Animals & Insects

When you're out enjoying nature, respect our environment by adopting the "leave no trace principle." Follow these simple steps:<br /><br />- Plan ahead and prepare<br />- Travel and camp on durable surfaces<br />- Whatever you carry in, you must also carry out<br />- Properly dispose of what you can't pack out<br />- Leave what you find in its natural setting - don't pick the flowers and don't feed the wildlife.<br />- Stay on the trails and, if there are none, practice low-impact hiking techniques. A Columbian Ground Squirrel stops and appreciates the natural beauty of Sunshine Meadows in Banff National Park, Alberta. Richardson's ground squirrels are known by a variety of names, including gophers and are sometimes confused with their relatives the prairie dogs. But whatever they may be called, Richardson's ground squirrels are still the same, delightful animals they have always been. A ponderous moment for one of the chimps at the Calgary Zoo. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A late blooming flower attracts a couple of nectar seeking bees. Fond childhood memories of fuzzy caterpillars crawling over my belly in the summer are brought back by this fellow. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A damselfly clings onto a chain link fence in a surprisingly colour coordinated fashion. A beautiful butterfly at the Seaforde Tropical Butterfly house in Northern Ireland. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A lovely butterfly perches on a Lantana flower at the Seaforde Tropical Butterfly House in Northern Ireland. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) These exotic porcupines can be found at the Calgary Zoo in the African Savannah exhibit. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) I saw this helpless looking fellow near Spruce Meadows a couple of years ago. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) My lucky day for owls - again at Spruce Meadows. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) Portrait of one of the beautiful Belgians at Butterfield Acres Farm in Calgary. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) Another one of the beautiful Belgians at Butterfield Acres Farm in Calgary. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) What looks like a playful laugh of a horse in a field near Bragg Creek, Alberta. Looks more like it's time for a visit to the dentist. This beauty was curious about me and my camera and gave me her full attention as I took several images of her and her friends near Bragg Creek, Alberta. I was trying to capture beautiful light on the hills behind when the herd of horses quietly grazing there galloped over to see what I was doing. There went the shot, but this fellow gave me a nice pose anyway. A group of young chicks huddle together for warmth at Butterfield Acres farm in Calgary. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) This fellow was high on a cliff just off the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. A Mountain Goat highlighted on a sunny morning at the Calgary Zoo. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A Mountain Goat sticking out his tongue for the camera at the Calgary Zoo. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A scruffy mountain goat having a morning nap at the Calgary Zoo. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A wolf having a rest break on a sunny afternoon at the Calgary Zoo. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A wolf watching the tourists at the Calgary Zoo. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A Bearded Dragon enjoying a tasty dinner at the Calgary Zoo. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A peaceful afternoon nap. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) The hypnotic gaze of a beautiful tabby lass. My neighbour's cat Talker staring intently through the bars of his own back deck. My two cats were the object of this intense glare. (Also available in Black & White) Captain taking a moment's breather after a gallop through crispy autumn leaves. Watching the goings on in the neighbourhood, Captain poses nicely for his portrait. As I wandered down the path of Kinbrook Island Provincial Park, I'm really not sure who was more startled as this fellow popped out of the underbrush - him or me. Fortunately I remembered I had the camera in my hand and was able to pop off two shots before he disappeared down a trail behind the fencepost. An elk grazing roadside on the Bow Valley Parkway that runs between Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta. A leisurely route it often offers wildlife and flowers not seen at the high speeds of the main highway. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A small deer spotted near the roadside in Banff National Park. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) Young deer keep a watchful eye on me as I shoot from across the road. Taken on the Maligne Lake road near Jasper, Alberta. A young deer keeps a watchful eye on me as I shoot from the far side of the road. A bull elk trumpeting a warning to tourists who had stopped their motorhome about 10 feet away from his herd of females - despite signs all over Jasper National Park warning of the dangers of offending males during rutting season. A bull with antlers this size can, and will, put them through the side of a vehicle. A young deer hides in winter grasses in a field NW of Calgary. One of the beautiful beluga whales found at the Vancouver aquarium, Vancouver, British Columbia. Posing for a shot this is a beautiful Beluga Whale at the Vancouver Aquarium, Vancouver, British Columbia. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A duck idling quietly on the Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A Great Blue Heron tiptoeing through the shoreline of a Vancouver inlet near Stanley Park. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) The beautiful showy colours of a Mandarin Drake captured at the Calgary Zoo. A Mallard Drake basks in the sunlight at one of Calgary's many man-made lakes. The males are the showy ones of the species with emerald green heads, and a blue patch on the top side of its wings. The female Mallard shows that plain colours can be pretty too. A female mallard launches herself off shore for a glide through calm waters at Pearce Estate Park Interpretive Wetlands. One of these birds is not like the other ones... Apparently the horn on the beak of one means that the pelican is 'available' to the female of the species. A lazy afternoon paddle in the Bow River in hopes that lunch might drift by. These birds make the most ungainly landings. You almost feel that their webbed feet are crossed in hopes that all goes well. A group of America White Pelicans waiting in anticipation for their next meal to pop over the weir at Pearce Estate Park Interpretive Wetlands. A colony quite often appears on the Bow River during Calgary summers. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A pair of America White Pelicans waiting in anticipation for their next meal to pop over the weir at Pearce Estate Park Interpretive Wetlands. A colony quite often appears on the Bow River during Calgary summers. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A flock of brown pelicans practice formation flying over Tulum on Mexico's Mayan Riviera. A beautiful parrot specimen in the Mayan Riviera Eco-Park Xcaret. A very proud fellow at Xcaret in the Mexican Mayan Riviera. A Common Murre attempts a landing into a crowded colony rock at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Oregon. There's always one in the crowd. Who is watching whom? A pair of seagulls having a lively discussion over a crab dinner at English Bay, Vancouver. A female Red Wing Blackbird reaches up for some tasty morsel at the UBC Botanical Gardens in Vancouver. The Clark's Nutcracker lives year-round in Alberta's Rocky Mountains. They're very tame around people and spend a lot of time around picnic sites and carparks looking for spare morsels fo food. This one was scoping out his next dinner near Lake Louise, Alberta. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A Swainson's Hawk posing at the Calgary Zoo I apologize to the birders out there if this is a mistaken breed. It may also be a Swainson's Hawk. (Please feel free to contact me with a correction.) A red panda posing for photos at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available) A Red Panda looks like he's on fire as the sun hits his beautiful soft fur. Taken at the Calgary Zoo. A donkey poses for his photo at Butterfield Acres Farm in Calgary. The soft face and eye of a donkey at Butterfield Acres Farm, Calgary. A cougar at the Calgary Zoo gives himself a leisurely clean on a winter afternoon. Finished grooming and time for a nap at the Calgary Zoo The lovely soft face of a llama taken at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. (Max. enlargement size 8x10. Greeting Cards also available)