of as antelope, but their closest living relative is actually the  giraffe!  A few elk – this was the cutest…. Elkon John.

Bald eagles have been easy to spot, but not so easy to photograph.  Also quail, osprey, Canadian geese….. and this tiny pipit fledgling (playing possum) who had been hopping around our campground and was later reunited with his worried mom.

At the lake in BC, we were lucky enough to encounter a pair of loons and their babies, one of whom created a commotion when he was temporarily misplaced.

The wail of a loon is haunting on a quiet evening by the lake…. and they are so distinctive, with their stark black-and-white patterns!  The Canadians like them so much that they are imprinted on the dollar coin, which is commonly called a loonie.

Please note that Canada has no paper dollar bills, and has done away with pennies!  Still another thing to admire about this country!

In addition to the fish Henry caught in Idaho, he was successful in landing several good-sized pike….. rather scary with their dead shark-like eyes and razor-sharp teeth!

One more category of creature that is common to the landscape here…. the flying biting insect.  Mostly mosquitoes and deer flies so far, but soon to be joined by the dreaded black fly, whose bite can leave a welt the size of a golf ball!  Okay, maybe the size of a large cherry.  In any event, we are more or less prepared.

This has been our first try at adding video clips to the blog.  Hope they work out!