Amazing Wildlife Sightings

 

June 27th (posted June 28th)

          This morning we left the cabin at 7:00am and stopped at a coffee shop in Jasper to get a muffin and coffee.  We had tickets for the first gondola of the morning on the Jasper SkyTram.  The tram is on Whistlers Mountain (not the famous one) and is the highest and longest aerial tramway in Canada.  It goes to a height of 7,425 ft. above sea level in 7.5 minutes.  We wanted to go early so there wouldn’t be many people around to scare off the birds.  We were looking for White-tailed Ptarmigan and Gray-crowned Rosy Finch.  Once we arrived, we hiked further up the mountain but had no luck finding either bird.  The air was thin, and it was difficult hiking up and down the steep trails. 

          The views were spectacular, and we did see several Hoary Marmots and a Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel running around.  After hiking for two hours, we went back to the tram area and found that the tram was shut down for maintenance.  Apparently, there was something wrong with the hydraulic system!  We were stranded up there for almost an hour while they fixed it.  We were a little nervous on the return trip, but we made a soft landing.

          In the afternoon we went to Maligne Lake to look for Harlequin Ducks.  Finally, some birding success.  We stood on a bridge where the Maligne River flowed into the lake and spotted two Harlequin Ducks sitting on a log.  We also saw another American Dipper.  Later we went for a short hike along the lake and saw our first Lincoln’s Sparrow.

          Today was quite a day for wildlife.  On our drive up to Maligne Lake we stopped  at Medicine Lake and saw a big crowd of people WAY too close to a Black Bear.  I think they actually scared the bear and it jumped in the lake and swam away.  On our return trip we saw a mama bear and three baby bears.  So cute. 

          We had dinner at the Jasper Brewing Company and then took an after dinner excursion to Maligne Canyon to look for Black Swifts.  Black Swifts nest behind waterfalls and come in to roost at dusk.  The trail was called Six Bridges.  It was a steeply descending trail with six bridges that zigzag across the canyon with several waterfalls.  We made it to bridge four and then had to climb all the way back up.  TWO death marches in one day (Ann and Howard know what I mean!).  We never saw a Black Swift.

          On the way back to the cabin, we saw a majestic male Elk with a set of antlers like I have never seen before.  This finished an amazing day of wildlife sightings.  No new FOY birds today but we were happy to see the Harlequin Ducks. 

                                       Elk (male)

                                       View from Whistler Mountain

                                       Top of Whistler Mountain

                                       Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

                                       Black Bear (Medicine Lake)

                                       Swimming bear

                                       Maligne Lake

                                       Harlequin Duck

                                       Lincoln's Sparrow

                                       Mama and three babies

                                       Our Cabin














   

             

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