My wildlife bucket list...

People have all sorts of bucket lists…some for the summer…some for the year…some for life.  I have a bucket list of animals I want to photograph.  Why not?  In the area we live in, there is tons of wildlife and some of these animals are rare.  I mean, where can you go for a leisurely drive and see a herd of wild bison???  PS – they are huge and awesome!!!

So here are a few on my list I have captured on film….well the digital version anyways.  I was sad when my last digital camera started to malfunction.  Shane was kind enough to insist I buy a new camera as he knows how much I enjoy taking pictures.  Purchasing a good camera can be expensive and I of course didn’t want to strain our finances, but he is a good man to me and argued we need a good camera for us to enjoy.  So after much research I chose a Nikon D7000.  I love it!!! (now I need a macro lens and a telephoto lens…just saying)

Let me show you some pictures of animals I have on my bucket list that I was able to photograph (some are with my Iphone, some with my old Fuji camera and some with my new Nikon, quality will vary)…here goes:

We decided to go for a drive north of Fort Nelson for fun and see the sights.  This was shortly after we moved here.  We were lucky to get this picture of a coyote.  It was unsure of us even if we were far away.

Next wildlife we found…Caribou.  There were several, they don’t seem to mind traffic, not that there is much traffic in this area.  They tend to stay on or close to the road and lick the salt/ minerals on the gravel.  These roads are paved but in BC they don’t salt the roads like they do in NB, they put gravel and there is a small amount of salt mixed with the gravel.  This is also the reason most people in our area have a cracked windshield.

Now when you travel north of Fort Nelson, just past Muncho Lake, you have good chances of seeing the bison.  This heard is a few kilometres north of the Liard Hot Springs.

A few minutes from our house, there are large fields and gates are now left open for the elk.  During the night the come from the wooded area and stay in the field, this way they can better hear predators lurking around.  In the morning, the cross the highway again and spend the day in the woods.  You can time it like clockwork, they cross at almost the same time and almost in the same place every day.

Just recently we traveled to Vancouver and of course along the way we saw wildlife.  I have to admit I don’t know the difference between mountain goats and mountain sheep but these guys are one of them, and they crossed the road in front of us. I thought they lived in a more snowy area, guess not….got the pictures

We decided to take a different route coming home and went to Jasper.  I knew we would see wildlife here but never did I expect to see grizzly bears.  We have a large population of black bears around Fort Nelson but I have yet to see a grizzly bear.  As we were driving along, we saw a few cars pulled over and we knew it…wildlife!!!  I have to say Shane is a smart man, earlier that day he took the top panels off the jeep so we could enjoy the fresh air and see the mountains.  This gave us the opportunity to safely photograph the grizzlies from inside the jeep.  We simply pulled over safely on the side of the road, we both stood up and enjoyed watching them graze.  The mosquitos soon became a problem and we drove off but not before getting some pretty cool pictures of these guys

BC has wild horses that roam and of course we have some in our area.  These are possibly wild or escapees, we don’t know for sure but no one feeds them or takes care of them.  When I took these pictures we strongly believe the mare was pregnant, we have taken a drive out to where they usually stay to see if there is a foal now but no such luck…yet…they travel far and hide well in the summer.  Hopefully next time we venture out that way we can find them.

Now as I mentioned before, we have a healthy black bear population and I had to wait a long time before being able to photograph them.  We arrived in Fort Nelson in November and they were hibernating already.  We have black bears in NB but they are rare, I have never seen one in the wild and of course moving to northern BC, this is prime bear country people!!!  You have to be bear aware.  I am a little bit fascinated/ obsessed with them.

Speaking of obsession, our dog Rahja is obsessed with squirrels, it’s actually a problem as a few weeks ago she jumped out of the jeep while we were still driving, luckily on a dirt road and we were;t driving to fast.  Lets just says she regretted that one and the road rash was not comfy for a while.  Thank goodness she didn’t hurt herself any more than that.  I will post more on our crazy dogs some day soon!!!

I hope you all enjoy these pictures as much as we do.  With a little luck, I will soon have more picture to show.  Here is what I still have on my bucket list of animals to photograph:

• Cougars….they live in this area but are secretive, I will need much luck for this one
• Black bears cubs…we have seen several but I didn’t have my camera on hand, lesson learned, bring the camera every time we go for a leisurely drive
• Bears fishing…we see it on TV, I want to see it with my own eyes and get pictures
• Moose…yes they are plentiful here, but again, I don’t always have my camera with me
• Deer….same as moose, plenty around, don’t always have my camera (need to remember the camera!!!)
• Mountain goats/ sheep…I have pictures of one, I need the other and I need to do research to understand the difference between them, lol
• Bald eagle…I have only seen one but they do live around this area
• Killer whale…this one will require a trip to the coast, maybe a future vacation?

Maybe I need to talk to the people at National Geographic?  We love watching documentaries on wildlife and they get the most awesome shots…mmm, something to consider.  I think that sums it up for tonight.  Anyone have wildlife they dream of photographing?  I would love to hear about it!

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