Alberta Trip - June 2, 2008 - Lac la Biche - Day 2

Our second day at Lac la Biche was mainly spent doing some of those necessary things that you have to do, regardless if you are on vacation or not - doing laundry, grocery shopping etc. So it wasn't until fairly late in the afternoon that we could return to the campsite. I would have loved to have put the canoe in the water (there was a boat launch and large picnic site on the north side of the park), with an eye to getting a little closer to that bird covered rock (mind you there were signs saying you had to stay away and that you'd be fined for molesting the birds - not that I had any intention of doing that - just thought it would be nice to be able to get a slightly closer picture), but it was quite windy that day, certainly too windy to take a canoe out onto an unknown lake, so we had to settle for viewing with the spotting scope. While we were doing this, a couple told us that there was a nest of Owls in the campsite itself. We hadn't actually walked through the campsite, so decided to go back and do that. It didn't take long to spot this Great Horned 'Owlet' in an aspen tree, right where we were told they would be.
a quick look around and we spotted brother or sister, sitting in this tree at the back of a vacant campsite.

Ernie and Shantz stayed on the roadway, but I worked my way slowly into the site in order to get some closer pictures.

Neither mom.........

nor dad (or vice versa) were very far away!

I think the above shot shows how it would be so easy to just walk by a Great Horned Owl without even noticing, as he/she looks just like part of the broken off tree trunk! Seeing this owl family was a special treat.

Back at the campsite, Shantz was entertained by what we call 'husky T.V.' The arrow is pointing to the object of her attention.......

a very unconcerned, Red Squirrel!

This picture gives a better idea of the distance between them. The squirrel is in the white circle. Although Shantz looks like she is about to spring any second (she is on a tie out cable), in actual fact she is perfectly content just 'watching'. She has been taught from day one that you 'watch' and not 'chase' and she does have her very own little furry friends back home in her yard....I've seen her laying on her bed on the patio with a chipmunk sitting just a few feet away, and although she knows it is there, she doesn't make a move to chase it.