Alberta Wanderings 2011

[cohan]

https://picasaweb.google.com/111492944361897930115/AlbertaRockyMountainsMay312011IHildaRidge

Some little Crucifers; I just don't have enough knowledge of these to attempt names- and I don't think I've ever seen these plants in seed, so no help there.. I presume the yellow flowers (though there are bright and creamy yellow flowers) and the white (leaves also look different) are different species, but wouldn't swear to it!

Unidentified Brassicaceae sp, white flowers, with tiny sedge (Carex sp?)

 

Unidentified Brassicaceae sp, yellow flowers

   

[Sue Beatty]

I lived in Calgary for many years and just enjoyed looking at your pictures - I spent a lot of time climbing in those rockies.  I live on Vancouver Island now where I spend time being a beach bum as opposed to climbing :-) 

The bird is a kildeer and the way they protect their nest is to act as tho they have a broken wing so you look at them and not the nest.  They nest in rocks/stones on the ground and quite often in areas where there's really not much protection.  I was down at the marina this year and right on the edge of a public path in some loose stones was their nest.  Mom and Dad were madly trying to divert my attention but I saw the nest - apparently so did something/someone else.  I did take a few shots and got out of there but there were people walking all around.  Plus there's tons of eagles and other predators.  Anyway, the next day I went to check again and it was all gone - the babies weren't born and left quickly because there wasn't even a piece of shell.

[Panu]

Just guessing, but in the first pics could be Draba nivalis and Carex rupestris. The yellow ones are Draba too.

[cohan]

Thanks Sue and Panu!
We do have Killdeers around here in the semi lowlands, too, typically in cultivated fields- which works if their nesting time is between planting/cultivating and harvesting! Coyotes and foxes must be major predators for them, as there are tons around, esp coyotes...
Being a beach bum is a nice change- esp from an Alberta winter...lol

Thanks, Panu- I'll take a look at D nivalis; I suspected Draba as well, but the keys wanted details I just don't have for most of them- especially seed pod details! Maybe I will get to visit the same spot at a different time and look for pods.. And Carex-- yikes!!! so many! Its quite possible that that area or even that site, have been botanised officially, but I don't have access to those sorts of records-- the Flora of Alberta shows 'dots' for each official location, but I don't know where they are exactly!

[cohan]

Okay- I am determined to at least finish posting photos from that May 2011 trip in this thread..lol
So, back at it!
full album of this section:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111492944361897930115/AlbertaRockyMountainsMay312011KHeadingHomeward
From the near tree line elevations in Jasper National Park, we've come back south toward home, eventually crossed back into Banff National Park, then left the north/south running Icefields Parkway for the more or less east/west David Thompson Highway which will take us all the way home!  The 'off colour' forest in the second photo is an area which was deliberately burned by park officials a couple of years ago..

   

The bear was very close to the road, near the eastern boundary of Banff National Park, and seemingly dining on dandelions-- maybe that's what we need around here

   

.. Then we pass through the montane zone and Kootenay Plains- an area I've posted images from in the past-- a rather broad area between mountains, with a couple of rivers and rather dry grassy plains; Due to  low precipitation (variably, depending on exposure etc) and the open grassy areas (and the rivers, no doubt!) this has been an important area for wildlife, esp in winter when they can come down from  harsher/snowier higher elevations and find grass for grazing with generally shallow snow cover if any. The concentration of wildlife (and easily traversed plains) made the area important to Native peoples as well, and there are still large chunks of land in the region managed by aboriginal people. There was an early attempt at farming/ranching by European settlers in the area which failed (I don't know the history of it, but suspect low precipitation/fragile plant communities in some sections- the grassy areas that presumably would-be ranchers were drawn to- probably made agriculture a dicey proposition!).. now most of the land in the plains is protected...



more to come from this day, including a stop at my favourite site in the plains... but not tonight!